CM-3500A MicroExplorer from McGill
Raynox, the world leader in macro/microphotography, has 2 flagship series which have been gaining popularity all over
the world, namely the CM-2000A and CM-3500A, which are McGill's improvised packages. CM-2000A consists of M150 and M250
while CM-3500A has +6, +12 and +24diopter lenses. A simple comparison below informs
potential users on the performance and magnification made possible by using both series. As pictures paint
a thousand words, the Technical Dept of McGill has produced the following images to make the differences obvious.
A coin, of 23mm (slightly less than 1") diameter, is the object of this comparison. Camera used for this test
is a consumer model - Canon A510, with 3.2MP
and is no longer in production. All images are at 4x optical zoom only. Imagine the tremendous potential if used
with 10x optical zoom! Pictures are taken hand-held, and listed in
order of increasing diopter values.
(NOTE: The formula
between focal length and diopter is inversely related, eg. focal length = 1000/diopter. For example, the +8diopter
M250 (SAME as DCR-250) macro lens will yield a focal length of 125mm. If the DSLR lens used is 125mm focal length,
then images produced by M250-125mm-lens setup will yield a lifesize macro ratio of 1:1.)
FINAL NOTE: The CM-2000A lenses, M150 and M250, can be stacked to increase the magnification to +12.8diopter! This will
be almost similar to the +12diopter lens of the CM-3500A. However the 3 lenses of CM-3500A cannot be stacked amongst
themselves, but you can stack anyone of these 3 to M150 or M250 using the stepping ring provided inside the CM-2000A
package. The highest achievable magnification would be +32diopter!