How well does the HV20 handle close-ups?

I want to shoot insects. Which lens would you recomend?

Would a WD H43 be of any benefit?

The WD H43 has helped me A LOT with that - didn't expect it. If I get a chance I'll show you the difference I noticed in the field (getting a shot of a crab on a beach). But yes, I'd recommend the WD H43 if you already have an HV20 and need more macro ability.

You might consider something like this. I used Cinevates achromat for its 35mm adapter to take these photos. It cost $245.00, but you could by an adapter and get it to boot... :)

You may want to try something like this:
http://www.adorama.com/MCCUS58.html?searchinfo=close%20up%20lens
Basically it gives you three screw on filter-type glass lens that add magnification. I recently got one of these http://www.adorama.com/FLU4358.html (43mm>58mm step up ring) that allows me to use the close up filters on my HV 20. (I already had the close up filters from my DSLR still camera.)

I tried the combo out the other day and got fairly good results. But macro photography can be tough. With the filter set on (I stacked the +1, +2 and +4) you get a very good magnification, fairly good zoom thru, and very close focus. But very shallow DOF so moving things (like insects) quickly fall out of the focus plane. I spent an hour shooting bees the other morning and I only got a few seconds of really good footage. (I was shooting handheld which didn't help.)

You may also want to try one of these: http://www.adorama.com/MC10X49.html?searchinfo=close%20up%20lens&item_no=5 as I noticed stacking the close up filters degraded the image slightly mostly due to reduced contrast. Certainly useable but not as crisp as the non-filtered footage.

BTW - I have the WD-H43 wide angle and while you can focus a little closer with it, it doesn't provide any magnification so isn't useful for macro applications.

I'm able to get sharp focus (manual and auto) with the HV20 being a little over 1" inch away from something. How much closer would one need to try and get, that's super close without any magnification lens, so why would you need to use an additional lens? Would the add-on lenses be for getting macro close-ups while having the camera further from the subject matter? I've been wanting to tape some ants for testing out the macro ability of the HV20.

...so why would you need to use an additional lens?
Magnification. Do you want ants that look like ants? Or horses? With the diopters you can fill the screen with your subject. It doesn't matter how close you get if your subject still looks tiny.

another option would be to get the Canon 250D or the 500D close up lens...
you'd have to get a step up ring to work with the HV20 but the close up lens
gets great reveiws

Here are some screengrabs with the standard lens:

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/8218/close01iq4.jpg (couldn't find the non-graded pic)
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/8796/close02in2.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9907/close03bj1.jpg

It does a pretty good job IMO.
Rob

I have tried using the standard lens for close-ups. However, it is impossible to get close-ups of live insects that are moving. Most critters in the natural world don't cooperate very well when the camera lens is within one to two inches of them.

I was looking around for other things and stumbled upon male-to-male macro couplers (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/81929-REG/General_Brand_KALT_58mm_Macro_Coupler_Male.html).

Has anyone else played around with this approach, reversing a telephoto lens to take macro pictures?

Andrew.

I was looking around for other things and stumbled upon male-to-male macro couplers (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/81929-REG/General_Brand_KALT_58mm_Macro_Coupler_Male.html).

Has anyone else played around with this approach, reversing a telephoto lens to take macro pictures?

Andrew.

Hello,

Result may vary with the achromats you’re planning to stack.
I’ve found a homepage focused on macro and some digital photo tips you might find interesting.
http://freenet-homepage.de/seemolf/achromats.html
SEEMOLF has compared lots of close-up lenses. His testing protocol using a LCD screen is a really great idea.
The macro coupler trick helped a bit with his two elpro2. He gets reduced barrel distortion. But it doesn’t really fix the chromatic aberration effect.

It seems you don’t need this trick with CANON 250D.

I’m planning do buy HOYA +10 achromatic lens (2 elements) on bhphotovideo.com.
I don’t know if two elements might be enough for the +10d to preserve good geometry, but I’ve found some great users reviews on this forum.

I’ve read in a French forum, CANON 250D can’t work with CANON 1.4 and 2x converters without an extra ring that makes you loose the +infinite focal point feature.
It’s seems Sigma EX 1,4x and 2x APO converter with Canon mount will boot perfectly. Does anybody knows if Sigma converters (specially the 2x one) can be used with CANON HV20 ?

Regards,