Canon250D 58mm Close-up Lens for A700, A710IS, G1, G2, G3, G5, G6 & EOS SLR Cameras

I bought a 58mm Canon 250D close up filter for the Canon 55-250mm IS lens and now I have a fantastic macro lens, that is capable of doing 1:1 macro with a working distance of 25cm (~10")! The 250D is roughly 1/7 th the price of the closest 1:1 macro lens with the same working distance - the tamron 180mm 1:1 macro. Even though the 250D is optically optimized for lens up to 135mm focal length, the results are fantastic handheld up to 200mm on this lens. Using 250mm (when you get a bit higher than 1:1) is a little bit of work, but gets decent results (with mirror lockup + tripod + f/25). No horrible color fringing that happens with cheap closeup filters on the market (like the Opteka +1,+2,+4, and +10 close up filters). I haven't used a true 1:1 macro lens, which I suspect will definitely be better quality-wise, but the combination of a canon 55-250mm IS + canon 250d for a telephoto + 1:1 macro + IS under 400$ is a true bargain along the lines of the 50mm f/1.8 for Canon crop DSLRs.

This is probably the most expensive close-up diopter on the market (well... this and the 500D and these come in two diameters.)If you want to do close-up photography with a DSLR, the ideal solution is to own a true "macro" lens with 1:1 scale macro capabilities. Those are expensive and tend to run around $400 and go up from there. You can also use "extension tubes" which are fairly inexpensive.But if you can't swap lenses because you own a camera with a permanent lens, a close-up diopter is a great solution (and pretty much the only solution.)There are far less expensive close-up diopters but they are single-element diopters. The edges of a single-element diopter will tend to split light so that it starts to separate into a "rainbow" spectrum. It's usually not obvious but if you inspect the images around the edges you'll notice objects tend to have blue and red "fringing" (one edge will be blue, the opposite edge will be red.) This is the color spectrum starting to separate because the glass is working like a prism.This close-up diopter uses an achromatic "doublet" configuration which uses two glass elements stacked instead of one. The first element allows of the close focusing distance (but starts to have "fringing" problems near the edges of the image frame) and the second element corrects the fringing caused by the first element. The result is a nice tack-sharp close-up diopter free of color fringing (chromatic aberration) problems.So yes... it's more expensive than the cheap adapters... but the image quality difference is worth the difference in price.

This is the official close-up lens from Canon. It will allow you to focus closer (much like a macro) with your 58mm diameter lens such as the 50mm F/1.4 and can be used on G-series compact cameras (with an adapter)On the f/1.4 it allows you to get much closer focus than without it. It is NOT a macro lens, it basically just allows you to focus closer.On the G1X and G15 I tried it on, both of the cameras had problems in auto-focus adapting to having this on the front of them. I got better results without the adapter and just using the built in Macro mode.3 stars due to the price. Many of the "off-brand" macro or close up lenses will work just as well unless you are going to be using it all the time.

A good basic closeup lense.

I love these close up lens'. Perfect for the stock 18-55 mm APSC lens. I have one, and now I purchased one for my mother. The price is right, better than for a dedicated Macro lens (which would cost hundreds more). Quality is excellent for what I need, can go to 10x8 with no probs. This dual Lens is far better than a single lens. Next I am going to try it on my Sony Video cam.

I bought the 250D lens to use with my Sony DSC-F717 and it is just wonderful. I can also use it with my Canon G3 because I bought a Canon LADC58B Conversion Lens Adapter (which is required and is inexpensive).I had been hearing a lot of good things about this lens in digital photography forums and I have seen many wonderful examples of its use.I recommend this lens to anyone who wants to make their "macro" photography shine. Get one!Just be clear that there is the 52mm and the 58mm and don't be confused as to which one will fit your camera.Edit:Just a clarification:This one 'is' the "58mm" even though above (on this page) when you click the links "See More Technical Details" and "See all Product Description" it mentions "52mm". This is misleading and confusing. At the very very top of this page it says "58mm". Let me just assure you that this particular one 'is' the "58mm" and 'is not' the "52mm".late edit (Aug 04, 06):Well, it looks as if Amazon finally corrected that misleading info I mentioned just above in my clarification.

Don't let the name of this fool you - I use it on my dSLR lenses and find it so much more efficient to carry than a separate macro lens. In fact, with a telephoto lens of 200mm or longer, you may prefer it to a 100mm macro for the narrow viewing angle and added working distance.Since I typically stop down to an f/8 or smaller for macro pictures, I don't notice any vignetting on my longer lenses, even when I need a step-down adapter to mount this on them. (I have a 60-250mm lens that takes a 67mm filter - when I use a cheap 67-58 adapter to mount this, it makes an absolutely wonderful lens for insects and flowers alike.)

This lense is perfect for macros and I am able to great some photos as opposed to amateur pics from my cell phone with a cheap macro lens snapped on.