Has anyone ever tried the magnifying glass trick for macro images. I havent tried it but I think it would be an interesting way to enhance macro images on a cheap camera *clears throat*. I know this would eliminate the use of my viewfinder, does anyone have any tips? (how far to put the magnifying glass from the lense, what type to use, how far from the target you will get a clear image...

/wants a decent digicam so he can do close up shots :(

I may try that, could provide some interesting results, so thanks for sharing! :)

Do you mind if I steal that thought as well? I really can't afford $1500 for a nice digital cam with switchable lenses!

haha, not really stealing, its just an idea. I'm no expert on it tho, I still dont really have that great of an idea on how to get the distance and such down. I guess it would be even harder if I had a camera with an adjustable zoom for macro images. I'm going to run some tests when I get the time to find the range. It has a significant impact on the sharpness of a photo tho, I'll upload a tutorial once I get it right.

I'm pretty sure that using a magnifying glass with your camera could work for macro shots, however without an SLR viewfinder it would be mostly trial and error to get it right (ie very difficult).

I tried this not long after you posted it, noob, but forgot to report back. In my test with a $5 Wal-Mart magnifying glass and a Canon S1 IS, I found that the extra distance that I needed to use to focus through the magnifying glass pretty much negated it's magnication. It did work, but there wasn't a great deal of improvement.

The "bifocal" part of the magnifying glass, the small part with higher magnification, actually did pretty well, but was too small to get a full-frame shot with this camera. So I'd guess this technique would work pretty well with a large enough diameter magnifying glass with a high enough magnification.

Try a closeup lens, they are relatively cheap and may be manufactured for your camera. Check what accessories are available for it. What we really need to answer the question is a physics teacher. Wish I could bring back that physics 12 hehe

I don't think a double-convex lens (bulges out on both sides) would work that well because: 1.) the convex sides have a tendency to reflect any light source back at the viewer. 2.) the distortion caused by the difference in thickness of the glass from the edge to the center will cause problems. Magnifying glasses are not of photographic lens quality.

A single convex lens with the flat side towards the camera would probably work better, but are harder to find...

If you want good quality magnifying lens for cheap, go to a few television repair shops and ask if they have a broken projection TV that was too expensive for the owner to have repaired, that they are going to trash. You can get three to six hefty, good quality lens out of one projection TV.

I tried this out myself. The magnifying glass proved to sharpen the images at a distance much closer than the camera was intended to be used in macro images. I posted my results. here