macro lens for beginner

[kiffy]

hi guys, ive enjoyed taking photos for years but only this past week made the jump to a proper camera and ive just bought a canon 550D (had it friday), one of the main things i want to do is macro photography of wildlife and plant life but have no idea where to start... ive spent hours looking around and have seen that you can get macro lenses, macro filters with various + ratings and macro extension tubes.

now remembering im a real newbie which would better suit my needs? im guessing that as in most things in life that the more i spend the better so the proper lens would benefit me. i dont really want to spend any more than i have to as ive spent a grand the past week on the 550D with an 18-55 lens that came as part of the kit, a 75-300mm lens and a few other bits but if laying out another couple of hundred will be worth it then i will... and id rather pay it now than buy extension tubes or + filters that altough may do for now as im learning will eventually become redundant if i progress and need to then buy a dedicated macro lens as it would just meanwasting money... or would it?

so what do you guys think?

[silversnapper1]

Hi,

I guess that the 75-300 probably has a macro function to 1:2 at the long end of the lens. This means that you will capture images at half size. The only problem with this is that your focussing distance will be something like 39 inches.

I have a dedicated 60 mm macro lens and this will give 1:1 at a minimum focussing distance of about 8 inches but, I find that at that range, you can often shade the object and lose too much light.

I think therefore, that the recommendation would probably be to buy a macro lens around the 90/105mm range which should give you 1:1 at around 12 inches.

Hope that this helps.

Steve.

[hssutton]

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro IS USM L @£725
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 @£400
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 @£390
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 @£344

Any of these lenses will give very good results. After many years of use my Canon 100mm the AF/Manual button broke, so I replaced it with the IS version and passed on my old lens.

The order that I've listed them is IMO with the best listed first, but the Tamron will be more than adequate.

Harry

[kiffy]

thanks for the replys guys... seems you both think a dedicated lens is the way to go which i expected, dont really want to spend £725 on one though... in fact dont really want to spend over £300 as my money trees been cleared by the squirrels this summer. so i guess its time for a bit of google and ebay

out of curiosity, are the macro tubes and filters any good?

thanks
steve

[silversnapper1]

Hi Steve,

Haven't used tubes but I understand that they cut out a fair bit of light so you may struggle again to light your subject. The filters I have tried but was not very keen on them.

However, there is another cheap option and that is to buy a reversing ring and reverse your kit lens with it.

Steve.

[kiffy]

had a nose at the lenses you reccomended hssutton, found these...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tamron-SP-90mm...item4aa27b84d3

http://www.simplyelectronics.net/mai...=1210&sd=specs

[kiffy]

whoops, just noticed the ebay links the wrong lens doh!

[hssutton]

Originally Posted by kiffy

had a nose at the lenses you reccomended hssutton, found these...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tamron-SP-90mm...item4aa27b84d3

http://www.simplyelectronics.net/mai...=1210&sd=specs

Both companies you list get some very poor reviews.

Harry

[amk1977]

If you didn't want to spend a fortune on a macro lens, then you might want to consider the older MF macro lenses.

You can pick up a Tamron Adaptall 2 mount SP90mm f/2.5 with extension tube for around £100.The majority of macro work is performed in manual focus anyway, so if you want it purely for that purpose then you probably won't miss the AF.

I had the same lens which I used on an Olympus E-510 with an adapter. I would have kept it for the Nikon D90 that I now have but, there is no metering on the D90 body and so sold it in favour of the AF version. For posed portraits the Tamron SP90 is a stunningly sharp lens, too sharp even.


Some other excellent old manual focus lenses include

Vivitar Series 1 90mm
Elicar 90mm
Tokina 90mm

You can also pick up the Sigma 105mm and Tamron AF SP90 on ebay used for £200+. I picked up my mint condition, 3 month old copy for £200.

Personally, I wouldn't go any shorter than 90mm because if you are trying to photograph insects, you will probably cause them to fly off before you can get close enough.

[AndrewKulin]

I personally have the Canon 100 mm f/2.8L IS and it is a fantastic lens, but also pricey (used with an APS-C sensor). You should consider the Canon EF-S 60 mm f/2.8 Macro - about $40% the price of the 100 mm at 400 US (B+H). Gets very good reviews too.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ns-Review.aspx

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/s...7&cat=2&page=2