Testing the Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro Lens with the Olympus 60mm and 30mm Macro Lenses
There are not a lot choices for a Micro Four Thirds macro lens with a greater than 1:1 magnification. The Olympus 60mm macro will give you up to a 1:1 magnification and the Olympus 30mm macro gives up to a 1.25:1 magnification with a very short focal length.
The Raynox DCR-250 super macro lens will give you up to a 2.5x magnification when attached to the Olympus 60mm lens. The Raynox DCR-250 works by clipping on the front of your lens.
How to Attach the Raynox DCR-250 on the Olympus 60mm and 30mm Macro Lenses?
The only problem is that it fits lenses with a diameter of 52-67mm and the Olympus 60mm macro has a diameter of only 46mm. To use the Raynox DCR-250 on the Olympus 60mm and 30mm macro lenses you will need a 46-52mm Step Up Adapter Ring. The Step Up Adapter ring will increase the diameter so the Raynox can clip on to the front of the lens.
Testing Out the Raynox DCR-250 on Olympus Gear
I tested the Raynox Super Macro Snap-On lens with an Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, 60mm and 30mm macro lenses, Meike 10mm extension tube, Meike MK320 flash, and diffuser. All shots were taken handheld.
Overall the Raynox DCR-250 performed really well with my Olympus gear. Although, the Raynox clips on top of my 60mm macro. I didn’t noticed any degradation of quality or loss of sharpness.
The camera did have difficulty autofocusing with the Raynox attached. This wasn’t a big deal as I normally manual focus using focus peaking for taking macro photographs. With the Raynox attached to the Olympus 60mm macro lens has a really shallow depth of field so I typically stopped down the lens to f/13 – f/16.
I also had to be careful that my diffuser didn’t bump into my subject or the plant where it was located as I was able to focus very close.
Another feature that I really like with the Raynox DCR-250 is that it clips-on to the lens. This makes it really quick and easy to remove the Raynox if you want to take a photograph with just your macro lens like if the subject is too large or you want a wider perspective. Even though it can be attached or detached easily, it still holds quite firmly on the lens and I wasn’t concerned with the Raynox falling off the lens.
Conclusion on Using the Raynox DCR-250 with Olympus Macro Lenses
I was able to photograph much smaller objects without a noticeable loss of quality using the Raynox. I also really like that the Raynox attached and detaches easily from the lens so I can quickly go between using and not using the Raynox.
I would have liked the Raynox to come with a rear cover so the lens will be protected when I take the Raynox off in the field. The included back cover only fits when the lens is separated from the clip.
Overall, I’m glad I purchased the Raynox DCR-250 to use with my Olympus 60mm macro. For only $70 plus $7 for the Step-up adapter ring, it is quite the value to be able to do extreme macro photography with Micro Four Thirds cameras.
Written by Martin Belan
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8 Comments
Tony Enticknap
I saw a reference to this article via another search, which led me to your blog. Having just taken a leap of faith in part-exchanging all my Nikon DSLR wildlife cameras and lenses to invest in the Olympus system, I’m looking for all the advice, tips and tricks I can find from those that have been using the system in similar ways that I will. I’m still in the process of setting everything up and although I’ve taken a few macro shots, I haven’t yet gone beyond the basics with flash, tubes, close-up lenses etc, but I do have all the kit I need. When I purchased the Raynox DCR-250 I was advised to buy a 46-43mm step-down ring rather than the 46-52mm step-up you’re using. This allows the Raynox to fit directly to the 60mm macro lens. Pros and cons if you like the facility of easy unclipping, but I thought it was worth mentioning, because for the very low cost, it’s a good alternative option. And, if you’re not using the clip, it stores better.
Martin Belan
Hi Tony. Congrats on the switch to Olympus / MFT and thanks for visiting the blog and commenting. I prefer the flexibility of easily unclipping the Raynox from the 60mm while in the field. This way I can quickly shoot a subject both with and without the Raynox. I haven’t had any issues with the Raynox detaching from the lens.
Bharat
You can use the metal cap of a jam jar of appropriate diameter (or of any other bottle) to clip on to the back of the Raynox. Works very well indeed, can be done single handed, and you can just slip the entire assembly into your pocket.
Martin Belan
Good tip Bharat! Thanks for sharing
Russell
Using the Raynox 250 with the 60mm at minimum focusing distance for very tiny subjects or details (e.g. just the head of a fly), do you loose a lot of clarity relative to using the 60mm along? For me, cropping a pic made with the 60 mm alone is much, much sharper than using the 60mm with the Raynox 250 attached. I’m wondering if something is wrong with mine–or if that is to be expected.
Russell
Sorry, I ment to write “…loose a lot of clarity relative to using the 60mm ALONE”
Martin Belan
Hi Russell,
I think anytime you add multiple optics you will have some loss in quality. I haven’t seen a significant loss of quality using the Raynox. I just used it this weekend with the 60mm+Raynox+10mm+16mm extension tubes focus stacking and was happy with the results.
rsp
I’m late to the discussion, but perhaps someone will find this useful. The addition of the Raynox 250 to my 60mm+10+16mm extension tubes results in increased sharpness of fine details when compared to cropping the image created using the same setup but without the Raynox. However, if you’re focus stacking, the Raynox will greatly decrease the depth of focus (something like 1mm with and 4 mm without when using in-camera focus staking).