Backscatter +10 close-up or +15 macromate

[stepfen]

Hi guys,

I just came back from a dive and had some pretty decent shots with my first ‘real’ gopro setup with a tray and all. I saw some really small stuff that the Macromate Mini couldn’t handle, and was wondering what kind of effect I’d get if I stacked the +10 close up lens on top of the Macromate mini.

Anyone got any ideas?

Stacking is possible and generally it works BUT, the focusing distance becomes even smaller i.e. you need to shoot even closer to the object, the depth of field (depth range that appear focused) decreases too, the image quality degrades especially around the edges, even the tiniest shake becomes huge and so on.
Don't expect miracles. Yes tiny objects will look somewhat bigger, but it will be much more difficult to get them in focus and the overall quality won't be great.
Unfortunately the only way to get consistent good quality close ups are by using dedicated macro lenses paired to good cameras, good lights etc. But the cost, bulk and overall effort required skyrockets...
That's life....

 

[salmondives]

Stacking is possible and generally it works BUT, the focusing distance becomes even smaller i.e. you need to shoot even closer to the object, the depth of field (depth range that appear focused) decreases too, the image quality degrades especially around the edges, even the tiniest shake becomes huge and so on.
Don't expect miracles. Yes tiny objects will look somewhat bigger, but it will be much more difficult to get them in focus and the overall quality won't be great.
Unfortunately the only way to get consistent good quality close ups are by using dedicated macro lenses paired to good cameras, good lights etc. But the cost, bulk and overall effort required skyrockets...
That's life....

That’s life indeed…

Thanks for the response! Honestly that’s what I was expecting, I was just wondering if it would actually give just a bit more zoom. I’m okay with the edges being blurry, since I always crop out the centre of my footage and take stills from the videos anyway. The +10 is relatively inexpensive where I live (about 22~ USD) and I have a setup that allows improved stability, so even if it doesn’t produce the highest quality images I’d like to actually see what I’m looking at better. I’ll give it a go and see how it turns out. Otherwise, I’ll buy another 55mm adapter for my flip system and use it for larger stuff.

Cheers!

 

[Sure Squintsalot]

Sure Squintsalot, was inspired to do the same haha.. Is it still working now and do you have footages taken with that setup that you can share?

Cuz i read somewhere that using a dry diopter for underwater might not be as effective..

Thanks a lot!

Here's a pretty good example of what my stacked diopter set-up can (and can't) do:


After I swing the diopters in front of the camera, things are fuzzy until I get closer. You can see a little bit of distortion, but nothing too serious. I'm sometimes prone to getting a little too close, and then things get fuzzy again. Optimal distance is around 16" - 6" inches in front of the camera, which is sometimes hard to judge. Oh well.

Here's other footage when I'm a little more mindful of keeping the correct distance between the diopters and the subject: