[ovrexposed]

Got a new K-r over the holidays and Im very excited getting involved with digital photography. Im interested in optaining a closeup lens to assist my 55-300mm telephoto lens into a "cheap macro lens". Ive purchase some Pro Digital Hoya uv lens filters for my 2 lenses and thought I would stay with the Hoya brand and currently Im thinking about the Hoya 58 mm +5 Diopter 2- element multi coated closeup lens. They sell +3 or +4 and +5 diopter which Im not sure what the differences are. Somewhere down the road I will add a true macro lens. A book Im currently reading Scott Kelby's " The Digital Photography" volume one suggests the Canon 500D.

Any imput on closeup lenses ?

[jolepp]

Welcome!

The Raynox 150 + 55-300 combination enjoys a good reputation here so I'd look into that too. In general the diopter is 1/<focal length in meters> and magnification with close up lenses is <focal length of close-up> / <focal length of the lens>, so e.g. a +5 (1/5m = 200mm) would give 1x magnification with the 55-300 set @200mm and 1.5x @300mm.

[newarts]

As jolepp says, you want about a +5 diopter lens for the 55-300.

The Raynox DCR 150 is +4.8 diopters and is excellent in combination with that lens. It is inexpensive at about $50US (delivered).

I've little doubt the Canon & Hoya lenses would also be good.

[Deimos]

The raynox is great. I used a 150 with the Tamron 90 Macro, it was fantastic

[audiobomber]

The Raynox 150 is terrific on the 55-300mm. Just set the lens for infinity focus and use the zoom to go from about 1:2 macro all the way to 1.4:1. You won't notice any significant difference in quality with the Raynox mounted vs the lens by itself. I would stay away from simple close-up lenses. The photos I've seen with simple macro lenses have exhibited excessive purple fringing and a loss of sharpness.

Achromats are a step up in quality compared to simple macro lenses, for a similar price. The Raynox is a multi-element lens with achromatic correction, as is the Canon 500D. The 58mm Canon will screw directly onto the 55-300, the Raynox comes with an adapter that fits any lens from 52-67mm filter size. Or you can screw the Raynox out of its adapter and mount it in a stepped ring, so it screws into the filter threads. I can't find a spec just now, but I believe the Raynox 150 has slightly higher magnification than the Canon.

Check out this thread:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/74221-raynox-macro-club.html

[Ira]

That Canon lens isn't going to fit on your K-r.

Also, 95% of us here don't use UV filters--they're not necessary for digital and can degrade image quality. But 95% of us DO use Circular Polarizing filters, which dramatically increase color saturation and darken and add contrast to boring skies.

Finally, those Raynox close-up filters get very high marks here!

[audiobomber]

That Canon lens isn't going to fit on your K-r.

The Canon 500D is not a lens, it's a close-up adaptor like the Raynox 150, except that it's more expensive and less versatile than the Raynox.

[WerTicus]

best and cheapest macro setup would be some old and cheap pentax 'm' lens that has an aperture ring + some cheap ebay extension tubes. the lens does not need to be faster than f4 all that is required is the aperture ring.

[Ira]

The Canon 500D is not a lens, it's a close-up adaptor like the Raynox 150, except that it's more expensive and less versatile than the Raynox.

Oh---THANKS!

[RioRico]

Suggestions:

* Sell the UV filters. A clear optical glass filter to fit your largest-diameter lens, and a step-up ring to mount it on a smaller lens, will be useful if you're shooting in environments of blowing sand & salt & hail, splattering mud & blood & beer, demon-possessed spewers, etc. Otherwise UV and Skylight filters are useless on dSLRs.

* Cheap +dioptre filter-type lenses are... cheap & easy & cheap. Did I mention cheap? They have their place. I use them. But not where image quality is critical. The Raynox DCR-250 is the most highly-regarded close-up strap-on, and for good reason. It is the easiest way for you to get into close-up and macro photography. One advantage: all your lens automation (focus and aperture) still work. This can be important if you use flash.

* If the macro bug devours you and you lust for more but haven't the budget for a new auto macro beauty, take heart: Cheap great lenses and tools abound! But flash is trickier, so you must work on controlled lighting. The bargains: extension (bellows and tubes) and enlarger lenses, which give flatfield edge-to-edge sharpness. For extension, you can use tubes alone, but bellows give more flexibility, and tubes+bellows allow using longer lenses, both for macro and non-macro work. For enlarger lenses, shorter (in the 35-75mm range) let you work close, and longer (90-200mm) allow/force you to work further away.

Many other macro techniques and tools exist. Search the MACRO threads here for much much info.