Help a novice pleease

[bandit 1]

Hiya to whoever is game enough to listen to what may be a totally daft question!!! 1st this is my 1st attempt at posting also I'm a complete novice to photography, my main interest is Macro & super Macro, my camera is a Canon S2 IS which seems to be brill, it's the 1st camera I've had for about 40yrs. now in searching the net I found a comment about Macro & the person said that if you got a 50mm 1:1.8 Canon FD lens ??? & stuck it up against the lens of your camera, this can create the most amazing shots ?????? is there anybody out there that has heard of this technique & if so how in layman terms do you go about doing this please??
Many thanks to anyone thats got the time to waste answering me.
Cheers for now
Mark:lol:

[Omri Alon]

Hiya to whoever is game enough to listen to what may be a totally daft question!!! 1st this is my 1st attempt at posting also I'm a complete novice to photography, my main interest is Macro & super Macro, my camera is a Canon S2 IS which seems to be brill, it's the 1st camera I've had for about 40yrs. now in searching the net I found a comment about Macro & the person said that if you got a 50mm 1:1.8 Canon FD lens ??? & stuck it up against the lens of your camera, this can create the most amazing shots ?????? is there anybody out there that has heard of this technique & if so how in layman terms do you go about doing this please??
Many thanks to anyone thats got the time to waste answering me.
Cheers for now
Mark:lol:

You buy the lens. And put is backwards against you lens. This will give more magnification.

[dpastern]

Welcome to the macro forums bandit1, it's always good to have new members!

You have several options with your current setup.

1. Close up filters. Advantages are that they're usually cheap. Drawbacks are that image quality is affected. Better filters are better quality, but cost more, cheaper filters are usually poorer quality.

2. Get a 50mm lens and reverse it. This can be quite nifty I believe (I've never tried it). Go for a manual lens. I've heard good things about Pentax f1.4 50mm lenses. Most 50mm lenses will suffice I suspect. Make sure that the lens in question has a f stop ring, cos you'll want to set the f ratio to around f8 for best image quality. Now, you can do this two ways. Hand hold it against the lens of your digital camera, or try and find a step up/down ring filter, which would have one side of the filter having a thread that fits into the 50mm lens, and the other side fitting into your digital camera lens. The problem here is that most digital compacts don't have filter threads, so you can't really do this. If this is the case with your camera (sorry, I'm not familiar with it), then the handholding of the 50mm lens will have to do. Of course, trying to hold the camera, compose and focus and hold the 50mm is hard I suspect. It will take some practice.

Now, as a general rule, autofocus and macro don't mix. Most of us will focus manually. In fact, we'll set the lens in question to minimum focus distance and then rack our bodies back and forth until the subject's eyes are in sharp focus. Using a good f stop (f11 or f13) generally helps create a good DOF (Depth of field). The problem with your lens on your digital camera I suspect will be the inability to focus manually. Furthermore, I suspect you'll have limited control over the flash, which is pretty much essential for any macro shots in most cases.

Whistl you can take macro shots with your setup, a digital SLR will give you more freedom I truly believe. More importantly, you'll have greater flexibility. Of course, they cost more, are larger and heavier, and more complex.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[bandit 1]

Hiya Dave,
Many thanks for your help on this lens question of mine, looks like I'm going to have some fun doing this, as you said in your second paragraph "The problem here is that most digital compacts don't have filter threads, so you can't really do this. If this is the case with your camera (sorry, I'm not familiar with it), then the handholding of the 50mm lens will have to do. Of course, trying to hold the camera, compose and focus and hold the 50mm is hard I suspect. It will take some practice".
If only you knew!!! 25 yrs. ago I fell into a saw & chopped my right hand off, oopsy that was clumsy eh!!! anyway I'm going to give it a go so watch this space as they say but don't hold your breath though, I will post you some of the results as & when I get any ha ha. mind you I've yet got to learn how to upload pics to this site, I seem to be a novice at everything or maybe its just senility creeping in.
I must thank anyone else who has replied to my question.
All best to all
Mark:lol:

[mecdave]

Welcome to the group Mark. What you want for your S2 is a Canon 500D (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=87494&is=REG&addedTroughType=search) Close-up lens. To use it you will need an adapter from either Canon or Lensmate (http://www.lensmateonline.com/newsite/S2.html) (recommended). The 58mm size works great. For examples check out my S2 Bug Gallery (http://buggytexas.com/v-web/gallery/album11).

