Canon PowerShot A650 Macro Samples
The purpose of this test is to compare the built in macro mode of the Canon A650 with some of the more common macro lenses/filters available. Included are the Canon 250D, Canon 500D, the Hoya +7 Macro set, the Raynox DCR-250, the Hoya +10, and the Raynox MSN 202 and 505.
The focal range for the A650 is 7.4mm to 44.4mm, or in 35mm terms, 35mm - 210mm. Focal lengths given in the EXIF information are actual. To convert to 35mm film equivalent, multiply by 4.73. Basic camera settings are ISO80, Large/Fine, Custom white balance and the IS turned off (because the camera was mounted).
"Distance to subject", or "working distance" means distance between the actual macro lens and subject In this test, we give working distance range, which is the range between nearest possible working distance and most distant.
You can view either the whole image (big files, around 3mb) or a quarter crop (upper left corner) which shows the corner, edges, and center of the image in a much smaller file.
Except for the first sample showing the built in macro mode at full wide, each macro lens is shown at 12.73mm (about 60mm) and full telephoto – 44.4mm (210mm). The first setting is halfway into the macro range, or 5 zoom steps. This allows adequate working distance for light to reach the subject, and is also almost distortion free compared to the full wide setting. Though the full telephoto setting (13 zoom steps) is supposedly out of the macro range (0 – 10 zoom steps), it provides a little more magnification and working distance. Width of the frame is at the minimum working distance for each sample.
You might notice that all samples exhibit some degree of corner softness when viewed at 100%. This can be attributed to the native lens which shows slight softness as can be seen in the native macro samples.
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We've added a new feature that shows depth of field (DOF) for each macro lens. A dime is about .050" thick, or about 1/20" (or about 1.25mm). Generally, the higher the magnification, the shallower the DOF is. This image is a 1200x800 center crop* to keep the file sizes down *Except for the Raynox MSN-202 and MSN-505, which are shown full size since a 1200px crop wouldn’t show enough of the image to be useful. |
As you will see, DOF of the more powerful lenses is very shallow. For this reason it's important that the cameras sensor is parallel to the subject plane if you want sharp focus across the image. A copy stand is handy for doing this kind of critical work
All measurements are in millimeters just to keep things simple. It’s easy to convert – 25.4mm to an inch, so 100mm is about 4 inches.
All samples are straight from the camera with no sharpening or enhancement of any kind.
These samples were taken with the Canon G7 since the Canon A650IS and the Canon G7/9 have identical built-in lenses.
Click images to see original Large Fine file, |
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No diopter, native macro mode at 7.4mm. |
No diopter, native macro mode at 12.73mm.
(mid macro range) Working distance: 45mm  Frame width: 42mm
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No diopter, native macro mode at |
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Good image quality, but not much magnification for a fairly expensive lens. Click images to see original Large Fine file, |
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Canon 500D +2
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Canon 500D +2
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Canon 250D +4
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Canon 250D +4
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Good image quality used singly. Edge softness/CA more pronounced when combined. Click images to see original Large Fine file, |
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Hoya +1
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Hoya +2
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Hoya +4
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Hoya +4
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Hoya +7
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Hoya +7
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Raynox DCR250 +8
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Raynox DCR250 +8
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Hoya +10
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Hoya +10
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Raynox MSN202 9.3X
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Raynox MSN202 9.3X Working distance: 30 - 33mm
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Raynox MSN505
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Raynox MSN505 Working distance: 17 - 18mm
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