Finally got my lens!

[edwing206]

Well, yesterday I got my Nikon 55-200mm VR lens. I took it to our church's father's day picnic and I really liked it. Takes good sport pics and nature shots. The only thing is that the min. focus distance is 3.5 feet so I can't really get close shots of my corals without them being out of focus.
Would close up filters help at all?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/11209-REG/B_W_65076820_58mm_Macro_Close_up_10.html
How do they work?
Thanks

 

[gregr]

Close-up lenses shorten the minimum focus distance, thereby increasing the magnification. Extension tubes do the same thing. Nikon and Canon make high quality close-up lenses-- the Nikon (5T) is no longer listed on B&H and I couldn't find it in the quick search I just did on two other camera stores. The Canon 500D is listed and is pretty easy to find. If you get a close-up filter, or filter set, make sure they are the same diameter as the lens you want to use them on. That B+W is very strong and will get you a lot closer, but as with all the close-up attachments, the downside is a loss of depth of field. You'll also have a fairly narrow range of focus... you won't be able to focus on things far away without taking the filter off.

 

[edwing206]

So which is better? Extention tubes or the B&W filter?
Thanks for the reply.

 

[gregr]

I don't know of a way to calculate the magnification with that filter so it's hard to say if one is better than the other.

 

[edwing206]

Ok. I will keep researching. Thanks for the help!

 

[gregr]

You're welcome. When I was in your shoes I went for the less expensive option first, for obvious reasons. Eventually I got the close-up filter set, the 500D and the tubes

 

[edwing206]

Oh man. lol