I've had several people post comments on some of my pictures that they would love to have a macro, but it's not in the budget at the moment. I use Macro or Close up rings and they are SO CHEAP and inexpensive! Now, it's not as good as a macro lens itself, but it is pretty darn rewarding if the macro lens is not in your budget at the moment.
I use the close up rings on my 50mm nifty fifty. You can buy a set or buy them individually. Here is a set similar to what I have and you can't beat it for $20!
These are so much fun to play with. They are a little bit hard to get used to, as you need to manual focus (and I'm a bit lazy and I hand hold instead of tripod) so mine are not as tack sharp as they could be. You need to have your aperture set to at least 5.6 and above to around 10 or so, because the rings really narrow the field of view.
But these are so much fun to play with and well worth the $20 investment. It will give you an idea if Macro is for you and you can then decide to take the plunge into which macro lens you want (I'm currently gunning for the 100mm macro)
I use a Raynox macro converter, it clips onto your lens and works really well.
You can check it out here... http://raynox.co.jp/english/dcr/dcr250/indexdcr250eg.htm
I've been thinking about getting some tubes for my 50. I'd love to have them for the spring when I can get outside!
Right now, I'm using a reverse macro ring. Mounts your lens upside down on your camera. There's no info, no aperture and focusing is tricky but it's better than spending $600!!
@jdonnelly - very nice and super sharp! I'm going to google that and have a look! Thanks!
@mistyhammond - google macro rings or close up rings for pentax and I'm sure there are a bunch of options. Make sure you google it for whichever lens you are going to use. They seem to work best on prime lenses (like 50mm, 85mm, etc) but take a look and read some reviewers on the pentax stuff. I am sure there is stuff out there available for it.
@shutterbugger - those are fantastic! So sharp, clear, crips and really close in! Love them!
@debsphotos - Debbie - check the price first at the store. I bought mine at the local photo store because I wanted instant gratification and I paid $50 for mine and then looked them up when I got home and they were only $20 online. The local store I buy from though, really JACKS their prices up on a lot of the smaller accessories.
@jdonnelly Was just reading this tread and you commented about the raynox can you please tell me if you can use the full manual functions of the camera when using eg aperture and shutter speed and is dof limited thanks in advance
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You can check it out here... http://raynox.co.jp/english/dcr/dcr250/indexdcr250eg.htm
I've been thinking about getting some tubes for my 50. I'd love to have them for the spring when I can get outside!
Right now, I'm using a reverse macro ring. Mounts your lens upside down on your camera. There's no info, no aperture and focusing is tricky but it's better than spending $600!!
@mistyhammond - google macro rings or close up rings for pentax and I'm sure there are a bunch of options. Make sure you google it for whichever lens you are going to use. They seem to work best on prime lenses (like 50mm, 85mm, etc) but take a look and read some reviewers on the pentax stuff. I am sure there is stuff out there available for it.
@shutterbugger - those are fantastic! So sharp, clear, crips and really close in! Love them!
@debsphotos - Debbie - check the price first at the store. I bought mine at the local photo store because I wanted instant gratification and I paid $50 for mine and then looked them up when I got home and they were only $20 online. The local store I buy from though, really JACKS their prices up on a lot of the smaller accessories.