Close focusing

[Dave]

I want to do some table-top close-up work with my 10x8 and am considering ways of increasing the magnification. Has anyone used supplementary magnifying lens, and if so with what result?

[wiesmier]

Yep, I did that the other day on the 13x18. Stacked up three close up lens - 1x; 2x; & 4x. Was close. Snap was a masterpiece. Nearly. Well, it would have been if it had worked.

[Sandeha Lynch]

More conservative, I tend to use one at a time. :)

But diopters are fine, and if you make your own (ripped out of old lenses) they can also be fun(ky).

[Maris]

I've used a 10+ dioptre 77mm close-up lens on my 300mm f5.6 Fujinon-W and the image on 8x10 is surprisingly usable. Why?

Corner image definition is "off" but I never put my main subject there anyway.

The lens is stopped way down, f90 sometimes, so aperture dependent aberrations are dramatically reduced.

The camera remains short so a lot of bend, sag, and wobble is avoided. Doing close-ups with a wooden field camera and maximum bellows extension (four feet) is a shaky exercise. And my arms are too short for me to see the ground glass and and adjust the lens aperture at the same time!

Downsides include lighting problems with a 100mm working distance. Everything tends to be dominated by the shadow of the camera itself. Plus the near to far perspective of subject elements tends to be a bit brutal.

Close-up table-top photography can degenerate into an exercise involving extreme camera movements and long exposures. It is good to have a high frustration threshold.

[DaveP]

I've used a Nikon 5T closeup diopter on a 150mm symmar-S to get closer using 6x7 on a camera with limited bellows. There were no effects in the shots to make you think there'd been any degredation in quality (can't comment on field curvature etc as I was shooting real 3D things no flat objects).

I'd use one (if you can get hold of one!) without hesitation. I've used the same filter on a nikon 100mm (35mm) and Mamiya 150mm (645) and got very sharp results.

[Trevor Crone]

I want to do some table-top close-up work with my 10x8 and am considering ways of increasing the magnification. Has anyone used supplementary magnifying lens, and if so with what result?

Have you considered 'top hat' extension lens panels? I don't know if these will get you close enough for what you're after.

[Martin Aislabie]

Have you considered 'top hat' extension lens panels? I don't know if these will get you close enough for what you're after.

Trevor is right, you can stack Top Hat extension tubes - they are 17mm or 35mm for each extension and come in Copal 0, 1 & 3 sizes.

Robert White only does the 0 & 1 size, so you would need to go to Badger or Mid-West.

I have my 210 mounted on a No1 Top Hat and having assembled the thing, its fine.

However, getting the thing assembled was a right royal PIA :(

I might go back and have another go at mine and try something like clear nail varnish on the threads - as a non-permanent Loctite.

Martin