Macro with XC 50-230mm OIS II on X-T100

On it's own, the 50-230mm can get get to .2x (=1:5) magnification at the 230mm end of the lens. I have an old achromatic  Nikon Close-up 4T adapter (this is not one of the cheap close-up lenses) that I can fit on with a step down ring, and it allows me to get to .8x (=1.125) magnification.

Here are a couple shots of an amaryllis that just bloomed today that shows off the quality of the lens as well as the X-T100. These are JPGs from the camera. Depth of field is so small, as you can see. I had good light, and these were both shot handheld, the first using autofocus, second with manual.

SUMMARY: With the achromatic adapter, the 50-230 makes for a very decent macro lens!

This is SOOC with no adjustments. Shot at 153mm which is ~ .5x (1:2)

Cropped, some highlight and shadow adjustments in Faststone. Shot at  75mm which is ~ .33x (1:3) magnification.

Very nice picture, the 50-230mm is quite a good lens & a real value.

Since the amaryllis was still a willing model today, I tried a shot with the XC 15-45. Macro is at the 15mm end and gets to .24x (~1:4). Here is a SOOC JPG with no adjustments. It is near maximum magnification (i.e., I shot almost at minimum focusing distance), and I used f11 to get maximum DOF.

And here is the RAF photo cropped and touched up in LR.

I have to educate myself on achromatic adapters, how much does the minimum focal length change by? Is there a rule of thumb?

Is that their only purpose, simulating macro lenses?

muptup wrote:

I have to educate myself on achromatic adapters, how much does the minimum focal length change by? Is there a rule of thumb?

Is that their only purpose, simulating macro lenses?

I think this is the quickest explanation HERE . They function like the cheapo diopters, but they have an extra element that removes chromatic aberrations and keeps the whole thing in focus.

The Nikon ones are discontinued, but look on ebay for "matched macro adapter." These used to come with some 100mm lenses to make them 1:1 macro capable, but they work fine with any lens you can screw them on to.

One more thing... on that 50-230 which has a 58mm front filter, I have to use a 58 > 52mm step down ring to attach the Nikon 4T which is 52mm. There probably is a bit more vignetting with that, but it's not really a problem for that small step.