Insanity: November 2011

Now this post is for my photographer friends who love macro photography and specially for those who don't have a DSLR. Here I'll explain how to get stunning macro shots on your point and shoot. Those who want cheap macro photography, read on. I have used my SX120 IS but this method can be used for any camera.

Requirements:

3 inches long 2.5 PVC pipe (or any other cylinder with diameter approx. 2.5’)
Magnifying Glass with approx. 2.5’ diameter
Any material for packing

Get Started:

Take the 3’ PVC piece and coat it black from the inside.
Using super glue stick the magnifying glass to one end of the pipe.
Now using some packing snug the pipe gently on the camera as shown in the figure.
And you are ready to start clicking!

How to use it:

You can use the camera in either manual or program mode as it won’t make much of a difference. The trick here is to zoom into the subject, the more you zoom in the more the image gets magnified.
your primary means of focusing is going to be moving the camera, which will be just inches from your subject, back and forth until the area you want sharp is in focus.

The last three pictures of my PC's cabinet screw are clicked with the magnifying glass with different zoom. The first image is without any extra lens.

Normal Macro Shot

With 20cm focal length

With 50cm focal length

With 10x/1m focal length

PS: The length of the pipe is in accordance with my magnifying glass, it will depend on the power of the magnifying lens. Take some trial shots just by holding the lens in magnifying lens in front of your camera lens to get an idea how long the pipe should be.

While this tutorial is for SX120 IS you can use the same method for other point and shoot cameras to get the same effect. And for those who have a DSLR and still don't want to buy a macro lens, here is a tutorial for them on DPS - Reverse Mounting Your Prime Lenses for Affordable Macro Photography.

Here are some of my photos clicked using this same method: