I’ve added a lens to my camera bag, and I’m looking forward to resuming my long dormant love affair with macrophotography. The new lens is lightweight, it slips easily into a pocket, and it cost less than USD90—even when I added a protective UV filter. Best of all, I can use it with three of my four existing lenses. Care to guess what I’m talking about? Well, I’ve already given the game away in the title of this piece: My new lens is a Raynox DCR-150, otherwise known as the Macro/Close-Up Conversion Lens. Here it is on its own (left photo) and mounted on my Pentax 55-300mm zoom lens (right photo):

The DCR-150 comprises two primary elements: a compound diopter and a threaded adapter with spring arms and a clamp. You can see both of these in the left-hand photo below, along with the separate 49mm UV filter I added to the package. Assembling the lens is a snap. The diopter screws into the adapter—see the right-hand photo below—and the assembly is then mounted on an existing lens in much the same way as you’d mount a pinch-clamp filter cap. (The DCR-150 can be used with any lens taking a filter sized between 52mm and 67mm.)

How does it work? Put simply, the DCR-150 adds a macro capability to your existing lenses, allowing you to get as close as eight inches to your subject. Here’s an example of what it can do. First, I photographed some European larch cones with my Pentax 55-300 mm telephoto zoom, shooting at 300 mm:

This was taken without a tripod, and I haven’t cropped the image. (I’ll explain the white box at the top in a minute.) Using the telephoto, I couldn’t get any closer than 55 inches. Now compare that first shot with a second, taken using the same lens after I’d fitted the DCR-150 converter:

As before, I held my camera in my hand, and I haven’t cropped the photo. (Both shots were made at ISO 100, too.) But what a difference the DCR-150 made! This time, my lens was only eight inches from the subject—so close that I had to zoom out to 77 mm in order to capture an entire cone in the shot. Then, when I zoomed back in to 300 mm, this was what I got:

It’s a picture of a “spur shoot,” about the size of a wizened pea. You can see the edge of one in the white box in the first shot of larch cones.

And now, since spring is in the air, how about a picture of a lilac bud?

Once again, the shot was hand-held and uncropped— and I kept the zoom at 300 mm. Pretty impressive, don’t you think? The DCR-150 may not equal the performance of a true macro lens, but it’s easier to shoehorn into a crowded camera bag. And it’s a lot cheaper, too. So you can expect to see more close-ups on these pages in future, as I go in search of the secrets of the small world.

Further Reading

• • “The Inquiring Eye” Archived photography articles at Tamia Nelson’s Outside.
• • “Backcountry Photography: Up Close and Personal” Tips on shooting close-up photos.
• • “Backcountry Photography” Archived articles at Paddling.net.
• • “The Raynox Club” A showcase for some breathtaking examples from the portfolios of Pentax camera owners.

Questions? Comments? Just click here!

My camera hasn’t put on any weight, but my collection of lenses has now grown until I can no longer get everything I want to carry in the smallish lumbar pack I use for camera gear. So I started looking around for something bigger. The search proved frustrating. Few large lumbar packs are designed with photographers in mind, and purpose-built camera packs are mighty pricey, as well as unnecessarily bulky. (I often carry a rucksack when I’m in the field, and my camera bag has to coexist with that.)

After several fruitless weeks of desultory catalog shopping, however, I decided that it was time to get serious. And I began by listing my requirements. My new bag would have to…

• • Be large enough to hold all my kit.
• • Give me quick and easy access to all my lenses and accessories.
• • Be sturdy.
• • Be reasonably priced. (Er… Cheap.)
• • Be inconspicuous. (Bright colors have their place. Not here, though.)
• • Be easy to reconfigure.

The first thing I found that seemed to fit the bill was a Military-Style Operator’s Bag from Sportsman’s Guide. This rather quirky outfitter isn’t the first one to spring to mind when I’m looking for gear, I admit, but while I don’t have much use for a walking stick fashioned from the “actual reproductive organs [sic] [of] a full-grown bull”—de gustibus non est disputandum, right?—let alone a “factory new” 75-round AK-47 drum magazine, I often find something of interest on the Guide’s virtual shelves. The Operator’s Bag is a case in point. Though I was pretty sure I wasn’t the kind of “operator” the catalog copywriter had in mind, the bag’s description promised great things. It…

• • Is just the right size (14 inches long by 6½ inches wide by 8³⁄₄ inches high).
• • Has a single large compartment, with…
• • Full-length interior mesh pockets along each side, plus…
• • Twin zippers and a wide top flap for easy access.
• • Is built with heavy-duty polyester fabric and nylon webbing.
• • Has a padded adjustable shoulder strap, plus…
• • Hand grips that join up with a hook-and-loop fastener, and…
• • Webbing loops for attaching pouches (similar to the military PAL System).
• • Is basic black, with no day-glo logos.
• • Has a refreshingly modest price tag (USD20).

Have a look:

The adjustable shoulder strap comes off if I don’t need it. And while the bag isn’t quite rigid enough to stand on its own, the reinforced bottom keeps it from collapsing into a shapeless sack. Still, I figured I could improve on this by cutting a narrow strip from an old closed-cell foam sleeping pad and placing it inside the bag so that it lapped up against the end walls. (The raised internal seams hold the foam in place.) This did the trick. The empty bag now stands up without slumping. There’s a bonus, too: The yellow foam makes it easy for me to find things inside, even in low light.

Despite the coated polyester fabric, however, the bag’s not waterproof. But the good-sized flap over the double zip should keep light rain or swirling mist at bay long enough for me to get my gear under cover.

