Which Macro

[Coops1966]

Im looking for a quality macro lense. Think i have narrowed it down to 2; Canon 60mm and Sigma 50mm. Any thoughts/advice appreciated. ALL camera shops are saying Canon, but at £100 I cant imagine why!!!

[cosmicma]

it depends on your budget the one i went for is the canon 100mm f2.8 L IS but they do a non L IS for less money
the 50 and 60mm ones you have mentioned do not give 1 to 1 magnification i think there 1 to 2 ( half life size ) but can easily be overcome with extension tubes
also the canon 60mm macro lens is EFS and will not work with full frame cameras if you have or are planning to go to full frame in the future the lens will become redundant
the 100mm lenses are EF and will work with cropped and full frame camera bodies

the image quality on all of them is pretty good so i wouldn't worry about that too much

i also hear the tamron 90mm macro is good for the money it might be worth a look

[Coops1966]

Cheers for the advice, will keep hunting. Canon EF/L etc etc, makes it all so confusing

[wavemachine]

Have a look on Ebay for Sigma 105 Macro, they seem to come up quite a lot and can be had for around 220 notes. People seem to buy macro lenses, find them tricky to use and get shot of them.

I personaly have owned the Canon EF100 Macro which was a lovely lens, I have upgraded to EF100 L IS now and that is even better!

[StephenBatey]

I'm not convinced by the 1:1 aspect; and have reservations about 50-60mm as a focal length for macro lenses.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ex2qpwuul...VCDl/macro.pdf

The link is to a section from my book.

[cosmicma]

it's a bit like the guide numbers on flashes but somewhere along the line it does give a reference to the average layman
if the layman understands what it means is a different story

Originally Posted by StephenBatey

I'm not convinced by the 1:1 aspect; and have reservations about 50-60mm as a focal length for macro lenses.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ex2qpwuul...VCDl/macro.pdf

The link is to a section from my book.

[StephenBatey]

It should be plain enough to anyone with average intelligence who's prepared to read and make an attempt to understand. Anyone who isn't prepared to make an effort should really look for a straight yes/no answer, and be prepared to remain an ignoramus. Your choice.

I admit that guide numbers do require people to understand higher (university level) mathematics and be able to divide one number into another, and this is indeed beyond the comprehension of the average English school leaver.

I've now removed the document that the link pointed to. It was clearly beyond the comprehension of the average forum member here. Matthew ch 7 v 6.

[OldBoy]

I don't see the point of your reply about the article.You don't need the maths to work out how to use a Macro lens. It might be interesting for tech people but not to the orginal poster.

I have used the Nikon 60mm macro with great success but suggest the 105, 100 or 90mm lenses would be best. Unlike most lenses, the midrange macro lenses, from any maker will serve you well.

[cosmicma]

Originally Posted by StephenBatey

I've now removed the document that the link pointed to. It was clearly beyond the comprehension of the average forum member here. Matthew ch 7 v 6.

that does not read well at all

i think we can grasp what the ratios refer to it's simple enough but what you didn't explain in that document you posted is how this affects lenses that are designed for crop sensors ( canon efs for example ) would they maintain the same ratios on cropped sensors as lens designed for full frame used on a crop sensor ? would the difference in field of view affect the ratio ?

i think you need to re write that chapter to make it clear

[Jediboy]

Originally Posted by Coops1966

Im looking for a quality macro lense. Think i have narrowed it down to 2; Canon 60mm and Sigma 50mm. Any thoughts/advice appreciated. ALL camera shops are saying Canon, but at £100 I cant imagine why!!!

I use the Sigma 105mm and am pleased with it, albeit the Nikon fit one. (I'd imagine they'd be the same) The results are, generally speaking, of good quality.
The only issue is the auto focus can be clumsy, which is annoying. You'd probably be better off to manually focus with this lens.
Hope this helps.