Digital Focus: Take Great Close-Ups

Learn all about the macro filters that make this possible.

Dave Johnson

Feature: Getting Up Close With Macro Filters

Based on the photos I get each week as Hot Pic of the Week candidates--grasshoppers, ants, bees, and dew droplets on leaves--Digital Focus readers are big fans of the Tulip icon on many digital cameras, which activates the macro mode. And the macro mode built into your digital camera is certainly a nice start for taking close-up pictures. But if you yearn for greater magnification than your camera is capable of providing, there's only one answer: using add-on lenses.

Many digital cameras are designed to accommodate additional lenses and filters. Of course, SLR-style digital cameras with interchangeable lenses are ideal for this sort of thing. Cameras like the Nikon D100 accept all of the traditional 35mm lenses in the Nikon family, and the Canon D60 works with a whole slew of Canon lenses. Many of these lenses have macro modes that allow you to get excellent magnification.

But what if you're not using one of those cameras?

Adding Macro Filters

Many point-and-shoot digital cameras accept add-on lenses and filters as well. These lenses snap or screw on to the front of your camera's built-in lens. Manufacturers often sell add-on lenses for their own models. Your camera may have standard threads on the front of its lens--if it does, you can visit your local camera shop or search online for filters and lenses that fit.

First, check out the camera manufacturer's Web site for compatible accessories, including lenses and filters. Then visit Tiffen, and also go to Digital Distributors.com to check out Raynox products. Tiffen is the largest manufacturer of add-on lenses for digital cameras, and it's likely to have something for your camera; Raynox has a variety of macro filters as well. Finally, check out Camera Depot. This online store offers a great selection of common lenses and filters, and it ships promptly.

Macro filters are described by the word diopter, which indicates how powerful they are. Diopter is an indirect measure of focal length; it tells you both how close you can get to the subject and what relative magnification the lens provides. Close-up lenses typically come in a variety of strengths, from +1 to +10--the larger the number, the higher the magnification.

Macro filters come in a variety of thread sizes that fit many digital cameras. I got a set of four for about $40 from Camera Depot. Such filters are usually made from a single element of glass and are threaded to screw onto the front of the camera lens, an adapter, or even each other.

Combining Filters

That's right: You can combine close-up lenses by threading them together. Adding a +1 lens to a +2 lens, for instance, yields a more impressive +3 magnification. For that reason, I suggest getting close-up lenses as a set instead of one at a time. That way, you can combine them to get the magnification you need for a given picture.

For example, I took some macro photos with my Olympus e20n that show the effects of four different magnifications: first I tried the camera's built-in macro capability; then I used various combinations of macro filters that result in diopter settings of +1, +3, and +5. Notice that careful focusing is critical with macro filters, since the depth of field drops to virtually nothing at these magnification levels. But if you need to photograph dust mites, you're in business.

When combining close-up lenses, put the highest magnification on first, closest to the camera lens. That way, you can remove them in smaller increments to achieve just the right magnification. Equipped with close-up lenses, you can get so close to your subject that you can capture the antennae on an ant or the surface imperfections on a coin. It's a whole new world down there; grab some macro filters and check it out!

Dave's Favorites: Underwater Digital Photography Web Site

As an avid scuba diver, I love underwater photography. Digital cameras have replaced film cameras in the undersea realm for the same reasons that they're so popular on land: ease of use, the ability to instantly review your shots, and the lack of film. If you're a diver, you can probably use your existing digital camera underwater; all you need is a waterproof housing.

If you've ever wanted to see what a simple digital camera can do underwater, check out RnRscuba.net. This outstanding Web site--maintained by an assistant scuba instructor and his wife (she's the underwater photographer in the family)--has a great collection of photos and multimedia slideshows from locations like Cozumel, Key Largo, and Blue Hole, New Mexico (a dive site that I frequent myself). Even if you're not a diver, check out this Web site--it might lure you into the world of scuba and underwater photography!

Q&A: How Can I Animate Still Photos?

Is there a way to make an animation as you pan around a digital picture? Ken Burns uses this technique often in his documentaries; he takes an old photograph of a group of people and brings it to life by focusing on one individual at a time as he pans across the photograph.

--David Loewenstein, Forest Hill, Maryland

That's a great question, David. It's a technique I've wanted to add to my own tool kit. Thankfully, I recently found a way to do it. A program called Imaginate, from Canopus, delivers exactly this effect. This $200 program (actually, I found it for about $150 at PCWorld.com's Product Finder) lets you move around inside static images--a favorite tool of documentarians like Ken Burns. I've searched extensively, but haven't found a good way to do it with standard image editors or other less-expensive tools. If you want to make a movie that includes a pan around a digital photo, it looks like Imaginate might be the best way to do it.

Hot Pic of the Week

Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality and technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize valued at between $15 and $50.

Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering, please read the full description of the contest rules and regulations.

This week's Hot Pic: "Chloe's Day Out," by Mary Jo Belongia, Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Mary Jo says: "I used an Olympus C-4000 Zoom to take 'Chloe's Day Out.' This is my daughter's mouse, Chloe. We put her in my daughter's American Girl's Diner, which looked to be just about the right size for Chloe. I like the reflection on the faux window in the background and also on the vinyl seats and chrome counter--it has the look of a real diner. Chloe seems to be looking up at me from reading the paper while enjoying a sundae."

We want your feedback! Send your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself to comments@bydavejohnson.com. If you have a question that you'd like to see answered in the weekly Q&A, send it to question@bydavejohnson.com.

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