I do enjoy macro and close up photography work.  There is a whole world to be explored and many stories to tell in the smallest of details all around us.  Regardless of camera system I have had, I’ve always had at least one macro lens to capture the intimate details of the natural world.

As a Fuji shooter, I do have their macro lenses and I enjoy shooting with them as they are super sharp and easy to use.  What I’ve found recently though too is that the Fujifilm 90mm lens is one of the very best lenses I’ve ever used.  The depth, bokeh, sharpness….just incredible!  So I often times pull this lens out when I’m shooting close-up shots. I just love what this lens does!!!

A good friend of mine, Jack Graham, used to be a Nikon factory shooter for many years and he’s got a closet of old camera gear.  I was visiting him a couple months ago after we finished conducting a workshop on Whidbey Island.  We were hanging out in his office and he hands me a clear plastic box that is filled with foam.  I open it up and inside is a Nikon Close Up 6T diopter.  It was in pristine condition.  He asked me if I had any lenses that have 62mm threads and I said, yea, my 90mm does.  So he gives it to me.  I was super happy to get this from him and couldn’t wait to use it.

Well, fast forward several months and i have to be honest, I hadn’t used it yet.   I was cleaning out one of my photo shelves and came across the diopter and pulled it out and slapped it on the 90mm.  OMG this thing is amazing with what it allows you to do.  Basically, your focusing distance is shortened by whatever power of diopter you put on which allows you to get closer to your subject and hopefully fill the frame more (without cropping).   I was blown away with this on my X-T3 and 90mm lens.  My minimum focusing distance was reduced by over half.  I can get so close to my subject.

Diopter

There is no loss of light and no degradation in image quality that I’ve been able to detect shooting and pixel peeping with it.  The glass is amazing!  I’m not sure that anybody makes anything even close to this quality any more.  Something can sure be said for applying some old school tools in our current digital photography world.

I can hardly wait for Spring to come and the flowers to spring up to really give this a workout.

Do you use any “old” gear on your new cameras?  If so, what is it?  I’d love to hear about it.

 

I am a photography workshop leader based in the Pacific Northwest.  If you would like information about my workshops, teaching or prints, please visit www.johnpedersenphoto.com