DIY Thrifty Macro Lens

As I was browsing¹ a closeout deals chain store last week, I stumbled upon a set of magnifying glasses while looking for some bargain rate notebooks. When I saw them I remembered this tutorial I had read a few days before. While I wasn’t specifically looking to make this project, I took advantage of my find and spent all of two dollars on 2 sets of 2 magnifiers. Let me just say this now, I am very fond of macro photography. Before I purchased my first *real* camera, I had a point and shoot with a jinky little flower button which would allow you to take macro/close-up shots. Until now, this is the only experience I had with macro but I still loved to get up close to photograph flowers, bugs, etc. and when I found this tutorial I was really looking forward to trying this out sometime to see how it worked. My father gave me a Sigma APO MACRO 180mm 1:2.8 lens but unfortunately it does not work with my modern DSLR and cannot be re-chipped. So until I can fully use that lens when I eventually enroll in a film photography class, I am willing to try what I can to get some understanding of macro photography.

The tutorial points out all you need to take an occasional macro shot with a DSLR is to combine two magnifying pieces of glass. While I will someday purchase a dedicated macro lens this will do for now so I can get some practice. The pack came with two different strengths/sizes. The larger magnifier ended up being the perfect size to match my 58 mm lens width. I gave the two smaller magnifiers to the kids to add to their bug hunting kit.  A little tape kept the two magnifiers together but it was a pain to hold the magnifier up to the lens and keep it straight while trying to compose and take a shot. So I decided to use an extra UV/haze filter that my dad gave me to make a “lens” I could actually attach to the camera. Many thanks to Brian for cutting the handles off with his dremel.

I must say it works marvelously well especially since it was so inexpensive to make and it is surprisingly quite good enough for me to use to gain enough experience to warrant the purchase of a real macro lens. I have had a lot of fun using this new “lens”. I adore macro photography even more now and have used this lens almost every day this week as the current Digital Photography School assignment is “Bubbles” where they specifically mention experimenting with macro. I was fine being relegated to trying some macro shots with my dads older canon powershot but am really happy to be able to practice with this new “lens”. These first shots are not quite as sharp as I would like but these are just initial tests. I need to get more accustomed to this type of photography and with more experimentation, I am sure I can get future photos to turn out better as I polish this skill.

This is definitely something I recommend trying if you cannot afford to buy a real macro lens, just want something to try out macro photography or don’t want to invest in a real lens if you only take occasional macro shots. Having made some DIY lightboxes recently, it is really satisfying being able to make something so simple to help yourself make a better photograph.

1. with my son, while daughter was at P.E. class [↩]

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