How to Add Filters and Lenses to Canon SX100is

Intro: How to Add Filters and Lenses to Canon SX100is

I bought a Canon SX100is a couple of years ago and always wanted to add filters and lenses to it, like you do on more expensive cameras.
About a month ago I stumbled upon this instructable www.instructables.com/id/Digital_Camera_Lens_Hood_Rain_Hood/ and decided to make something similar for my camera.

STEP 1: What You Need...

- A little plastic cup. It will become our adapter so it has to be just the right size(more on that later)
- An adapter tube designed for another camera. I used a 58mm adapter tube for a Kodak Z712. These sell for about $5 on ebay.
- Some cutting tool. (I used a dremel)
- Flat black paint
-Sandpaper

STEP 2: Finding the Right Cup

This step is the most important.
The cup must fit on the outside of the fixed ring around the lens and must be long enough to cover the full lenght of the camera lens.
Also, the adapter tube must fit inside the cup. If the tube doesn't fit perfectly don't worry, you can glue it.
But you can't(or shouldn't) glue it to your camera, so this is the size you have to pay attention to. Check that you can attach the cup on the camera and it does'n fall off.
In my case the cup is about 58mm in diameter and 55mm long.

STEP 3: Making the Adapter

We have to cut the bottom of the cup. I used a dremel to cut it and to smooth out the edges.
The resulting tube must fit the outer ring on the camera lens perfectly(I can't stress this enough).
So, check if it fits

STEP 4: Almost There...

Now, insert the adapter tube into de plastic cup...
And check if it fits on the camera

Also, check if the camera lens doesn't go over the threads when you zoom.

STEP 5: Paint It Black

I sprayed the cup with flat black paint to make it look cool.
Also I scratched out the "Kodak Z712" markings on the adapter, leaving only the "58mm"
After this, check if you get vignetting(darkened corners) on your pictures. You shouldn't get them.
If you do, that's becouse the tube is too long, you should make it shorter by reducing the lenght of the plastic cup.(more on that later)
I didn't get vignetting at this step

STEP 6: The Fun Begins

Now you can add filters, lenses and accesories to your SX100is.
I bought a circular polarizer filter, a +8 close-up lens and a lens hood.
I bought them online from some chinese website, for about $6 each.
I also bought a Raynox DCR-250 macro lens.

STEP 7: Minor Setback

I was getting a little vignetting using the polarizer at wide angle. I needed to make it shorter.

I also got vignetting with the macro lenses, but those are meant to be used at full telephoto, so I didn't care. But the polarizer can be used to take pictures of landscapes so I needed to get clean pictures at wide angles.
So i layed a piece of sandpaper flat on a table and started rubbing the plastic end of the adapter against it.  You can see that now the lens gets closer to the threads. It needs to get closer to the edge, but not over the threads!
This step is a little trial and error. I started rubbing it on the sandpaper and checking my lcd for vignetting, then rubbing again until I got a clear picture. I ended up sanding off about 2mm.

STEP 8: Have Fun

That's it. Now you have a fully functional lens/filter adapter.
Go and start taking pictures!

I took this picture with my raynox macro filter, it's a black ant biting on a cardboard box.

Comments

[checkme3h]

hi there i am having same sx100is i want to know something that i want to extend its optical zoom ..is it possible because i want to do astrophotography with this cam

[Ruta9]

Hi, you can use a 58mm 2x tele lens on front of your original lens to extend its zoom.

[checkme3h]

hi there i purchased polaroid travel kit 58mm nd got wide angle with macro but i cant set the focusing of wide angle can u help ? nd how u use macro mode ? because when i attach macro , i have to touch the object to the lens then i am able to get pic ? do u use zoom when attached to macro? if yes then how u able to focus it with manual focusing ?

[Ruta9]

Hi, I never used wide angle. But to use macro you should use the camera at 10x optical zoom always. The camera can focus at about 1m distance when used at 10x, if you attach the macro lens it can focus at a closer distance(about 8cm with the Raynox DCR-250).

To focus you have to move the camera back and forth, moving it very slowly until you get the picture in focus, in-camera focusing is useless when you attach a macro lens.

I hope this helped, let me know if there's anything else I can do for you

[checkme3h]

hey thank you very much

[Lokisgodhi]

You should paint it black not to make it look cool but because the glare off the white plastic would play havoc with the sensors.

[kajko]

Great tutorial, thanks.
I am trying to do something similar for my SX120IS but I was wondering if you were getting any vignetting when zoomed out fully. Since you had to get the lens as close as possible to the filter, I would imagine zooming out would create image problems.
Also..where did you get that cup...can't find the right size for the life of me :)

Thanks

[Ruta9]

I had no vignetting using just the adapter or the hood, with the polarizer filter I had a little vignetting that I took care of by rubbing the cup on some sandpaper to sand off a bit of the plastic. Check step 7 for detailed instructions.
And the cup came with some cotton bandages I bought at a drugstore, I guess I got lucky , but keep looking you will find the right cup for your camera eventually.

[J@50n]

 Finally got the adapter!!!

Pics r below!

i had to use my moms camera for the photos so they are not the greatest lol... but there it is.  I also instead of painting the stuff, i wrapped it all with black electrical tape! I also went to a camera shop and got a cover for the setup.

sorry for "spamming" your comment section with my photos (valentines bouquet).

[Ruta9]

That's great man! Those are really nice shots

[J@50n]

Thanks, all because of your ible!

[J@50n]

 Just bought myself an adapter off ebay and a set of 3 filters on Amazon...... coming from Hong Kong though :(.

Upside, it only cost my about $18.00 (including shipping).

THANKS!

[Ruta9]

That's great. I'm hoping to see some of your pictures when you get your stuff on the mail.
I bought the polarizer, hood and +8 lens from a chinese website too, at about $5-60 each.
The raynox lens was more expensive, but worth every penny.

[J@50n]

 i just did this today. thanks for the ible!