Advice on focusing/capturing wildlife keepers?

raenneb wrote:

SteveY80 wrote:

Lichtspiel wrote:

raenneb wrote:

EXTENSION TUBES. I find they work extremely well for exactly your purpose, and will work great with the focal range of your lens. Just don't get the cheapest generic ones (Fotga, Fotasy), as they are extremely variable in quality. You don't have to get the Kenkos, which are expensive, but stay away from the no-name generics, as they can have connection problems.

Thank you for all the advice. Do you have recommendations for extension tubes? I know diddly squat about them

There are lots of different types, brands, and opinions about them. I got the cheap ones but WITH CONTACTS so the connection to your lens is maintained. They work OK, sometimes need a gentle wiggle to establish the connection.

And, opinion... I much prefer the Raynox diopters (DC 150 for ex) which go in front of the lens. Not sure how it would work with your f4 zoom, but with the cheap kit tele the results were really good.

I would second that opinion. I've just tried a Raynox DCR-150&250 on my 40-150 f/4 Pro and the results look good. To me a diopter works much more elegantly on that kind of zoom than an extension tube.

On the other hand, a quality close-up lens like a Raynox is a more expensive option. It'll also provide higher magnification/shorter working distance @150mm compared with an extension tube, which may or may not be what's wanted.

I'm thinking Raynox might be the way to go after doing a bit of research and seeing your awesome sample pics. I'm not too keen on continually removing the lens for extension tubes – it sounds like the close up lenses would be more functional for my shooting style and for the type of detail I'm looking to capture. Would you recommend starting with the 150 or 250?

To use with the 40-150 zoom, I would recommend the DCR-150, especially if you have not much prior experience with macro photography. At 150mm and minimum focusing distance, the magnification can be impressive.

In other words, if you want to take pictures of beetles, the 150 is good, if you want to take pictures of heads and behinds of beetles, go with the 250. Keep in mind that all the challenges of macro photos just increase as you go up in magnification.

While the Raynox comes with a clip-on adapter, consider purchasing a step down ring from your lens filter thread to 43mm (the Raynox diameter).

raenneb wrote:

SteveY80 wrote:

Lichtspiel wrote:

raenneb wrote:

EXTENSION TUBES. I find they work extremely well for exactly your purpose, and will work great with the focal range of your lens. Just don't get the cheapest generic ones (Fotga, Fotasy), as they are extremely variable in quality. You don't have to get the Kenkos, which are expensive, but stay away from the no-name generics, as they can have connection problems.

Thank you for all the advice. Do you have recommendations for extension tubes? I know diddly squat about them

There are lots of different types, brands, and opinions about them. I got the cheap ones but WITH CONTACTS so the connection to your lens is maintained. They work OK, sometimes need a gentle wiggle to establish the connection.

And, opinion... I much prefer the Raynox diopters (DC 150 for ex) which go in front of the lens. Not sure how it would work with your f4 zoom, but with the cheap kit tele the results were really good.

I would second that opinion. I've just tried a Raynox DCR-150&250 on my 40-150 f/4 Pro and the results look good. To me a diopter works much more elegantly on that kind of zoom than an extension tube.

On the other hand, a quality close-up lens like a Raynox is a more expensive option. It'll also provide higher magnification/shorter working distance @150mm compared with an extension tube, which may or may not be what's wanted.

I'm thinking Raynox might be the way to go after doing a bit of research and seeing your awesome sample pics. I'm not too keen on continually removing the lens for extension tubes – it sounds like the close up lenses would be more functional for my shooting style and for the type of detail I'm looking to capture. Would you recommend starting with the 150 or 250?

It's definitely convenient being able to quickly add or detatch the Raynox as required, without needing to remove the lens each time.

I'd probably recommend starting with the DCR-150. The lower magnification and longer working distance of the less powerful diopter make it easier to use.

Just pointing the camera at a ruler to check the range of magnification, the DCR-150 provides roughly 0.2x (40mm) to 0.75x (150mm), while the DCR-250 increases magnification to around 1.3x at 150mm. Another way to look at it is that you could fill the frame with something roughly 23mm in size with the DCR-150 or 13-14mm in size with the DCR-250.

raenneb wrote:

Lichtspiel wrote:

raenneb wrote:

I'm thinking Raynox might be the way to go after doing a bit of research and seeing your awesome sample pics. I'm not too keen on continually removing the lens for extension tubes – it sounds like the close up lenses would be more functional for my shooting style and for the type of detail I'm looking to capture. Would you recommend starting with the 150 or 250?

To use with the 40-150 zoom, I would recommend the DCR-150, especially if you have not much prior experience with macro photography. At 150mm and minimum focusing distance, the magnification can be impressive.

In other words, if you want to take pictures of beetles, the 150 is good, if you want to take pictures of heads and behinds of beetles, go with the 250. Keep in mind that all the challenges of macro photos just increase as you go up in magnification.

While the Raynox comes with a clip-on adapter, consider purchasing a step down ring from your lens filter thread to 43mm (the Raynox diameter).

Can you explain what the step down ring is for?

It will allow you to screw the Raynox to your lens filter thread. Like I said, it comes with an adjustable clip-on adapter, which is good if you have a number of lenses with different diameters. But a simple step-down ring is smaller, easier, and provides a more secure attachment. Not really needed... just saying.