We’ve all tried Close-Up filters before and probably with disappointing results. To get good results in Macro Photography the best solution, and of course, the most expensive is to purchase a dedicated Macro Lens. These vary in price and quality from around £350 to over £1500.
However, a less expensive but equal in quality solution is the Raynox DCR 250 macro conversion lens. This is a 2 group/3 element lens which just clips onto the filter thread of any lens to enable high-quality 1:1 macro images to be made for a little extra cost. The Raynox 250 is currently around £90 but can be found second-hand quite cheaply.
It will fit lenses with filter threads from 52mm up to 67mm, which will account for most kit lenses. I’ve been using one for a while now and the results never fail to amaze me. The DCR 250 will easily fit in a jacket pocket so the photographer can travel light with just a kit lens camera and still be able to take superb macro shots without having to carry around an extra, and probably quite heavy, macro lens.
There are some drawbacks. On a zoom lens or wide angle lens, you can still get magnification but anything less the 50mm causes vignetting. Also, the working distance is somewhat closer than with a dedicated macro lens such as a 100mm
Here are a few results showing the gear set-up and some in-field results. I use a Canon R7 (APS-C) with an 18-150mm kit lens set at 70mm when the DCR 250 is clipped on the front. My normal settings for natural light shots are ISO AUTO, f8-f11, 1/500 sec. If using a diffused flash, and it must be diffused, I fix my settings to ISO 400, f8-f11, 1/250 (sync.) and set the flash to 70mm manual zoom and ETTL.