[bandit 1]

Hiya Dave, many thanks for your reply, kind of you, just had a quick look at your gallery, wow pretty damn impressive, love em keep it up, just now goin to look at Lensmate Etc.
Many thanks all best
Mark

[zacker]

read this and check out this guys set up..very thrifty.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/mimicry/discuss/66514/

-zacker-

[zacker]

bandit.. alot of guys will make a "connector out of plastic or cardboard to atta ch the 50MM to their camera... something big enough to slip over your lens and then small (or large) enough to slip the 50 into!
check out the set up in the link i provided you above!
-zacker-

[Action_Man]

He could try something similar to what i doo, which would be a lot less expensive ...

[mecdave]

bandit.. alot of guys will make a "connector out of plastic or cardboard to atta ch the 50MM to their camera... something big enough to slip over your lens and then small (or large) enough to slip the 50 into!
check out the set up in the link i provided you above!
-zacker-

We're talking about a Point & Shoot camera (S2IS) with a retractable lens. You don't want to be pushing tubes onto the lens or restricting the lens from retracting, say when the batteries run low, or you will likely strip the plastic gears that drive the lens.

[dpastern]

You're welcome.

As to the right hand issue, you'll be fine. The human body adapts pretty well, you'll find a way to take macro shots and get good at it. The best advice I can give is twofold:

1. Ask lots of questions. Never be afraid. Even silly questions.

2. Lots of practice. Digital is free, abuse it ;)

If you need help uploading images to the site, ask, and either myself, or others will help you. Senility, what's that? I've already forgotten what it is...I'm a year older now, had my birthday yesterday ;) I'm now a truly ancient 37. Yay me!

Cheers,

Dave

Hiya Dave,
Many thanks for your help on this lens question of mine, looks like I'm going to have some fun doing this, as you said in your second paragraph "The problem here is that most digital compacts don't have filter threads, so you can't really do this. If this is the case with your camera (sorry, I'm not familiar with it), then the handholding of the 50mm lens will have to do. Of course, trying to hold the camera, compose and focus and hold the 50mm is hard I suspect. It will take some practice".
If only you knew!!! 25 yrs. ago I fell into a saw & chopped my right hand off, oopsy that was clumsy eh!!! anyway I'm going to give it a go so watch this space as they say but don't hold your breath though, I will post you some of the results as & when I get any ha ha. mind you I've yet got to learn how to upload pics to this site, I seem to be a novice at everything or maybe its just senility creeping in.
I must thank anyone else who has replied to my question.
All best to all
Mark:lol:

[Bald Eagle]

Welcome to the Macroholics. be careful, this kind of work is very addictive. looking forward to seeing your pics.:D :D :D

[zacker]

We're talking about a Point & Shoot camera (S2IS) with a retractable lens. You don't want to be pushing tubes onto the lens or restricting the lens from retracting, say when the batteries run low, or you will likely strip the plastic gears that drive the lens.

True...didnt even think of that!.. I guess then if going this way, hell need to make something loose fitting to slip over the nes than attack it to the body, maybe hooks and rubber bands?
lol..
or invest and go DSLR? Hmmmm. Theres gotta be a way, does the s2is have any type of filter attachment like the pro1?
an adapter ring of sorts?
-zacker-

[bandit 1]

Hiya to all, hell what have I started eh, I've jus come back from a rain soaked long w'kend in the lake district, my secondhand 50mm 1:1.8 canon fd was waitin for me, eagerly I opened the package only to find the aperture fins jammed closed so out came the screwdriver ( oh no I ere someone cry ) & somehow I've managed to jam em open which is fine, mmmmmmm now to make some sorta lash up that may or may not work, thanks Zacker I didn't give any thought to the possibility of strippin out the gears you've probably save me shed loadsa cash with that suggestion cheers for that. maybe I should jus buy a one o those big posh 30d's plus lens on my credit card get divorced go live in the woods with jus ickle critters to photograph eh, na maybe not wife's to good to me jus ave to keep playing around with bits n bobs eh. off to my pit now as am totaly knackered.
cheers for now Mark

[mecdave]

True...didnt even think of that!.. I guess then if going this way, hell need to make something loose fitting to slip over the nes than attack it to the body, maybe hooks and rubber bands?
lol..
or invest and go DSLR? Hmmmm. Theres gotta be a way, does the s2is have any type of filter attachment like the pro1?
an adapter ring of sorts?
-zacker-

Yes, the Canon or Lensmate adapter I posted above is a bayonet style that attaches to the body and allows the camera lens to float freely within.

Bandit1, you can always get the Lensmate adapter and use a combination of step-down and reversing rings to attach your 50mm lens on backwards to shoot macro. I'm not real sure how well it will work on the S2IS so you might try a few shots just holding the 50mm lens close to the S2 lens (backwards of course) to see how it will work first.