macro lens? (1 Viewer)

I'm looking to get a decent macro lens to use with my EOS 300D, but alas don't have much money to spend on one. Having looked around a bit the Sigma EX 105mm F2.8 Macro looks like a great lens, but is a bit too much for me. I was wondering if anyone had any experoence of the Sigma EX 50mm F2.8 Macro? Is it a good macro lens? It seems that I could get it for about £100 less than the 105mm.

Alternatively does anyone know of any other macro lenses that don't cost too much but give true 1:1 images.

postcardcv said:

I was wondering if anyone had any experoence of the Sigma EX 50mm F2.8 Macro? Is it a good macro lens?

Click to expand...

Yes and Yes

I've used this lens frequently for half a dozen years on a Canon EOS 50E and got some really excellent slides with it. It's just a 'good' lens in the normal focus range but really comes into its own close up although you have to get very close for the smaller creatures - this is the only downside (I'm thinking of the problems of casting your shadow over the subject rather than frightening it as even the 90mm/105mm alternatives are pretty close at 1:1).

I bought a 20D earlier this year and got my 50mm lens re-chipped by Sigma - the exif data 'recognises' it as a 105mm but it works OK!

Having got used to using my Sigma 400mm lens with its 'HSM' motor, the 'normal' motor in the 50mm is like stepping back in time a bit - it seems really slow and noisey, but to be honest, manual-focussing is much better when using these macro lenses close-up. The auto-focus in camera bodies always seems to go for the nearest object so even an insignificant grass stem will often cause it to change focus at the crucial moment.

Here's a couple of recent shots taken with the 50mm:

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/53410/sort/1/cat/500/page/2

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/53176/sort/1/size/medium/cat/500/page/2

I don't know how much real difference there is with the special coatings on the latest DG versions of Sigma's lenses - most lenses are multi-coated anyway, these days, so they should be OK. The discontinued, pre-DG version of the 105mm might still be around at a reduced price, so that's one thing to consider if you prefer the longer focal length at an affordable price.

p.s

Having praised the Sigma lens I have to admit that I rather fancy the new Canon 60mm macro lens - the USM and internal focussing are very tempting, but I can't afford it just yet!

Sigma Lens

Hi All,



I have the 105mm Sigma macro, great lens for the money, I haven't tried the 50mm but I'm sure it'll be just as good.


I think you’ll find that the Sigma lenses have been designed to give a true 1:1 ratio for macro photography when used with 35mm film. It's worth pointing out that the 300D uses the APS-C Canon sensor, so your multiplying the focal length of any 35mm lens by a x1.6, so a 50mm lens would give you a field of view of an 80mm lens, 60mm equals 96mm and the Sigma 105mm would effectively become a 168mm lens.

As a result I'm not totally sure if your going to get true 1:1 ratio's if you use these lenses on your 300D, I highly suspect your altering the ratio as well, perhaps someone more knowledgeable can correct me on this point?

I reckon the only lens mentioned here that would give you a true 1:1 ratio would be the Canon 60mm Macro lens, as I believe it was specifically designed to be used with Canon APS-C sensors.


Regards

Mark

The size of anything will be the same on the sensor as it is on the film - it's just that the Canon sensor will crop out the outer parts of the image. That is to say that anything that measures, say, 15mm in length will record as 15mm on the film when focussed at 1:1 - you can measure it on film but it's a tad difficult to measure it on the sensor!

To be honest, from a practical point, 1:1 isn't that critical - you're not going to view a slide or negative without magnifying it at some point so the main characteristic you're looking for is an image sharp enough to stand enlargement to give good pictures at the size you want them. Happily, most good macro lenses are more than capable of giving decent enlargements and therefore you can choose a lens on things such as size/weight/handling/price etc.

Ratios 1:1 & Sigma lens

Okay,

I was wrong, see the following link:

http://www.digicaminfo.btinternet.co.uk/digitalcameralenses8.htm

especially the paragraph about Magnification Ratio's.

Regards

Mark

I must admit that it can be a bit confusing - I hope this little diagram. below, will show how it works:

A: is the image circle thrown by the lens into the camera body

B: is the full-frame of the 35mm film format

C: is the APS-C sensor format

As you can see a bit of 'fall-off' in image quality towards the outer parts of the 35mm frame is less of a problem with the digital sensor

Macro Lens

Hi again,

Cosina do a very cheap Macro lens which uses a 49mm 1:1 adaptor filter which screws on the front. I was walking past LCE in Exeter and I thought - ooh nice cheap macro lens, bargain, that'll do nicely.......

I sold it a week later on eBay, and brought the Sigma 105, I didn't regret the move!!

Don't be tempted!

Cheers

Mark

P.S. Have since got rid of the Canon and purchased an Olympus E-300 (kind of liked the black metal finish), as much as everyone raves about the Canon & Nikon DSLR's the Olympus is a mighty fine camera, much under-rated and under-reviewed.

Attached shot: Olympus e-300, hand held with 50mm ED macro and 25mm extension tube, re-sized otherwise straight from the camera.

Thanks for the replies, it's good to see that the Sigma EX 50mm F2.8 Macro is a good option - those pictures are stunning Adey. I think it time to start looking round for a good deal, or a decent secondhand one.

Thanks for the advice about the Cosina lens Mark, knowing what to avoid is easliy as useful as knowing what people recommend.

Well I found a good price on a Sigma EX 50mm F2.8 Macro and it arrived today - so far I'm really pleased, only had the chance to play with it for about 30 mins but already seeing some results.

Thanks one and all for the advice.