2 x Converter

Sorry if this is a stupid question but here goes.

Exactly how much difference would a 2 x converter make to a 50mm f 2:8 macro lens, i know i would probably loose a couple of stops. Would the magnification be better (ie more than 1:1) or would it act just like a 150mm macro. I would rather get a 100mm f 2:8 macro but i've seen a few 50mm for sale lately.

AFAIK You'd end up with a 100mm F5.6 Macro lens with greater than 1:1 magnification because of the closer focusing distance.

But what would the quality be like.

The thing about converters is that they don't alter the minimum focusing distance of the lens, so you get a doubling of magnification.

The downside is the loss of lens speed, but even more so the loss of quality.

I have not yet found a converter that is better than just blowing up the centre of the image instead.

Yeah the quality factor was what i was thinking. It's just that i've been bidding on e-bay for a macro lens around the 100mm range and keep getting outbid. So i thought of going for the cheaper option of a 50mm plus converter.

http://photo.net/learn/optics/tc2/index.html -

"Since results using a 2x TC are always inferior to those from the prime lens with no TC added, the question is sometimes raised as to whether it's better to use a 2x TC or to simply enlarge the image from the prime lens by a factor of 2. Below is an example that gives a clear answer. The image made using the 2x TC is clearly much better then the 2x enlargement of the image from the prime lens."

To save money, how about using extension tubes or a reversing ring with a non-macro lens? Some more work is involved but the results can be very good.

Thanks for the help looks like i am going to have to be a bit more patient and buy the lens that i would prefer to have.

Remember the old saying: "There ain't no such thing as a bad macro lens".

Look out for an old manual-focus lens from Pentax or Ricoh or Tamron (especially) and you should be OK.

G

In general I would avoid converters. In my experience I have always had better results from cropping an image of any given lens than that produced by a converter.