Raynox DCR-250 Macro Attachment

Excellent, well designed addition to my macro setup. Fits my canon EF 100 macro lens perfectly and I'm amazed at the quality of images with R6 mark2. Takes bit of getting used to but I managed to get autofocus and manual focus to work. Best images using manual with a preset focus point and moving into the shot until the focus indicators light up. Manageable hand held is IS engaged but easier with tripod and ideally a focussing slide

This is nice little lens accessory that will enhance your macro photos or enable you to get 1:1 reproduction on non-macro lenses. The Raynox DCR-250 Macro Attachment gives +8 dioptres of magnification. This corresponded to about 1.5 x life size on my Sony RX10 III at full zoom. I was pleased with this as previously the camera could only do 0.2 x life size. Using the attachment takes some practice and so don’t expect amazing results straight away. Autofocus didn’t work for me and I resorted to manual focus on a tripod. The depth of focus is extremely shallow and so some rocking backwards and forwards is needed to get your shot. I used a tripod and focus rail to get good results. I wouldn’t like to use this for field work as it is difficult to obtain focus. The depth of focus is so shallow that it is possible to miss the focal plane and then you have to try and find focus about 15-20cm from the subject (where focus can be achieved). It seems like hard work and it does take some time to get used to it, but I was pleased with the results I achieved. If you want to increase your chances of ‘getting the shot’ you can use burst mode whilst gently rocking focus in and out. In general image quality was okay and perfectly acceptable. It’s not as good as a genuine macro lens, but it costs a fraction of the price. I did find some purple fringing in my images that I removed in post. The Raynox DCR-250 Macro Attachment comes with lens caps and with its own lens attachment. It is packaged in a small box to keep everything together. I recommend this item, but can’t stress enough that practice and a tripod/focus rail are a must for good results.

Good glass and works with all of my cameras. Saves me buying separate macro lenses. (I have 2 mirror less and 2 bridge cameras.) Don't even need stepping rings. 2.5 times magnification is perfect for my needs, may need a carrier for the tripod.

I had read that it didn't degrade image quality at all but surely it must? It's putting more glass between the subject and the sensor right? Well I can only assume that this is (as stated) top quality glass made to the same level of precision as the best lenses because I can see no loss of quality. I am a bit of a macro geek and have several set ups that work well. I have the macro setting on a 70-300mm lens (not true macro, it's 1:2), I have a Nikon 40mm 1:1 macro lens and I have a bellows set up on which I use an old manual 70-210mm Tamron adaptall. I have listed them in order of magnification potential from least to best but they are also in order of convenience from most to the down right awkward. (I am getting to a point, I promise). I have tried the Raynox with some of these and other lenses to see the results. It basically works by allowing the chosen lens to focus much closer than it normally could and so improves the macro capability of that set up. So on the front of the 70-300 it can focus at 300mm only a few cm in front of the lens and produces results akin to my 'monster' bellows set up without the inconvenience. I could basically take this set up anywhere while I've never ventured outside my house and garden with the bellows. Surprisingly, it doesn't vignette on this lens despite the Raynox having a 43mm thread and the 70-300 having a 62mm filter thread. (The largest filter thread it will fit is a 67mm which is what my 18-105 lens has and it does vignette on this. This is not a problem though as I am quite used to cropping macro shots anyway (see later also). On the 40mm macro lens I could not get any improvement as this lens already needs the subject to be almost on the front of the lens for 1:1 anyway. On my bellows set up it also improved magnification by allowing closer focusing. If you owned a very long lens (400,500mm+) with a 67mm or less filter thread (or a step down ring) or a longer than my 40mm macro lens you could get some astonishing results (though you may have to crop on some lenses). As the info says, best results are with longer focal lengths and this is true. It basically turns almost any lens into a close focussing lens, and without loss of quality as far as I can see.