My daughter will be taking my 100mm macro lens and her EOS 7D to Costa Rica for three weeks. So, I decided to investigate my current other options for making closeup photos.
One of my past favorites for closeups was a 300mm f/4 IS lens with a 1.4X extender. I also used a Canon 500D closeup filter on the 300mm lens without the extender.
I no longer have the 300mm lens but I have the 500D filter and a 1.4X extender. The longest lens I currently own is a 70-200mm f/2.8L lens without image stabilization.
One of the problems with using the 500D filter is that there is a very limited in focus range. Using it with a zoom lens creates more options than with a prime lens however.
Here are a bunch of samples. From the 100mm macro at minimum focusing distance to various zoom shots with the closeup filter, with and without the extender.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyp0X4_x4cF6AouDad8Fk8waAXcoSnUJJAoC50dDjRrB-OQFkJ0U_tj5dTeLNNzipn8iydDp3CmmGY0mhs79puOGa2mgsALlh34FkaAXDkWDNsS6wdqcIW2inSCDDsSM7QkDF8jt4M_S0/s400/CU100M.JPG) |
100mm macro lens at minimum focusing distance (MFD) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLOLP063rroD5-YaZ9gcPYBRP8jJ6OuIwt7ggvmWQT6pG6QRESaDXEj55FdegGy7rrUDhyXTiet_JwTIPatFJ6fYOCyGSbPh2QWHAFVcYYjiB0Ve_3CHBfRkXEhDbbOm3pggmU2qKwcZO/s400/CU200MMFD.JPG) |
70-200 zoom at 200mm w/500D w/o extender at MFD |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOidhGjHMYZvhLMU9YnnidoGeWTyqlzueii8D8-G_Vi95cH1_xycgjYSVvgWULeH2DwjkV5K_MInfOA00c5EptR4XeC4g_zZtQXmkbf7M14q4cgPV3T7GZ6ebhGti0KHKHe0_plbU9AEM/s400/CU140MMFD.JPG) |
70-200 with extender at 140mm w/500D at MFD |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmZ7TDiBpxXRe6NwFxkPcwgIHhnqCryz0rxJDovsjx2N41OCsZQj5Drr3GULupAwUdWAQBMKR-bVi4hpc6BeJ6U9-Qp3bUXEClXDcnOt4nClxWACAbMHpO9iA26TWOq8bomXpq1KGRiJp/s400/CU140MIFD.JPG) |
70-200 with extender at 140mm w/500D at Infinity Focus |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLsKvTn4BMGq0W13uSOeV-GOx9fQz_I27tQx3LMvNx3HLWeTVLOz-L0bkwde66ev9tPISahTLZyfEOvFmf1ysCPfptHhvxLXpM-DaV6S1sPv03ovU7InJAHtAxZYzoS3VbBySpGaZBW4f/s400/CU280MMFD.JPG) |
70-200 with extender at 280mm w/500D at MFD |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQeqOexdTMB3eXUu7b5AaYapx9ewf1HOu41xqz5yER9eiywdc0sQU28CFbPVlSukstzvxU9V6S-GueqknwY2wvR9H4Abb-aU7d51KB0-CpU4vcYo8NjBshcMQlM2qPPwDIWFeRjHVVP1Z/s400/CU280MIFD.JPG) |
70-200 with extender at 280mm w/500D at Infinity Focus |
UPDATE 7/19/16:
Another closeup option is the crop sensor SL1 and the EF-S 55-250mm lens which focuses pretty close.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNJKOdeuN2J5YPymwDSAq1kYMVxIrdFdY4zQggvZKA9x3St8_AqYC5C6A2CFVV0W7QXmZ-QCinE4JR6nVwKqUh4KAvy1EP-ZoSBRYIVgNsSkh1kvWyq0a3sxyDER2G0GezKmHXSKa0up7/s400/IMG_0221rs.JPG) |
55-250 at 250mm (400mm EQ) at MFD (33.46" from sensor to subject) |