Hello..
I'm Bouncer71...
...and welcome to premier of Bouncer71 presents "Fun with Lenses".
View attachment 867042
Over the next 52 weeks, you and I are going to explore the dynamic world of LensoLOLogie....
What is LensoLOLogie …?
Erm..?
I have no idea...
Sorry, got carried away right from the start...
Okay, let me begin again... ;D
Hi everyone,
you all know those Clip-On Lenses, you´ve seen plenty of macro shots in the Monthly Threads, been mentioned in various other threads like one of my favorites by
@BobbyVK [Let's Talk Response]
But what are they for and how to practically use em?
Whats Neutral Density? Do Star Filters filter stars...?
Stay with me and see how to manipulate Light, bend space and travel in Time...
First things first...
Staying in Focus:
Most smartphones with low aperture can focus up to 2 or 2.5 meters, any further is infinity. In other words: If the scene or object is farther away than that set manual focus to infinity right from the start to prevent auto-focus misinterpretation…
My OP3 shows no more Blurr/Bokeh behind the focused object over a distance of about 2 meters.
Accidentally deleted my test photos but here's the mathematical proof…
View attachment 867046
Anyways for some lenses and filters the focus is best to be set manually because auto could cause some issues…..
*All photos shot with OnePlus 3, Oneplus Camera v2.5.33, Edits: Lightroom CC Desktop
Get your Lenses
I Don't Like Clip-On Lenses...
View attachment 867048
If you're fine with them, great..!
To me it's kinda annoying to position them over and over again at the center of the camera lens to avoid distortion and vignette.
Since I still have some 37mm filters from my Travel-zoom camera…
View attachment 867050
I went DIY and ordered a Clip-On Macro Lens with the mount size. Cut off the clamp and put it on a wooden case with some double sided tape centered over the camera.
View attachment 867052
No more fiddling around from now on...This might also be a solution for all you OP6 users out there. Position it over the main camera… No more Portrait Mode with that case...
So, I´m all set and done, let's look at them lenses…
Oops...
Totally forgotten…
You have to get yours…
Thanks for the suggestion
@NeVeR_SeTTLe ;D
I can't give you the perfect recommendation which Brand to buy. It all depends on the budget you want to spend. You can get an almost complete sets for a couple of bugs or you can pay over a hundred Euros for a single filter.
E.g.: 6 Filters ( 3x ND / CPL / FLD / UV) for 25 Euro, one Haida ND 3.0 for 35 Euro or one B+W ND 3.0 for 100 Euro.
My credo is “Never buy cheap if the Lens or Filter extends exposure but don't spend the extra if it suits the purpose”
The longer the exposure the more obvious the shortcomings will be in the photo, means harder to correct in post-edit or sometimes even impossible…
Waste Time and Money..?
Nope…
A lens/filter that gives you good results will stay, and probably be used more often....
And I want to go out, and use em´….
Like Haida ND is a good compromise for me...
So let´s get to it…!
Macro Lens
Yep...
Just gotta love Macro…
Probably the most popular add-on lens.
View attachment 867057
ZOMEI 12.5 x
Used for magnification and you can get closer than the usual ca. 10 cm. In the description a lot a times magnification is called diopter. But how much is 8 diopter...?
There's a formula for that.
Magnification = (Diopter/4) + 1
or vise versa
Diopter = (Magnification - 1) x 4
So 8 diopter is 3x magnification.
But wait, before we´re going to take a photo. Have you ever seen this...?
![[IMG]](https://forums-images.oneplus.net/data/medal/600fe2dcd49d8.png)
It´s a Macro Focusing Rail...
I don't want to say to shoot your macros necessarily with a tripod, but we can learn something from this tool..
The depth of field is pretty narrow, a couple of mm at most. Using autofocus can be troublesome or constantly manually focusing causing a thumb spasm...
Set the manual focus once and change the distance to the object till in focus, just like moving the camera on the rail back and forward.
too far…
View attachment 867059
just a bit closer and
View attachment 867060
perfect…
Way more comfortable..
For Focus-stacking I´d recommend a tripod and the rail cause of uncontrollable camera movement. The lens-distortion and different object size is already hard enough to cope with.
And use a remote trigger to prevent camera shake caused by tabbing the trigger on screen.
View attachment 867061
Probably gonna do a separate thread about Focus-Stacking if I find a practical easy way to do it with a smartphone and the perfect apps… ;D
But I still got a long way to go...
Have you got a solution…? Please tell me…!!! 8D
CPL – Circular Polarizing Filter
Works just like polarized sunglasses, it suppresses reflections.
