Who has a macro lens here?

Tempted to get into macro photography, just wondering what kit everyones using.

Im looking at the Canon EF-S 60mm F/2.8 Macro and EF 100mm F/2.8 Macro.

havent got a dedicated macro lens, but use a nikon 50mm f1.8 and some extension tubes, works just as well except you need to get closer to whatever your trying to photograph.

Would possibly think about leaving the buying for now, prices are soo much higher than what they were, give it another 12 months and they might be back down, might not be as well mind.

If I wanted one now Id look at the sigma 105mm f2.8 or possibly the 150mm f2.8, apparently the 150 is one of the sharpest lenses for macro photography available.

Ive got an old Tamron manual focus 90mm in adaptall 2 mount.

AF isnt a lot of use at macro distances anyway so second hand is well worth considering.

If you want to photograph live critters like spiders, flies etc you need at least ~100mm, otherwise you have to get too close and they fly away. Plus youre always fighting for more light in those situations so being in your own shaddow doesnt help!!

The Sigma 180 f3.5 is supposed to be very nice but V expensive. I dont know about the 150 f2.8, is that a recent release?


If you do go second hand the best lens by a country mile is the Kiron 105 macro, also sold as Vivitar Series 1 and Lester A Dine 105mm. Hard to find, but well worth it. By reputation its better than anything currently made. Alternatively the Tamron I have is much easier to find as long as you can source a suitable mount for it. Adaptall mounts were made for all camera systems but some are easier to find than others, with Canon EOS being the hardest to get because the two systems didnt overlap for long.

another thing to keep in mind is that 90-100mm macro lenses make very fine head and shoulders portrait lenses. Being that bit longer you can stand off a bit and get nice natural portraits, and at f/2.8 macro lenses are fast enough to allow reasonably low light shots without flash. Plus of course you can use the large aperture to isolate the subject by throwing the background out of focus.

~100mm is very good for getting the background out of focus and so useful for portraits. Longer lenses tend to flatten the face, sub 20mm ones will tend to balloon faces and you need to be very close in order to fill the frame. On most digital cameras 50mm = 85mm on a full frame, so also ideal for portraits, the extra stop(s) available will give you more flexibility for lighting conditions.

Ive got the 50mm F1.8 and its, for all practical purposes, as good as the 1.4, but a damn sight cheaper.

Ive got the 50mm F1.8 and its, for all practical purposes, as good as the 1.4, but a damn sight cheaper.

with the price of the Canon 50mm 1.8, its hardly worth NOT having one in your camera bag. Im very glad I bought my Pentax 50 1.4 before they trippled the price!! (got mine for £150, theyre now £450!)

Lens arrived this morning - First impressions are that Im gonna have a lot of fun, but I really need to improve my steadyness!

Heres a few test shots around the lounge.










Really glad I bought the Manfrotto before I bought the macro.

Probably about 6 inches.

Next item on my list - a cheap wired or wireless trigger.