Posts Tagged ‘SLT’

Diopter or close-up lenses are a good way to add macro / close-up ability to your current photography gear. They work by screwing or clipping on to the front of your camera's lens, and decrease the minimum focusing distance. This allows you to move your camera closer to the subject, and achieve higher magnification photos.

Livin' on the edge by Fountain_Head on flickr (licensed CC-BY)

These close-up lenses work with all cameras where the lens has a filter thread. So they will work with virtually all interchangeable lens camera lenses, and most bridge and advanced compact cameras that have built-in lenses. With some cameras that have an integrated lens, you may need to purchase an accessory tube that attaches to the lens to provide a filter thread that the close-up lens can then be screwed into.

Continuing our look at different methods for capturing macro and close-up photographs, in this article I want to look at extension tubes and bellows. Both of these methods are only applicable for cameras with interchangeable lenses, as they sit between the lens and the camera.

They both work the same way, by extending the lens away from the camera body, the minimum focusing distance of the lens decreases. You can then get closer to your subject, and get some great macro photos.

Emerge by aussiegall on flickr (licensed CC-BY)

If you have an interchangeable lens camera, you can purchase a macro lens for your camera. A macro lens allows you to focus much closer (and so obtain greater magnification) than a standard lens.

Thorny Pettle by the_tahoe_guy on flickr (licensed CC-BY)

This article is part of a series on the various different types of cameras available today.

DSLRs

DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex. The 'Single Lens' part of the name refers to the fact that the viewfinder looks through the same lens that is used to take the photo (as opposed to a TLR).

The 'Reflex' part of the name meanwhile, refers to the mirror that is used to reflect the light up into the camera's viewfinder. (Actually, the light is reflected up into a pentaprism, which then reflects the light into the viewfinder - the pentaprism is what causes the viewfinder hump on DSLR bodies).

Normally the mirror is in front of the camera's sensor, but when you press the shutter button the mirror flips up out of the way, so that the sensor can be exposed. When this happens, no light can be reflected into the viewfinder, which is known as viewfinder blackout.