Veteran Member Registered: September, 2018 Posts: 307 | Review Date: November 9, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Convenient, great for focusing on hard to distinguish subjects | Cons: | No eye-cup, no adapters for models following KM... | | I uses these on many of my cameras. I purchased this one new in the box for my Spotmatics and K1000 and KM. They make focusing on small, indistinguishable items much easier. While a little fidgety to adjust, it’s not too bad.
I use this one for macro work and also find it useful for distance work on my 300mm f4. Like other said here, a tripod makes it much easier, but I am also able to use free-hand.
Would I recommend it? Sure, for $15 no hesitation which is why I’d go as high as a 9.
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Loyal Site Supportaxian Registered: September, 2013 Location: Texas Posts: 503 | Review Date: March 5, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | Size, Cost, good optics | Cons: | Hinge a little loose, Needs a bigger Eyecup for safety. | | This review is for the original (Spotmatic) version.
Small, handy, good quality optics. Could use a little stiffer hinge. (My copy was new in box, so the hinge was not loose due to wear.)
Of note is that this will also (mostly) fit onto Canon EOS. They slip on and will stay firmly attached, but they only slide about 80% of the way down. Still, it lines up well enough for center focusing so it's enough to be usable.
I have a safety concern with using this in that the eyepiece is quite small, and if you trip or get sloppy with your camera holding, you can poke yourself in the eye with a lot of force. For peace of mind I put a bigger eyecup on to help avoid any accidents.
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Veteran Member Registered: February, 2008 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 4,461 | Review Date: July 12, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Simple, easy to use | Cons: | None | | I have the Magnifier M which was designed for use on the M series cameras. Very handy for macro work where precision focus is essential. It conveniently flips out of the way or is easily removed when not needed. It provides 2x magnification on the center part of the view screen. As Phil notes above it works best on a tripod. There is some small provision for adjustment but nothing like the + or – 4 dioptres on the Refconverter II. A useful little focusing device for those devoted to macro work.
Tom G
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Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,092 | Review Date: June 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $31.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Inexpensive and simple design. Well built. | Cons: | Only 2x magnification. | | An essential accessory for macro work, this magnifier fits over the viewfinder eyepiece on any “K” series film body. (As well as late model screw-mount body) It features 2x magnification and flips up out of the way when not in use without having to remove it from the eyepiece.
Not much to review here as this is a pretty simple item that does a good job when you need help focusing with high magnification rates and shallow DOF in macro work. Works best when the camera is mounted on a tripod, bellows unit, slide rail or copy stand and you are photographing still objects. It’s too hard to use with a hand held camera or on gently moving flowers outdoors. A higher adjustable magnification rate would have been nice.
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