A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on to a website Lenmates that made custom filter holder adapters for the Canon SX10/20, and SX1, thereby allowing standard 58 mm filters to be added to the lens. After doing a bit of research on prices and reviews I decided to purchase the filter holder adapter as well as the Raynox DCR-250 macro lens. I also purchased the Hoya Standard Circular Polarize Filter from an eBay store.
When my new toys arrived I immediately took it out for a test. The Lenmates adapter attached itself securely the same way as the LH-DC50 Lens Hood that came with the camera, and the len filters were easily screwed onto the adapter.
I first tried out the Hoya Polarize Filter by setting the camera into auto mode, and took a shot of a blue cloudy sky with/without the filter. I was amazed at the results of the polarize filter as it eliminated the over exposure and made the clouds appear 3D.
Another test I tried were taking pictures behind a window where the reflection of strings can be seen without the filter.
The Raynox DCR-250 macro lens wasn’t as easy to take pictures with because it was very difficult to get a clear image due to my shaky hands. It took me several shots before I could get a decent close up picture of the flower.
To really test the magnification power of the Raynox DCR-250 macro lens I took some pictures of a $20 bill. The amount of magnification that could be achieved was incredible, but to get a clear picture was also a tough task to do with my shaky hands.
A day later, I managed to borrow a light weight tripod and I tried taking magnified pictures of the $20 bill again. With the tripod I had some new challenges: It was difficult to get the $20 bill in focus and there was a lot of vibration when the camera was mounted to the tripod, especially after pressing the shutter button. To resolve the issue I had to turned off my audio system (which was blasting away), and set the self timer to 10 seconds.
More pictures taken with my polarize filter and macro lens can be seen in my gallery.
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Great write up. I have an SX20 IS and am looking for this exact product. You have helped me make my decision.
Thanks again