Diana F+ 55mm Wide Angle and Close Up Lenses: Deliciously Wide and Deliciously Close

Want to give your Diana F+ not just one, but two new ways of capturing the world? The 55mm Wide Angle and Close Up Lenses may be for you!

I’ll start this review with a confession. I’ve had the 55mm Wide-Angle and Close Up lenses since they were first released in 2008, but I’ve only used the close up attachment on my Diana F+ once or twice. For some reason, it’s the lens that I always forget to pack in my camera bag! So I thought it was high time that I took my 55mm Wide-Angle and Close Up lenses out to remind myself of what they could do!

The Wide Angle lens gives you significantly more in your shot that the standard Diana lens – obviously not as much as with the 38mm Super Wide lens, but still plenty! I’ve used these photos before in a different article, so forgive me for using them again, but I think they’re really useful in demonstrating the difference between the lenses – these are shots taken with the standard 75mm lens, the 55mm Wide-Angle lens, and the 38mm Super-Wide Angle lens, all from the same place.

If you’re considering wide-angle lenses for your Diana, it might be hard to decide between the 55mm Wide-Angle, or the 38mm Super-Wide, and I really don’t think there’s much in it – as wide angle lenses, they’re both great, and I think they’re both worth having for the different looks they give in their equally amazing wide shots. The 55mm Wide-Angle does, however, give less image distortion than the Super-Wide, so if image distortion isn’t your thing, but wide-angles are, the 55mm Wide-Angle lens is definitely for you!

To use the Close Up lens, you have to have the Wide-Angle lens already on your camera – the Close Up lens is an attachment that slides onto the front of the Wide-Angle lens – you also have to make sure your Wide Angle lens is set onto the 4M-infinity focal distance if you want your close-up photos to turn out!

The Close Up lens allows you to shoot 15cm away from your subject. I really, really love the look that the Close Up lens gives – clear, detailed close-ups, with a lovely, swirling, out-of-focus background.

I’ve found that when you’re using the Close Up lens, you need to do a bit more thinking than when you’re using any of the other lenses, though. I’ve found that if you’re not quite right on the 15cm distance, your photo won’t be in focus – so don’t rush your shot! If you use this lens quite often, you will soon learn how far away 15cm is and you’ll be able to rely on your instinct and feeling a lot more.

The second thing you’ll have to really think about is the lens versus the viewfinder. if you’ve spent any time with your Diana, you’ll have realised that what you see through your viewfinder isn’t exactly what your camera’s lens will see (and therefore what will show up on your film!). With the Close Up lens, when you’re 15cm away from your subject, this is a much more exaggerated issue than with any other lenses. One way to get around this is to stop using the view finder! Just line up your shot visually, looking at where your lens is, and where your subject is in relation to the lens. Obviously, I still need some practise at this – the next two photos are good examples of mistakes – being closer than 15cm and therefore not in focus, and not lining up the lens and subject properly…

One of the nicest things about the 55mm Wide Angle and Close Up lenses is that twice the options! With this one lens set, you get wide, encompassing shots, and detailed, intimate close-ups. I don’t think I’ll be forgetting to pack them again!

You can now get wide and up-close with this special set of lenses made especially for your Diana + or Diana F+ camera. The Diana+ 55mm Wide-Angle & Close Up Lenses make your images drip with color, with an extra kick of contrast and saturation. Get your own Diana+ 55mm Wide-Angle & Close-Up Lenses now!

written by ava_maria on 2012-04-17 #gear #review #wide-angle #55mm #close-up #lens #diana-f