Although the Nikon p900 is a very versatile camera body that has managed to earn itself a huge customer base of photographers who use it as their go to camera of choice, one weak area that the camera does have is with macro photography. Due to the Nikon p900 having such a huge customer base, we always see people reaching out with a number of different questions for the camera body and one of the more frequently asked questions that we have seen asked is based around the best macro lens for Nikon p900 cameras.
Due to this, we have decided to focus on this for todays article as we usually see people instantly dismiss the possibility of getting good close up macro photographs with their p900 due to the mounted lens but there is hope. The Raynox DCR-250 is a super macro, snap-on lens that works flawlessly with the Nikon p900 and offers some excellent image quality that will help you get some excellent macro photographs.
As the Raynox DCR-250 uses a snap-on lens mount you can use it with the Nikon p900 even though it has a permanently fitted lens. On top of this, due to the Raynox DCR-250 being a snap-on lens, it can work with a huge combination of camera bodies and lenses so it has managed to earn itself a huge core customer base over the years. With it being such a unique little macro lens that performs so well, a large number of the people who use it as their macro lens of choice have also published of the lens going over their experiences, thoughts, and opinions on it.
If you do have the time then at least skimming over some of those reviews can be well worth your time as they offer some excellent insight into just how well the Raynox DCR-250 is able to perform and the levels of image quality that you are able to expect for its very budget friendly price tag. We are now going to be taking a more in-depth look at the Raynox DCR-250 as well as what it has to offer you, your Nikon p900, and your macro photography to try and explain why we feel that it is the best option for our readers.
Performance And Functionality
As the Raynox DCR-250 is a clip-on macro lens, it has to support your filter thread size rather than your lens mount but as the Nikon p900 comes with a 67mm lens filter thread size, the 52mm to 67mm supported range of the Raynox DCR-250 will let you mount it directly to your p900. Although it is on the very upper limit of the supported thread sizes, it will mount without the need of an additional adapter or extension tube while having a secure fit too.
Another great little feature on the Raynox DCR-250 is that it has its own lens filter thread on the front of the lens that comes in at a 49mm thread size. This means that you can mount a 49mm UV lens filter to the Raynox DCR-250 for additional protection for your rig if you like. That said though, for macro photography, it is more likely that you will be wanting to mount a decent macro flash to the Raynox DCR-250 for optimal image quality so you will probably be putting a setup ring onto the 49mm thread to let you mount your macro flash.
One of the main things that we see Nikon p900 owners report about the Raynox DCR-250 when using it for macro photography with their camera is just how easy it is to actually mount. There is no need to unscrew anything like there are with some of the other macro lens adaptors on the market right now, you literally just pop it on and off the end of your p900’s lens as required and its small, compact size lets you store it as required when not in use without it taking up much space or adding much weight to your camera accessories.
This lets you quickly and easily switch to or from using your p900 for macro photography or for some other photography niche. For example, say you are out for a walk hoping to get some macro photographs of bugs and flowers in the country side but you also like to capture a few photographs of birds. The Raynox DCR-250 lets you switch between the two within seconds so you can go from capturing a photograph of a flower to a photograph of a rare bird in your area and not miss the opportunity. This is simply not possible with the other macro lens options available for the Nikon p900 now and in our opinion, is the main reason that the Raynox DCR-250 has managed to establish itself as the dominant option on the market.
Chromatic aberration is minimal to none existent when using the lens although it can have some issues if you are using it for high contrast pictures in bright lights but even then, for a budget friendly macro lens, it really is not that bad. One myth that we would also like to quickly address about the Raynox DCR-250 is that it is not true that the more glass between your subject and your camera sensor, the less sharp the image quality will be. This is an old myth that has been around for decades and although it may have been true back then, modern lens elements are made to the highest possible standards and they don’t reduce the sharpness of the image you capture. This is ideal for macro photography as you likely want the sharpest possible image quality possible to capture the subject of your photograph in all of their glory.
Raynox really have done a great job with their DCR-250 macro lens and it is easy to see how it has grown to have such a huge customer base with in such a short space of time. With the popularity of the lens steadily increasing, we only expect the reputation of the lens to get better and better moving forward and on top of that, more and more Nikon p900 users are stating to try the lens and are reporting that they have actually been surprised by the macro photography image quality it is able to provide.
User Interface And Control System
The Raynox DCR-250 is very easy to use thankfully and you can definitely tell that Raynox have put the time and effort into the actual design of the clip-on macro lens to ensure that even if you are new to using a clip-on lens, you should easily be able to mount it to your Nikon p900 without issue. Essentially the lens is made up of two parts, the adapter mount and the actual lens but the system is very straight forward.
First up, you mount your adapter mount to the lens filter thread on your Nikon p900 to secure the actual mount in place. Secondly, you simply slide the lens into the slot on the mount adaptor and then you are good to go. Like we mentioned above, if you are wanting to use a macro flash with the Raynox DCR-250 on your p900 then you would mount your step-up ring to the filter threads on the actual DCR-250 and then mount your macro flash to the step-up ring.
It really is that simple, one you have gone through the process a few times, we would imagine that the majority of photographers will be able to get through the process very quickly. On top of this, you don’t have to fully remove the adapter mount from your Nikon p900 to return to the regular camera functionality too. This is why we mentioned that the Raynox DCR-250 is such a great little macro lens for the p900, you can literally slide the lens element out of the adapter mount and you are back to a regular p900.
This versatility scores the Raynox DCR-250 a ton of points over what the competing clip-on or tube based macro lens options for the p900 are offering and is one of the reasons it has proven to be such a popular option amongst the community. The final thing that we want to quickly touch on about the user interface for the lens is that it is also extremely easy to clean. Due to being a simple clip-on lens, there is no need to strip it as you might have to for a normal lens and this can end up saving you a ton of time if you are planning to do a whole lot of macro photography with your Nikon p900 after purchasing your macro lens.
Build Quality And Design
Although the Raynox DCR-250 is full of surprises, we have noticed that many people looking for a macro lens often think that the DCR-250 will have a low build quality due to it having a very budget friendly price tag. We are pleased to report that this is not the case and although the lens does have a cheap feel to it, the actual build quality is solid and both the lens and the mounting adaptor are tough and robust.
This means that you can easily put it into your camera accessories bag when not in use without having to worry about it being broken by taking a bump or two. on top of this, a great little hard case comes with your purchase of the Raynox DCR-250 as standard from most retailers offering you that additional layer of protection when it is not in use.
We have tried to find the type of glass that Raynox have used for the lens element in the DCR-250 but we have not been able to find anything to confirm exactly what it is. We have seen people speculating on social media that it will likely be either German Schott glass or high-quality Japanese glass but we have not seen any confirmation from Raynox on this. That said though, the glass for the lens element is definitely solid and has been put together well and should be resistant to any punishment during use.
Conclusion
That concludes our article going over why we feel that the Raynox DCR-250 is the best macro lens for Nikon p900 camera owners on the market right now. We know that there are a few competing clip-on macro lenses out there as well as a few extension tube base options but we feel that the DCR-250 is far out ahead of anything else right now, especially when you factor in its low price tag too. Judging by that the lens has, it would seem that the macro photography community would agree with us too.
Anyway, we feel comfortable recommending the Raynox DCR-250 to any of our readers who own the Nikon p900 and are looking for a macro lens for their camera. We have no doubt in our mind that the lens will help ensure that you get the best image quality possible when capturing your macro photographs and the best part is that it won’t break the bank!
