Looking for Lens Adapt. PLEASE ADVISE

Rick Meyer

Rick Meyer

Veteran
I hope this is not a dumb question but I am looking for an inexpensive diopter set so I can get some really close up shots with my DVX. As I have been searching (I have been on ebay) I have come across a polarizing filter from Minolta. If it's 72mm thread, does that automatically mean it will fit on the DVX? I would LOVE to purchase century optics for everything but at this point, I don't mind cutting some corners. I just need to know if a 72mm thread is ALL I'm looking at when it comes to finding a lens kit that is affordable and compatible with the DVX.

Thanks-
Rick
 
Pretty much all that matters is 72mm and quality, but a polarizer won't do a thing for macros. I bought a 30 dollar "Asian" brand kit of macros on ebay, and as long as you zoom and don't mind soft edges, they work great.
 
72mm will make it fit, but that doesn't mean it will work. There are some cheapo Digital Optics "lenses" sold on ebay that have 72mm threads, but they don't work at all with the DVX.

A 72mm polarizer from Minolta should certainly work.
 
I use hoya close-up +4 lens (72mm thread)

With that, I'm able to get really close to the subject and keeping it in focus at the same time.
 
I would strongly discourage a friend from buying singlet dioptre lenses on eBay. They generally come in sets of +1, +2, +4, +10 and for all intents and purposes are junk. Much better investment to go with an acromatic (dual element) dioptre than a set of 4 singlet lenses. Since dioptre (close up) lenses are generally used for, well, close-ups, the aberrations (imperfections) in the lenses are apparent. I feel it would be a shame to use such cruddy lenses on a nice camera.

I personally have two Hoya singlet dioptre's and a Century achromatic dioptre, and the Century is a bit nicer than the Hoya in terms of quality. The Hoya is still miles ahead of the brands sold in sets on eBay which aren't even made of optical quality glass. Both Century and Hoya use optical glass. Of course, I had to pay a few hundred dollars for the Century because it's an acromat instead of a singlet like the Hoya. All depends on what you're trying to accomplish I guess. The Hoya is "good enough" I suppose, because at least it's made from real optical glass, not "green glass"

For polarizers, a quick and dirty way to tell if a polarizer is any good is hold it up to an LCD display. If it "cancels out" the screen, then it's good enough. Hope this helps.
 
I agree completely, but the 30 dollar set on ebay works well for a couple quick shots. There's major chromatic abberation around the edges and a little distortion, but if you're on a budget, the many hundred dollar difference may be worth it. I'll post some pics with it. The resolution is actually pretty good; I used it on my digital rebel xt with acceptable results. If you need more than a few close ups, go with a dual element achromatic diopter, but for one or two shots, a few hundred dollars in savings may be well worth the softness and color fringing, which isn't even all that bad except at the edges.

Don't skimp on the polarizer, though. Good ones are cheap enough.
 
Put this way: better to have a single Hoya for $30 than four nerdowell's for the same price, imho.

..and I found my Hoya's as a "set" on eBay for like 10 bucks, so there are deals to be had.
 
Canon 500D is a good one. I use it all the time with the DVX100 on book shots.
 
Thanks everybody.

I plan to use the diopter for some extremely close shots, obviously. More specifically, I am interested in close-up shots of text. I am shooting my sister's wedding and want to get some really close shots of the invitation as well as letters she and her fiance have written to each other over the course of their time together. And while I have them, I might come up with some other uses. But as I've posted on another thread, I am all but convinced that I am going to get the AT4037a mic, Etymotic E6 earbuds and about 15 hours of new tapes. This will run me about $700.00 bones. So, money will be EXTREMELY tight. Unfortunately, I may need to hold off on this diopter thing...BUT, if anyone one has had moderate success with any cheapies, please post a pic, a link, or model information.

A $30.00 dollar diopter may be crap but it will be MY crap...and better than NO crap!

Rick
 
By the way, I just spent time on EBAY. I have NO idea how much I should be paying for when it comes to a POLARIZING filter but knowing that I will be in Cali for a week, near the water, I think I need one. What do I look for? Blue Label? Green Label? What the heck??? All I know is I've seen the difference they make and for the price, you can't beat what they do! I love how they saturate colors. Is this reasonable?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15217&item=7525397288&rd=1


HOYA 72mm Circular Polarizer Glass Filter Blue Label Japan

Please let me know! Thanks. I'm leaving in a couple of weeks. So, all of my purchases have got to happen this weekend.

Rick
 
Dude. It will work on any manual or auto focus camera. Think about it.

Hoya's Green Label is uncoated glass which means it reflects 4% incident light per surface, or 8% total since there are two surfaces. Lenses with anti reflective coating increase contrast and reduce flare. The more you spend, the better the coatings.A medium grade lens generally has a single layer MgF2 coating which is good, but the nicest ones have 7 or more layers of AR coatings. The really good coatings can be as low .25% per surface or even lower if it's the T* coating on Zeiss lenses.

Also, if you weren't already aware, a UV filter and Polarizer cannot be stacked on top of each other without vignetting (dark edges around the frame).

That particular one on eBay is in England. First Class Royal Post to the US can take 4-6 weeks, according to the US Postal Service. Yes, I've shipped to England before.

see here for more about Hoya Polarizers: http://www.filterfind.net/hy-06.htm

You pay for what you get when it comes to filters.
 
Thanks thisiswells-

I was wondering about the vignetting. I have a real nice UV filter already on my camera at all times but I am not into the vignetting. I will have to take the UV off to use the polarizer I guess. Thanks for the tip.

And good point about the location of this sale. I can't possibly wait 4-6 weeks for this. I was hoping to get it by next weekend so I can test 'er out.

I will keep looking for a seller who lives in the U.S.

Rick
 
rlm7189 said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=97016&item=7526334547&rd=1#ebayphotohosting
Click to expand...


I went ahead and picked up this Hoya 72mm circular Polarizing filter for about $33.00 bucks. I assume that is a fair price. If anyone has any comments regarding this particular model, PLEASE air them out. I encourage any bad as well as good remarks about this purchase. I am here to learn. And for $33.00 dollars, I figured it wasn't going to be that expensive of a learning experience.

I gotta tell ya...considering the prices of EVERYTHING having to do with filmmaking and/or videography I am still really confused as to why there are many "affordable" polarizing filters out there. They seem to do SO much in the way of saturating colors and helping to make the image pop that for 30 bucks, can't beat it. I won't complain but I can't understand it. Actually...I should probably hold off on the celebrating until I screw it on the camera and see how she looks.

Thanks again everybody!
Rick
 
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