That flap actually posed a bit of a problem. It’s impossible to peel it open without making a hell of a racket: Velcro is notoriously noisy stuff, and the flap is anchored with a lot of it. But I found a simple workaround. Just thread the webbing zipper pulls out from under the flap (see Photo 1, above). Then you can open the pack in (almost) total silence, without having to peel back the Velcro.

Of course, all this would mean very little if the bag couldn’t carry the load. It’s up to the job, though—and more, besides. See for yourself:

Odds and ends (spare batteries, polarizing filters, remote shutter release, bandanna) get tucked into the zippered mesh pockets, while my camera (with one lens already fixed in place) and two supplementary lenses fit neatly into the main compartment, which I’ve partitioned using more foam scraps. And as the next photo shows, there’s plenty of room for more:

I’ve added a third supplementary lens (for a total of four lenses in all, including the one on the camera) plus a Raynox DCR-150 closeup converter. And there’s space left over for a small umbrella, a wind shell and hat, and a hearty lunch. No water bottle, though. It would fit, but all water bottles leak sooner or later, and I like to keep my Pentax dry.

How does the loaded bag carry? As comfortably as any shoulder bag I’ve ever owned. I just sling it over my neck like a messenger bag if I’m not carrying a rucksack. After that, it rides against the small of my back until I need to get something out, at which time I slide it round. (I also carry it against my stomach in thick brush and on crowded streets.) When I have a rucksack on my back, the messenger bag carry won’t work, however. Then the camera bag goes under the rucksack’s flap. It’s not as easy to get at, of course, but it rides well there.

The bottom line? My new bag does the job I wanted it to do—and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg, either. That’s some smooth Operator, eh?

Further Reading

• • “The Inquiring Eye” Archived photography articles at Tamia Nelson’s Outside
• • “Backcountry Photography” Archived articles at Paddling.net

Questions? Comments? Just click here!

A shaky camera makes for fuzzy shots. Sometimes blur is a good thing, but that’s true only when you want it in a shot. Most of the time you’re looking for crisp, sharp pictures. A neck strap is a great help here. I use mine almost every day, and what I can do, you can do, too. But before I show you how a simple strap can kill the shakes, I suggest you take a close look at your equipment. I wasn’t happy with the rather flimsy strap that came with my camera, so I made my own from lengths of nylon webbing—that’s the same stuff used for climbing harnesses—all joined up with water knots. The result? A strap that’s as close to bombproof as any strap can be. If you’re afraid your camera strap can’t take the strain, however, or if the hardware on your camera looks as if it might pull out with a gentle tug, you’d be wise to stop reading now. What follows is not for you.

OK. If you’re satisfied that your strap and camera fittings are up to the job, let’s get started. I have three basic braces, the first of which is the “wrist wrap.” All I do is slip my right hand through the bight of the strap and twist the webbing twice around my wrist. Then I grip the camera with my hand in the shooting position.

The wrist wrap is ideal for times when I need to shoot on the move. Though it offers the least support of the three braces, it lets me carry my camera in hand as I walk, so I’m always ready for a quick shot. It also allows my wrist to take some of the load. (No digital SLR is exactly light.) This reduces the strain on my hand and fingers. And that makes for much steadier shots.

At other times, when I don’t anticipate the need to take a snap shot, I drape my camera strap over my shoulder or around my neck. A shoulder carry facilitates my second brace, the aptly named “shoulder wrap.” It’s not as quick as the wrist wrap—though it still allows you get get your camera on target pretty fast—but it offers much better support for the camera. The sketch above illustrates how it’s done. My right hand holds the camera, while my left supports the lens. The strap stays on my right shoulder, and it’s just the right length to provide tension when I bring the camera to my eye. (I can fine tune this tension by pressing my cheek the webbing, a move analogous to the rifle marksman’s “spot weld.”) One obvious caveat: If you’re wearing a slippery nylon windbreaker, your strap may slide off your shoulder when you bring the camera up. The remedy? Wear something made from a fabric that has a bit more bite.

Lastly, there’s what I call the “tension brace”:

It steadies shots when I hold my camera out at arm’s length. As cell-phone camera users quickly learn, this can be a rather hit-or-miss process, so it pays to make multiple exposures. The name of the tension brace gives its secret away. With the strap looped around my neck I simply push the camera out as far as it will go, point it at my subject, and shoot. My right hand holds the camera, while I cup my left hand over the viewfinder. (This prevents light entering the camera and throwing off the exposure.) The result? A rock solid, shake-free shot. And the tension brace is versatile, too. It works equally well whether you’re standing, bending down, or squatting. That said, I don’t often use it—I prefer to frame my shots with the viewfinder at my eye whenever possible—but it’s often the best way to steady a camera when the light is low and you’re caught without either a tripod or a remote shutter release.

Maybe you’re wondering just how I can frame a shot and focus if I’m covering my camera’s viewfinder when I squeeze the shutter. I’m not surprised. But it’s really pretty simple. I squint through the viewfinder at arm’s length to set up the shot, aiming the spot-metering frame (the center of the viewfinder) at my subject and relying on the autofocus to do its job. I then push the palm of my left hand gently against the LCD screen and cover the viewfinder with my fingers, doing my best to maintain my alignment on target as I squeeze the shutter. And most of the time it works.

Can’t shake the shakes? Then make a sturdy strap for your camera and give the wrist wrap, shoulder wrap, and tension brace a try. Of course, since no two models of camera are exactly alike, you may have to modify my techniques to make them work for you. If so, don’t hesitate. You don’t get points for form in photography, after all. Good shots are all that count.

Further Reading

• • “The Inquiring Eye” A collection of photography articles from Tamia Nelson’s Outside
• • “Backcountry Photography” My photography articles for Paddling.net
• • “Make a Custom Camera Neck Strap”

Questions? Comments? Just click here!