Massa 0.45x Wide Angle / Macro Lens Adapter Review
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 7:29PM (If you can't see the video, please click here.)
I've always been skeptical about this sort of lens adapter that claims to give you great macro and wide-angle shots simply by screwing onto the front of your existing lens.
I am however on a tight budget, so when I saw the wide angle / macro and telephoto adapters going cheap (around £15) on eBay, I had to give them a go.
Before we go any further I will say that the telephoto lens was rubbish, so don't bother getting one, but the 0.45x 58mm Massa Wide Angle / Macro converter was worth every penny.
You will get vignetting, or darkening of the corners, on the Canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens at its widest setting, but simply dial the lens to around 20mm and everything is nice and clear. You will obviously get some distortion of subjects, and this isn't the sharpest glass right into the corners, but it fits nicely into most camera bags without taking up much room and will get you out of a fix if you find you can't back up enough to get all of your subject(s) in.
The macro capabilities of this lens were very good too, making this type of lens adapter / filter a viable alternative to extension tubes or a true macro lens, and at a fraction of the price.
True, I won't have this piece of glass screwed onto my 18-55 all the time, but having a small, light, and very cheap filter in my bag for specific situations, both wide and macro, is very useful indeed.
So before you go out splashing hundreds of pounds on a true wide angle or macro lens, get yourself over to eBay and have a look for "wide angle lens adapters" in your filter size, and give them a go. You might find you like them, and can spend the cash on something else entirely!
Cheers, Rob.
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