Don´t ge me wrong. Reflections are great in Photography...
![[IMG]](https://forums.oneplus.com/attachments/1536166247990-jpg.859944/)
Photo by
@jacstrong
But sometimes it's just distracting...
When light is reflected of a surface it changes it´s polarization. By turning the filter you can manipulate what part of the light travels through it and hits the sensor.
Shooting through a window or reflections on water that don't fit the picture...
View attachment 867062
Turn the lens until satisfied with what you see...
View attachment 867064
Delmax CPL
The pic gets a little darker so you might want to exposure compensate a bit or brighten it in post.
Fish Eye Lens
This is Lens-distortion at its best... Cool effect...
View attachment 867066
Hama Fish Eye Lens
I don't really like the vignette and haven't found a good use for it personally...
Someone got a more enthusiastic approach out there...?
Would be appreciated with full credits... ;D
ND – Neutral Density Filter
This is one of my favorites. You become “The Master of Time and Light”...
But it doesn't come with just a click…
Also called Neutral Gray Filter they are like really dark sunglasses for your camera. As you know if it gets darker, exposure time has to be longer or ISO will go higher, or both...
What if you want to extend the time to capture motion instead of just freezing a tiny fraction in time…?
Okay, you can do a long exposure at night. But what about in bright daylight at ISO 100...?
With the right ND-Filter even light-painting at noon is possible...
The Basics:
There´s different stages of neutral density. The higher the ND number the higher the exposure extending factor.
ND / Factor / Light transmittance
1.8 / x64 / 1.8%
2.0 / x100 / 1.0%
3.0 / x1,000 / 0.1%
…
8.0 / x100,000,000 / 0.000001%
( One Hundred Million that is... 8O )
There are also variable ND-Filters with a max. factor of x400 available but it's harder to determine the exact exposure. Cheaper ones are not really neutral and have uneven transitions.
Manufacturers label the filters with the factor. But mind the point…! Filters label with ND 8 have just a factor of x8. ND 64 would then be ND 1.8 or ND 1000 = ND 3.0.
So always have a look at the description...
I recommend to use a tool to calculate the needed shutter-speed settings like
Foto-Tool
Also features some other interesting calculators...
View attachment 867069
A tripod, remote trigger and to shoot in RAW cause post-process is unavoidable to keep as much details as possible.
Preparation:
Setup your camera on the tripod without the ND filter. Select Pro-Mode, frame the scene, manually set ISO 100 and the focus, tab to exposure on the brightest part of the scene (the sky between the trees) and shoot a photo…
JPG untouched
View attachment 867071
Take a look at the exif info.
View attachment 867073
Use the app to calculate the exposure for the used ND filter..
View attachment 867074
Set the exposure accordingly or close to the calculated values in Pro-Mode and apply the filter.
Click and wait...
Haida ND 1.8 slim / ⅛ sec. / Untouched / JPG
View attachment 867078
Haida ND 3.0 slim / 2.0 sec. / Untouched / JPG
View attachment 867079
You can clearly see the difference. The water surface and the fountain gets kinda fuzzy and the effect is stronger the longer the exposure...
And another one before we're going post...
JPG without ND Filter / 1/280 sec. / Untouched
View attachment 867081
RAW with Haida ND 3.0 slim / 4.0 sec. / Untouched
View attachment 867083
Going Post
Now, as I like to say, the fun ( erm... work) begins.
As you see in the examples even the JPG look a little dull. Lost saturation, highlights and shadows are a bit overblown. That is why I always shoot RAW using ND filters.
Edit with your favorite photo manipulation app.
Saturation, dynamic, clarity, highlights, shadows ,contrast etc. need some tweaking to give it the right looks...
Lightroom CC Desktop
View attachment 867086
And done…
Not bad for a smartphone camera, not bad at all…
Btw, notice the turtles…?
This is why I got them ND Filters 2 years ago..
Lumix DMC-TZ61, Krka Waterfalls Croatia
Haida ND 3.0 slim / F8.0 / ISO 100 / 4.0 sec
View attachment 867088
Just love the dynamic of these long exposures…!
We´re done...
This concludes today's episode and I think I showed, though it's not always simple to use add-on lenses and filters, it's easier than expected.
Thank you for staying with me and I hope you didn't fall asleep while reading…
This all, is just to get you going. There´s more comprehensive Tutorials out in the Web.
As always any comment is appreciated and now…
Go out there and use some Lenses….!!! 8D
To be continued…?
P.S.:
You want to use your phone like a DSLR…?
Just do it…!
Go Pro-Mode… ;D
Click to expand...