how can i tell what Mag. X-factor im at...

[johnkermit1]

i have the canon S3, with the Raynox dcr 250 macro lens.
i would like to know what life size X-factor im getting
(first shot below is the full 72mm zoom range of my S3...i posted a crop of this shot before (jumper about 1/2 inch long)- the second is 28mm zoom) - not sure if this helps...

Can i take a picture of a scale or ruler at full zoom to find this out...
compared to the size of my sensor???

any help?

1. full zoom 72mm
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2554098122_0e8ed74073_b.jpg
2. 28mm zoom
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2548418730_e42e5a90ab_o.jpg

[notsotechie]

Accoring to the spec of your close up len is 2.5 time magnification.
so at 72 mm x 2.5 = 180 mm
it would probaly be 2.5 time the object at full zoom.

by the way very good capture well done.
justs a thought maybe some one can elborate more info.

Cheers

[johnkermit1]

thanks, still a lil fuzzy to me though...

[macro junkie]

that 1st shot is stunning..what fstop did u use?

[johnkermit1]

thanks! 8.0

on my p & s it is comparable to a higher number on your DSLR.

do you know how i can figure out my mag X facor MJ...is their an equation or can i take a shot of a metric scale, to see what magnification im getting?

[macro junkie]

thanks! 8.0

on my p & s it is comparable to a higher number on your DSLR.

do you know how i can figure out my mag X facor MJ...is their an equation or can i take a shot of a metric scale, to see what magnification im getting?
god knows..all i can do is take pics all the info and stuff like that baffles me..im sure brian will be by soon..he wil know..

[LordV]

JK1 just take a pic of the mm scale of a ruler at minimum focus ie max magnification then mag factor= sensor width (7.2mm ?)/mm across pic. This is the lens magnification ie similar to the quoted ratios 1:1, 2:1 etc. However with your camera the "print magnification" will be about 3 X higher because you have to blow the shot up more to reach the same print size as a 1,6 crop DSLR

[canonloader]

Fantastic shots John. I tell ya, when I look at these, the last thing on my mind is "I wonder the magnification factor is?" ;)

[nwa2]

Great shots friend ....

Get a hold of "Closeups in Nature" by John Shaw. Great resource for macro photography. Very good on the technical "how much magnification do I have / need?" type of question. Not a word on digital cameras as it was written in 1987, but the techniques have not changed.

I have made some experimentation for my camera and lens combinations using rulers etc... it was a very useful exercise to understand magnification with respect to your camera. John Shaw's book does explain the mechanics but it is simplest to experiment as modern lenses can move lens elements in ways that you are unaware and which effects magnification.

Another trick I used was to cut a hole in an A4 sheet of paper the same size as my camera sensor (AP-C), I then used this as a frame to get an idea of what a 1:1 ratio on the sensor would look like.

[johnkermit1]

god knows..all i can do is take pics all the info and stuff like that baffles me..im sure brian will be by soon..he wil know..

yep...me too. thanks

JK1 just take a pic of the mm scale of a ruler at minimum focus ie max magnification then mag factor= sensor width (7.2mm ?)/mm across pic. This is the lens magnification ie similar to the quoted ratios 1:1, 2:1 etc. However with your camera the "print magnification" will be about 3 X higher because you have to blow the shot up more to reach the same print size as a 1,6 crop DSLR

thanks Brian. ill double check the sensor width in the manual. and ill try out that experiment.

Fantastic shots John. I tell ya, when I look at these, the last thing on my mind is "I wonder the magnification factor is?" ;)

thanks :cool:
Great shots friend ....

Get a hold of "Closeups in Nature" by John Shaw. Great resource for macro photography. Very good on the technical "how much magnification do I have / need?" type of question. Not a word on digital cameras as it was written in 1987, but the techniques have not changed.

I have made some experimentation for my camera and lens combinations using rulers etc... it was a very useful exercise to understand magnification with respect to your camera. John Shaw's book does explain the mechanics but it is simplest to experiment as modern lenses can move lens elements in ways that you are unaware and which effects magnification.

Another trick I used was to cut a hole in an A4 sheet of paper the same size as my camera sensor (AP-C), I then used this as a frame to get an idea of what a 1:1 ratio on the sensor would look like.

thanks! i will have to research that.

[johnkermit1]

ok...for anyone still able to help me out here..i think i got the info i need.
my sensor width is 5.76mm (seems smaller than i imagined...)
and i took this shot at full magnification (72mm)
roughly 11mm across (so 2:1 about? )
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2738550422_cdf2b24040.jpg

please let me know if i got this right anybody??

and this shot at half zoom (35mm)
roughly 18mm across...i dont know if this shot helps..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/2738551526_a20360672b.jpg

[orionmystery]

ok...for anyone still able to help me out here..i think i got the info i need.
my sensor width is 5.76mm (seems smaller than i imagined...)
and i took this shot at full magnification (72mm)
roughly 11mm across (so 2:1 about? )
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2738550422_cdf2b24040.jpg

please let me know if i got this right anybody??

and this shot at half zoom (35mm)
roughly 18mm across...i dont know if this shot helps..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/2738551526_a20360672b.jpg

I think it's the other way round, John. Should be 1:2 (1.91 actually) and 1:3.125.

