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.
Im looking at ones in the 90-110mm range but havent decided on which to get yet. Tokina Sigma and Tamron, as well as Canon, all produce reasonable lenses in this range.
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.
It ought to be, twice the price of the 105mm
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.
I can get the following deals new in the UK:
Canon 60mm Macro - 279 delivered
Canon 100mm Macro - 389 delivered
If I wait until Im in Bangkok in early Nov I can pick up a 100mm for 330 quid. BUT that would be at the end of my trip to Thailand, so a bit of a wasted opportunity.
Ive seen a few go for 225-250 quid second hand in supposedly excellent condition, so Im keeping an eye out for one of those.
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.
Quote from: Mongooseanother 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.
Went for the Canon EF 100mm F/2.8 Macro in the end. The IQ looks phenomenal on it + as youve mentioned Mongoose that kinda range is perfect for portraits as well.
This is my first prime as well! Already thinking about a 50mm F/1.4 :)
On a side note - Canon just released a new version of the lens Ive ordered - the
EF 100mm F/2.8L IS Macro which uses their new hybrid IS system... although it costs a grand! Ouch.
Ill upload some pics once I receive it next week.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=100mm+canon+macro&s=int
~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.
Those flickr photos look pretty awesome, makes me want to get a lens now.
Quote from: SeriousIve 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!)
I had a Canon 50mm F/1.8 II but I just didnt use it enough, so I got rid of it to pay for some other lenses. I know you gain a stop or two using primes, but I prefer the flexibility of (decent) zooms, so when I was intially fleshing out my kit bag I focused on zooms.
Started with an EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 (which I used for my Tibet trip (http://www.tekforum.co.uk/posts/list/10258.page)) back in 2007, then bought an EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 IS and EF 70-200mm F/4L in 2008.
The 10-22s a lot of fun and I cant imagine a better walk around lens than the 17-55 2.8 IS.
The 70-200 was my first L lens (bought it second hand), and whilst the IQ is great and Ive enjoyed it out and about for a spot of urban photography, I think I wouldve prefered it to be a bit faster... although cant imagine shelling out for a 2.8 for a while!
Now that Ive got a decent tripod and all the zoom range I really need, I think Im ready for primes.
Going to see how this 100mm macro works out - if I love macro photography as much as Im expecting I will, I may buy some Kenko extension tubes (12, 20, 36mm)
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.
(http://www.developerx.net/macro/macro_1.jpg)
(http://www.developerx.net/macro/macro_2.jpg)
(http://www.developerx.net/macro/macro_3.jpg)
(http://www.developerx.net/macro/macro_4.jpg)
Really glad I bought the Manfrotto before I bought the macro.
Awesome shots. Just curious what kind of distance you were away from the objects?
Probably about 6 inches.
Next item on my list - a cheap wired or wireless trigger.
Just ordered one of these...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RF602-RF-602-3-in-1-for-Canon-1D-1DS-5D-5DII-50D-40D_W0QQitemZ180401093613QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a00be3bed&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177
25 quid including postage from HK, so wont get stung by customs.
2.4ghz wireless with flash release as well (not that I have a flash... )
that looks pretty snazzy, let us know how well it works!
Quote from: KunalProbably about 6 inches.
Next item on my list - a cheap wired or wireless trigger.
Cheers, for a while I was wondering if itd be the answer to my prayers in terms of insect photography, but tbh you have to be pretty lucky to get to 6" of something funky looking :(
Bear in mind thats 6 or so inches from the front of the lens with the focus set to 1:1.
I think youll be fine with 100mms. Some great examples of the Canon 100mm Macro being used for insect shots on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=100mm+canon+macro+insect&s=int
iv been thinking of trying some macro work myself and i only have zoom lenses
what sort of results could i get with a Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II Lens 50 f/1.8 on my EOS 450D or even my EOS 3?
Quote from: Binary Shadowiv been thinking of trying some macro work myself and i only have zoom lenses
what sort of results could i get with a Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II Lens 50 f/1.8 on my EOS 450D or even my EOS 3?
The 50mm F1.8 isnt a macro lens, although canon do make a 50mm F2.5 macro which might be the one you are thinking about.
There is a way of using the 50mm F1.8 for macro work, but it involves reversing another 50mm onto it using a special reversing ring.
Quote from: KunalBear in mind thats 6 or so inches from the front of the lens with the focus set to 1:1.
