Getting ultra itty bitty with some Marumi Achromat diopters and a Tamron lens

A question I get regularly when I am teaching is “Can I do macro if I don’t own a macro lens”? I always emphasize there are advantages to owning a true macro lens, but it is possible to do some quality macro work with a good sharp telephoto lens too. One of my favorite lenses is the Tamron 70-300mm VC USD lens. It is extremely sharp, compact, and has a great vibration compensation system. I wrote a blog entry recently about using the Marumi Achromat +3 diopter on the front of the lens. I was very impressed with the combination. I was curious to see if I could get closer and still be extremely sharp. So I picked up the Marumi +5 diopter. I really got crazy and put both the +3 and the +5 diopters on the front of the lens. I attached the lens to the Nikon D-700 body. I experimented a few times hand holding, but found that the depth of field, even at greater than f22 was very shallow. I decided to use the tripod and turn off the VC on the lens. I used my Vanguard Atla Pro 284CT with an SBH 250 ball head.
I searched my gardens and finally located the perfect subject. A jumping spider that was between 2-3mm in length. The cool thing about most spiders, especially jumping spiders, is that they are curious and will stand and stare into the lens. I positioned myself to a point that the lens was focused at it’s closest point, in this case the front of the lens was about 4-5 inches from the spider. I snapped off a few frames as the spider hunted on the daylily. As I checked the LCD screen to get a preview, I hoped that the image would look as good if not better on the computer. As I imported the images, I was elated at the sharpness and clarity of the images!
I know now that when I am traveling and don’t have the ability to take a “macro” lens, I know I will be able to capture great macro images using my Marumi Achromat diopters. I am going to do a some experimenting with the diopters on the front of my 180mm Macro lens to see just how close I can get. The diopters work best with longer lens, thus the choice of the 180mm and 70-300mm (extended out to 300mm). These diopters are extremely sharp and will give you outstanding results when attached to a sharp lens. Give them a try!