Holy Macro Batman!!!!

[mike walden]

<p>Well, I bought this thing on. . . .well, you know where. . . and

I have not the faintest clue how to actually use it! No instructions

included, and I have never seen one before so I am lost. It

consists of a 2x Teleconverter for MD Minolta (which I do know what

that is), and then a seperate <i>ultra wide MACRO lens</i>. There is

also a <i>close up</i> lens screwed into the back of the macro lens.

<p>Speaking only of the <i>macro</i> and the <i>closeup</i> lens,

they both have screw threads. I cannot for the life of me find ANY

lens I own that these will screw onto the end of!

<p><b>HELP!</b>

<p>Someone please tell me how this is supposed to work.

<br><br>

<p><center><img

src="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mwalden/eBay/macro_wide.jpg"

border=1>

[barnnies]

I will try to help, or not. I believe the close up lens was screwed on to the macro lens just to keep the close up lens handy. Who ever had it didn't want to lose it so they screwed it on to the macro. The close up lens screws into the front of any lens that it fits. If the close up lens is, for example, a 55 MM (wide that is, should say it on the lens), then it screws on to the front of any lens that is also 55MM wide. This lets you focus closer to the subject, say a flower. The close up lens should have a number on it such as +1, +2 etc. The bigger the number the close you can get to the subject.

 

The ultra wide macro lens, I believe, is just a larger close up lens. It should srew into the front of any lens that it fits. I am basing this on the picture you supplied. I can't see the back of the macro lens.

 

You can make any size close up lens fit on any size lens using a step-up or step-down ring. As an example, if the close up lens says it is 55MM, and the regular lens you use says it is 49MM, then you would need a 49-55MM step up ring. The 49MM side, of the step-up ring, screws into you regular lens. The close up lens then screw into the other side which is 55MM. These are readily available on Ebay, where I bought mine.

 

Remember that the sizes here are wide sizes. An example would be that the lens you use is a 28-200 MM zoom lens, there will also be another number on the lens such as 55mm or 49MM. The is the width of the lens.

 

Hope this helped!

Dennis

[mike walden]

<p>Well, these are NEW..so the kit comes as a set just as it is. The closeup lens is screwed into the back of the Ultra wide macro lens. In the photo, the closeup lens is the one closest to you, the Ultra Wide Macro is the middle and the 2X is the far lens. Anyway, I have tried the closeup lens with many of my lenses. Problem is, is that there is a "flange" that sticks out past the plane of the threads, so it kinda "bumps" into the lens glass preventing the threads from meeting. Is this because its designed to be used with some other adapter of something to make it fit the lens? As far as the Ultra Wide Macro, it has internal threads (also the same threads that the closeup lens screws into.

<p>I dont know any other way to describe this thing, and I doubt I have any quick way to get better pics up for someone to look at.

<p>It just seems odd that the threads seem to be a little larger tham most of my normal lenses, and in the ad for this product, it says it offers a 1:1 macro ratio with a 50mm lens.

<p>So, I wonder why this set was put together with a Minolta MD 2x converter if it wasnt meant to work with a standard 50mm lens?

[jim_strutz]

The closeup lens, and the front part that claims to be the wide lens, together form the Ultra Wide lens adapter. together, they fit on the front end of a normal lens, and give a very wide field of view. Usually about 0.42x of what your normal lens is. If you take off the front part, it acts like a closeup lens attachment for your normal lens.

 

To get it to mount on your lens, you will most likely need a "series 7" filter adapter that will fit the filter thread of your normal lens. That's what they usually take anyway. Some are different though.

 

Attached to a 28mm they usually make a circular image on the film just like a true fisheye, but attached to a 60mm lens they usually act like a full frame fisheye.

 

As wide angle lenses go, these adapters suck. :) They give a very strong fisheye effect (that I like), but are very soft at the edges. Stopping the lens down to f/22 helps, but doesn't cure the problem. Still they are a lot of fun & as long as you didn't pay too much, enjoy it.

[fmueller]

I second everything that Jim said. Just out of curiosity, what did you pay for the set, and where did you buy it?

[bjmarkowitz]

Ebay has the wide angle lens without the teleconverter for about 40-50 bucks. I bought one and I thought the effects were cool, but not great. Its fun to play with and you get interesting pics. I was debating selling mine, but decided to keep it because, like I said it is cool sometimes. If you put the lens (or think of it as a filter) on a zoom you can really play with it. I had it on a 35-80 and as you zoom in and out you really see the difference.

 

Have fun!

[mike walden]

<b>Frank Mueller:</b>

<p>I bought it on ebay, paid $49.00 for the kit. I am only interested in the "close-up" part of the lens set. It will, as stated before by another member, need some kind of adapter to make it fit a lens. It will NOT flush up to any lens I have because of the flange that protrudes off the back of the mount area. This flange sticks out several millimeters past the screw threads and makes it impossible to put on a lens as is. This set is made by Zykkor.

<p>As far as the Ultra Wide angle, the description at the auction says it changes the lens by .70, making a 50mm wider or as wide as a 35mm I think.

<p>The description also says the closeup lens gives a 50mm a 1:1 macro ratio.

<p>This thing may go back on eBay as I just purchased a Minolta Auto Bellows III brand new in the box.

[mike walden]

</center>

<p>Looks like someone left a 'center' html tag unclosed. hope this fixes it!