I think youll be fine with 100mms. Some great examples of the Canon 100mm Macro being used for insect shots on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=100mm+canon+macro+insect&s=int
Aye, cheers. The thing for me is weighing up the cost vs the super macro on my compact camera already. Im guessing some of those awesome insect shots used extension tubes etc to be able to get close for some things?
Perhaps some of them did but to be 6-12 inches is still pretty far for an insect ;) For anything thats more easily disturbed you could use extension tubes.
Kenko make a set (12, 20, 36mm I think) which is pretty much the same as the Canon set (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Kenko-Extension-Tube-Set-Review.aspx) but only costs 90-100 quid.
This way for 500 quid you could get a 100mm 2.8 macro and the extension tubes - thats a pretty flexible setup.
Macros in the 150-180mm range cost a fortune! Your minimum working distance doesnt improve that much either.
For the Sigma 150mm its 7.6" and for the Canon 180mm its 9.5" as opposed to 6" on the Canon 100mm.
I got the figures from this article:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-100mm-f-2.8-USM-Macro-Lens-Review.aspx
extension tubes will make your working distance shorter, not longer.
In terms of accessories to an existing lens, your only hope is a teleconverter. These always degrade image quality somewhat, although some are much better than others.
I have a matched 2x converter for my Tamron which makes the combination 180mm F5 with quite acceptable quality (it helps that the primary lens, being a macro prime, will be of the highest quality to begin with).
Quote from: KunalPerhaps some of them did but to be 6-12 inches is still pretty far for an insect ;) For anything thats more easily disturbed you could use extension tubes.
Depends entirely on the circumstances of the encounter and the species. Sand lizards and adders, admittedly not insects, but you get my meaning hopefully, that I want to really be able to photo things from at least a few feet. And yeah, to do that will cost £££ :(
I dont think I could ever justify £500 on some lenses+tubes :(
Quote from: zpyderQuote from: KunalPerhaps some of them did but to be 6-12 inches is still pretty far for an insect ;) For anything thats more easily disturbed you could use extension tubes.
Depends entirely on the circumstances of the encounter and the species. Sand lizards and adders, admittedly not insects, but you get my meaning hopefully, that I want to really be able to photo things from at least a few feet. And yeah, to do that will cost £££ :(
I dont think I could ever justify £500 on some lenses+tubes :(
correct me if Im wrong, but adders and sand lizards are a good few inches long no? unless youre trying to photograph the individual scales on their backs, youre not going to want 1:1 macro for such a subject, more like 1:3 or 1:4, in which case you are going to be looking at much longer working distances. At those kinds of magnifications you could also consider using one of the 70-300 zooms with "macro" option, as these usually go down to ~1:2 at 300mm. The optical quality isnt as good as a true macro, but for stand off shooting you cant beat the value.
Youre not wrong, but at the same time, I would be wanting to get as good a shot of the head as possible etc ;)
Quote from: KunalJust ordered one of these...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RF602-RF-602-3-in-1-for-Canon-1D-1DS-5D-5DII-50D-40D_W0QQitemZ180401093613QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a00be3bed&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177
25 quid including postage from HK, so wont get stung by customs.
2.4ghz wireless with flash release as well (not that I have a flash... )
Hey mate, looks cool was looking at remote flash, but this is a 2 in 1. Have you got a separate flash yet, if so which? If not I might have to order one shortly. Give me a call!
Quote from: zpyderYoure not wrong, but at the same time, I would be wanting to get as good a shot of the head as possible etc ;)
On a 35mm camera 1:1 would give you an incredibly close picture of the head of a small lizard, but a true 35mm sized sensor would cost you nearer £1900 - without a lens.
Lower priced cameras would effectively give you a higher magnification due to the smaller sensor.
Quote from: XEntityQuote from: KunalJust ordered one of these...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RF602-RF-602-3-in-1-for-Canon-1D-1DS-5D-5DII-50D-40D_W0QQitemZ180401093613QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a00be3bed&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177
25 quid including postage from HK, so wont get stung by customs.
2.4ghz wireless with flash release as well (not that I have a flash... )
Hey mate, looks cool was looking at remote flash, but this is a 2 in 1. Have you got a separate flash yet, if so which? If not I might have to order one shortly. Give me a call!
Will call tonight mate.
Havent got a separate flash yet, dont think Ill get one for a while probably (all spent out!). Will prob get the Canon 430EX II though. Ill see how cheap they are in Thailand.
By the way heres the link for the POTN thread on the shutter/flash release:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=727060
7dayshop has a ringflash for under £100 - reviews Ive read say its adequate for purpose but could be a little more robust.