Botanical Photography-6 
Botanical Photography-6
Teleconverters
are magnifying lenses which fit behind the primary
lens. They come as either 2X or 3X. These are a little more cumbersome to use in the field because you need to take off your lens, put the teleconverter onto the camera and reattach your lens. They diminish the amount of light that reaches the film and this makes it harder to focus on the subject through the view port. This can be a real problem for close-ups when there is dim light. However, they increase the working distance between the front of the camera and the subject. This can be very good in tight situations. I have used both magnifications with success. The 2X version is more common. A 2X teleconverter makes my 1:2 macro a 1:1 macro, just like the +5 diopter! These probably cost $50. |
Tell me oh great one, can the teleconverter and the diopter by used simultaneously?????? Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is how you take pictures of moss capsules in the rain! However, you really need to use a flash for this or use artificial illumination! |
| Extension
Tubes are hollow tubes which simply position the lens further and further
from the film. Imagine that you focused a slide projector on a screen from 1 foot away, then moved the projector 10 feet away. The latter image would be enormous compared to the former. This is exactly what extension tubes do. They are good because they have nothing to absorb light. They do not greatly diminish the amount of light that reaches the film and produce no distortions. They are cumbersome and must be used like the teleconverter, behind the primary lens. They reduce the working distance between the lens and the subject which is a big problem in the field. They are best used with a stationary camera on a copy stand. I rarely if ever use these. They come in sets and have the same magnitude of magnification as the diopters and the teleconverter. They probably cost around $50-100. |