If you are using an ordinary domesic camcorder with fixed lens then close up lenses are pretty much your only option. However, decently made close-up 'supplementary' lenses work quite well for still photography so should be quite alright on a camcorder even when using HD. You don't have much to lose and even a simple, one element uncoated lens can give quite good reslts so try it and see….if you can find someone wih a close-up lens then attach it temporarily with tape or blu-tak and try some video to see for yourself what it looks like…..I doubt you will be disapointed………   Once you have 'proof of concept' you can buy a cloe-up lens with 58mm thread to fit your camcorder.

…………There may well be someone here who will send you a close-up lens that they no longer use as a kindly gesture. Not many stills photographers use them now because many modern cameras either have interchangeable lenses allowing 'macro' lenses, extention rings or bellows to be fitted….or have fixed zoom lenses with a special close-up facility.

Also, remember that most digital pocket cameras, although small, usually have video facilities of varying cleverness, and also commonly have a close up feature too……….if you can borrow a friends camera for a try you may well find that this offers a better video for close-up than your camcorder.

Edited By Bob Stevenson on 29/07/2016 06:31:50

I see the world through a pair of 3.5 dioptre single-element lenses.

Whilst there is CA in the corners, it's not particularly noticeable.

I doubt that you would see any significant loss in quality with a cam corder.

Neil

I've had good results on a dslr using an achromatic one. I'd just advice not to go too strong. Quality varies. The one I have had best results with was made by sigma for one of their zoom lenses some years ago. I tried a supposedly Canon one and it was hopeless and later found that Canon didn't actually make them. I've also tried some other screw on stuff intended for compact cameras – nvg.

I would suggest you try one of these. They clip on and the brand has a good name. You may need to fit a step up ring to get it to fit but it does cover a range of sizes as it comes.

**LINK**

They also make a stronger one, the 250.

The sigma ones crop up on ebay now and again and aren't overly strong. I use mine on a 75-300mm zoom lens on micro 4/3. Quality doesn't drop off until around 220mm or so. I posted a link to some shots I took with this some time ago. I get decent levels of magnification of things like bees from a distance of about a foot or so.

You should bear in mind that depth of field drops off as magnification is increased. By increased I mean closer focusing than a typical camera lens. Some cameras will focus down to a couple of cms at the wide angle setting but that sort of working distance is pretty useless.

John

=

Edited By Ajohnw on 29/07/2016 12:24:47

This page might help you decide what strength of lens you need.

**LINK**

You'll probably have to work out the native magnification of the lens on the camera. It relates to to size on the image on the sensor and the size of the object. To give you some idea it doesn't always need a lot of dioptres to reach one to one and I'd guess that the sensor in your camera is pretty small.

If you go too strong you will find that you haven't sufficient width of field to cover what you want to photograph.

John

–

If your clock is inanimate, why do you want to take moving pictures

I hope your next clock shows more signs of movement

Sorry….

Neil

Sam,

I just found this page, with some good sample shots using the old Minolta achromatic close-up lenses.

https://joerghaag.com/2015/06/24/achromatic-lenses-the-always-with-you-macro/

Click on the images to see them in full resolution.

MichaelG.

(I'm up late, letting my camera take multiple images of (hopefully) the North America and Pelican nebulas.)

HD isn't very demanding on optics, its only1080 pixels wide. Is it worth experimenting with a cheap +2 dioptre lens like THIS?

The other trick that works VERY well is a lens reversing ring, I still have a 52 – M42 one from years ago.

Neil

A 50mm lens, from a 35mm camera, fitted in reverse, via a reversing ring, as Neil suggests is a highly corrected 20 Dioptre close up lens, far better than a simple meniscus supplementary lens.. All that you need is a ring with threads to suit the digital/video camera lens on one side and the still camera lens on the other. A 50mm f/2 lens with faulty diaphragm operation is a good (and cheap) means of doing this.

Howard

Sam,

Those are astonishingly good results … Well Done, Sir !!

Canon has produced an amazing, 20x zoom, lens; and yet you have clearly demonstrated that it's capable of adaptation.

I cannot find an optical diagram of the lens, but I do know that it has twelve elements … Such beasts are usually optimised by the manufacture, to work within a specific 'envelope'; but performance drops dramatically outside that range. …

MichaelG.