Lowcola
DIY Gear: Using an old kit lens as a macro lens
1. If you have one of these old plastic kit lenses around, something that you are not using for anything serious, you can give it a new life as a macro lens by removing the front element. Here I have an old Canon 38-76 mm lens. You may find these in eBay, second hand stores, etc.
WARNING: This will not work with most lenses. When in doubt, try first with a throw-away broken lens or something that you won't mind breaking. By attempting this you most likely void warranty (if any), you may accidentally break your lens, or you may not be able to put it back together again. Plan ahead, don't hurry.
2. Use a small flat-head screwdriver to remove the plastic ring that is glued onto the front. Be careful not to tear or break it.
3. You'll find three tiny cross-head screws under the ring. They may be really tight. Cheap tools may not work here. Use a good, hardened, exact-fit screwdriver and keep it firmly in place, otherwise you may ruin the heads and then you can't remove the front element without breaking things. Try not to scratch the lens.
4. Pull the front element out. Now you have an odd-looking but fairly decent macro lens! Attach it normally to the camera (not in reverse; no adapters needed).
Keep the parts so you can put it back together later. You can the use lens cap and the front element together as a "lens cap" of the macro lens. A rubber band can keep things together.
The depth of field will be very shallow, so you may want to shoot with the smallest aperture you can. In bright sunlight this should be no problem. Otherwise you may want to use a tripod and a remote, or the camera's self-timer, and flash(es) etc. Without the front element the auto-focus will not work, so you'd better turn it off. Adjust the focus by moving the camera or the subject. You can fine-tune the focus by turning the zoom ring.
Using an extender increases the magnification.
You can see some macro sample shots taken with this lens here.
DIY Gear: Using an old kit lens as a macro lens
1. If you have one of these old plastic kit lenses around, something that you are not using for anything serious, you can give it a new life as a macro lens by removing the front element. Here I have an old Canon 38-76 mm lens. You may find these in eBay, second hand stores, etc.
WARNING: This will not work with most lenses. When in doubt, try first with a throw-away broken lens or something that you won't mind breaking. By attempting this you most likely void warranty (if any), you may accidentally break your lens, or you may not be able to put it back together again. Plan ahead, don't hurry.
2. Use a small flat-head screwdriver to remove the plastic ring that is glued onto the front. Be careful not to tear or break it.
3. You'll find three tiny cross-head screws under the ring. They may be really tight. Cheap tools may not work here. Use a good, hardened, exact-fit screwdriver and keep it firmly in place, otherwise you may ruin the heads and then you can't remove the front element without breaking things. Try not to scratch the lens.
4. Pull the front element out. Now you have an odd-looking but fairly decent macro lens! Attach it normally to the camera (not in reverse; no adapters needed).
Keep the parts so you can put it back together later. You can the use lens cap and the front element together as a "lens cap" of the macro lens. A rubber band can keep things together.
The depth of field will be very shallow, so you may want to shoot with the smallest aperture you can. In bright sunlight this should be no problem. Otherwise you may want to use a tripod and a remote, or the camera's self-timer, and flash(es) etc. Without the front element the auto-focus will not work, so you'd better turn it off. Adjust the focus by moving the camera or the subject. You can fine-tune the focus by turning the zoom ring.
Using an extender increases the magnification.
You can see some macro sample shots taken with this lens here.