If it's 1:1, then you should see 5.76mm in the frame. If it's 2:1, you should see 5.76/2 = 2.88mm in the frame.....

That's the way it works for slr...not entirely sure about P&S though :D

[johnkermit1]

ok..i must have got it goofed up...lol
so im not really getting even 1:1 magnification?

so, the MPE shoots 5:1 at highest mag, and i thought i was shooting at least 1:1...
oh well, i guess im still happy with the detail that i do get.

[orionmystery]

ok..i must have got it goofed up...lol
so im not really getting even 1:1 magnification?

so, the MPE shoots 5:1 at highest mag, and i thought i was shooting at least 1:1...
oh well, i guess im still happy with the detail that i do get.

You're using DCR250 right? Try MSN202 or CM3500.

DCR250 is only 8X diopter. MSN202 is 25X, CM3500 has 3 lenses: 6, 12 and 24 diopters respectively. If i remember correctly.

[johnkermit1]

yep dcr 250
oh wow.. i think i had my eye on that msn 202.... i think one oneof our members used it for some Springtail shots. wuite impressive lens there...

i have never heard of the cm3500, so its a set of three..nice.

well, i guess i can try out that msn 202, perhaps, and then see what the x-factor is then.

thanks again Kurt. :-)

[kalafati]

Love your jumper pictures. We don't have such colorful ones here in the northeast.

I also use a S3IS and was confused about magnification. Glad you asked and got an answer.

[johnkermit1]

cool. thanks. i never saw one like this one, til i was in the woods working. so you never know!!

[sebastianr]

Why care if you shoot 1:1 or not, its not comparable to DSLRs anyway.
I have a DCR-250 too on a S3 and I capture 10mm wide. Thats much "closer" than a DSLR at 1:1 that only captures like 25mm or so.

That first spider shot is amazing, it doesn't feel my camera would be capable of that but we have the same stuff so....maybe just perfect lighting and a lot of editing afterwards or? It looks so incredibly clean.

By the way, how come you talke about 28mm and stuff? The S3 goes from 35-432mm, in 35mm-speak. In real focallengths its 6.0-72

Anyway, I have a DCR-150 too, its almost better than the 250 one since you can shoot a bit larger stuff like butterflies and such....the 250 is so damn powerful its often useless.

EDIT: Heres a jumper from me, full mag but a little bit cropped, so this one is probably quite a bit smaller than the cool one you found.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=426283

[johnkermit1]

Why care if you shoot 1:1 or not, its not comparable to DSLRs anyway.
I have a DCR-250 too on a S3 and I capture 10mm wide. Thats much "closer" than a DSLR at 1:1 that only captures like 25mm or so.

That first spider shot is amazing, it doesn't feel my camera would be capable of that but we have the same stuff so....maybe just perfect lighting and a lot of editing afterwards or? It looks so incredibly clean.

By the way, how come you talke about 28mm and stuff? The S3 goes from 35-432mm, in 35mm-speak. In real focallengths its 6.0-72

Anyway, I have a DCR-150 too, its almost better than the 250 one since you can shoot a bit larger stuff like butterflies and such....the 250 is so damn powerful its often useless.

EDIT: Heres a jumper from me, full mag but a little bit cropped, so this one is probably quite a bit smaller than the cool one you found.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=426283

ok. i guess it doesnt really matter (about x-factor)...i was just curious for a while..

and the spider shot is a full frame, just resized shot..
and the editing here. is probably a lil level adjust, and neat image for noise reducing, and slight sharpening.

ill post the original of the same shot here (not much difference)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2738077595_17494b8b15_o.jpg

and as far as the mm increments (28mm) . . :oops: i was a bit confused about all that (still am sometimes . . LOL)

i like the shot you took. well done.

[sebastianr]

Ok. Its a real nice shot, very clean looking and sharp.

[johnkermit1]

thanks. yep the S3, for what it is does some good shots for me.
this one in particular was shot in AV mode...(now i tend to use only M mode 1/200 f8 (since the DOF is so thin,...and every now and then ill bump it down to like 6.3 or something...) . . anyway, in AV mode, it almost always chooses 1/60 for the shutter, so a lot of shots wont look so crisp if handheld, but this on i used my elbows as a tripod , and laid in the leaf litter with the spider, and the chiggers . . (worst case in a while...lol)
but i usual now a days get decent crisp shots with M mode, even standing up handheld...etc.

[LordV]

The discussion is a good example of lens magnification vs print magnification from different sensor size cameras.
A P&S camera at 0.3:1 will give the same print magnification (at the same print size) as a 1.6 crop camera at 1:1 and both will give a greater print magnification than a FF camera at 1:1.

Brian V.

[johnkermit1]

i see. :-) i have learned a lot from this thread. thanks for all the help here folks!