Originally posted by GerryL I have the Raynox DCR-250 too and it is great. You have to shell out around $50-$60 I think for it and not $10 as YJD suggested..
I think he was saying it's only $10 *more* than the DCR-150. Actually, the prices are often identical.
Anyhow, I also concur with the suggestion to use one of these. I bought the 150 for the greater workign distance and have never regretted it. It's also over 1:1 magnification with my DA50-200, and I can of course always crop to get more if I really feel like it. I would not be willing to give up a few inches of working distance just to get more magnification. If it were *optional*, that would be one thing. but the Raynox adapters basically *force* you into one particular working distance, and I'll take 7-8" over 4-5" any day. Might not sound like a big deal, but it really is.
As for the clip on adapter, I actually don't like it and stopped using it a few months ago. It makes the Raynox bulky enugh that I wasn't taking it with me often, plus it can be difficult to get it centered over the lens. So I bought a 43-49 filter adapter on Ebay that I leave permanently attached to the Raynox so it can screw on to my primes. Takes up much less space in my bag, and is only maybe a second or two slower to put on or take off.
BTW, I've never used the macro setting on the dial. I imagine it closes down the aperture for more DOF, maybe increases JPEG sharpness too? No idea; I've never used it. But certainly, when shooting macro, you do normally need to stop way down to get decent DOF, and you are likely to want to apply more sharpening than usual. AF is close to useless in macro photography - DOF is shallow and it's difficult to get the system to focus where you want. Generally, you focus by simply moving forward or backward a millimeter at a time.