Macro Photography (1 Viewer)

Gibbo · Apr 5, 2004

Hello,

Can anyone recommend a decent macro lens for use with my
Canon 300D.

I have a 28-105 lens at the moment but the results
are not as good as expected.
Don't get me wrong,the camera is superb as is the lens
but for Moth pictures I just can't close in as much as I'd
like to.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Dale

Leif · Apr 5, 2004

Gibbo said:
Hello,

Can anyone recommend a decent macro lens for use with my
Canon 300D.

I have a 28-105 lens at the moment but the results
are not as good as expected.
Don't get me wrong,the camera is superb as is the lens
but for Moth pictures I just can't close in as much as I'd
like to.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Dale

Why can't you get in close? Is it a case of the moth fleeing, or the lens not focussing close enough?

For flighty insects like dragonflies you need a ~200mm macro lens, or an ~200mm lens with extension tube to allow close focus, or an ~200m lens with a diopter lens mounted on front. The long focal length allows you to keep a distance from the subject and yet get a big image on the film. A 200mm macro lens is expensive. The Tamron looks good.

For other close up work an ~100 mm lens does the trick. The Tamron 90mm AF F2.8 macro lens goes to 1:1 and is said by many to be as good optically as many marque ones. Many pros use it. ~£200 I think.

Adey Baker · Apr 6, 2004

Leif said:
The Tamron 90mm AF F2.8 macro lens goes to 1:1 and is said by many to be as good optically as many marque ones. Many pros use it. ~£200 I think.

Tamron have recently announced a new version of this lens which has been optimised for digital SLRs (still good for film, also).

The price of the older version ought, therefore, to drop in price, soon.

Richard Ford · Jun 19, 2004

I have just bought a 300d and eventually plan to get a larger lens.
Firstly however i bought a cheap (possible the first mistake) CANON EF 70-210mm ZOOM LENS with MACRO. I though great, a reasonable range zoom and i can also use it for close up stuff. Butterflies dragonflies etc, should be great.
The question is, why doesn't the lens work on Macro? Whatever i try it still only focuses to 1.5m. Am I doing something wrong or is the feature not available with this combination?
Any help appreciated.

Rich

Adey Baker · Jun 19, 2004

Richard Ford said:
I have just bought a 300d and eventually plan to get a larger lens.
Firstly however i bought a cheap (possible the first mistake) CANON EF 70-210mm ZOOM LENS with MACRO. I though great, a reasonable range zoom and i can also use it for close up stuff. Butterflies dragonflies etc, should be great.
The question is, why doesn't the lens work on Macro? Whatever i try it still only focuses to 1.5m. Am I doing something wrong or is the feature not available with this combination?
Any help appreciated.

Rich

Errr, I didn't know that Canon made a 'cheap' 70-210 zoom lens?

The only ones they list are both 'L'-series lenses.

AndyC · Jun 19, 2004

The 'macro' setting on zoom lenses really is only the closest focus for the long end of the zoom. It probably (and I stand to be corrected) has an image ratio of one quarter or so lifesize. Also the lens will not be designed to give its best performance at these settings.

A proper macro lenses will easily out-perform a zoom at its macro settings. It is designed to focus close and provide up to life size on the film. Generally they are also much 'faster' lenses (smaller f number) and so it is easier to see the subject for focus.
Focus is absolutley critical when photograghing at high magnifations. For example, it can be impossible to get both antennae of a butterfly in focus a the same time, the depth of field is so small literally fractions of a millmetre.

AndyC

feather · Jun 21, 2004

If you've already made up your mind on a macro lens, ignore this suggestion, but it could still be useful to anyone getting into macro photography. One way to get up very close at the expense of focus range is to use an inverter ring. You can get excellent results from an inverted 50mm lens, stopped down all the way, with strong lights/flash near the subject. Inverting rings attach to the front of a lens just like a filter, but then you turn the lens the other way around. Cost is comparable to a common UV filter. Wider angle lenses result in greater magnification.

Screech · Jun 21, 2004

I have seen some excellent shots using an inverted 50mm lens, less expense and can be bought inexpensive at most Camera stores in their used dept. Great advise feather!

joee1949 · Jun 21, 2004

I have bought a Pentax screw mount (M42) to EOS adapter and intend to do some macro photography with M42 bellows and a 50mm Pentax lens connected to my D60.

Probably all together less than 100 bucks.

jebir · Jun 21, 2004

Bellows and extension tubes steal a lot of light when used. That is one good reason for the dedicated macro prime lenses. An alternative way is to use close-up lenses. However, be careful to get so called "achromatic" lenses, otherwise you will be disappointed by the colour fringing. Hoya has a good one for about £50 with a strength of 10 diopters which will allow you to focus at ~10 cm. I have purchased loose achromatic lenses for a couple of dollars a piece and glued them into old filter holders for my macro work.

My 2 pixels... Jens

stevo · Jun 21, 2004

A few years ago when I had a Canon AE1 program I couldn`t afford a proper macro lens so instead I bought a set of close-up lenses which screwed into the filter mount of my 50mm lens.The lenses were made by Hoya & I got some decent images with this set-up.Just my thought`s of a cheaper way to achieve macro shots.

Regards Steve.

Adey Baker · Jun 21, 2004

Sigma have just announced 'DG' versions of their 50mm and 105mm 1:1 macro lenses.

Both are better optimised for digital cameras compared to the previous versions but are equally suitable for film cameras, similar to the Tamron 90mm lens mentioned earlier in this thread.

tuftyhill · Jun 22, 2004

I've just managed to get a Second-hand Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro from
Jessops apparently in mint condition with 3 years warranty for £150.
I'll let you know how I get on with it.

AndyC · Jun 22, 2004

tufty said:
I've just managed to get a Second-hand Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro from
Jessops apparently in mint condition with 3 years warranty for £150.
I'll let you know how I get on with it.

Thats a good purchase. The Tamron is very sharp and gives a bright viewfinder image (I'm assuming that this is not for a digital SLR) and is easy to focus. It also lets you standoff the subject a reasonable distance. The amount the barrel of the lenses extends can be a surprising when you first use it. Hope to see some pictures in due course!

AndYC

tuftyhill · Jun 22, 2004

I have 35mm bodies at the moment but will hopefully be getting a Digital SLR later this year - either a Fuji S2 pro or the new Fuji S3 pro (whenever that is released !!!!)
I have a Fuji S1 pro on trial from Jessops at the moment so I'll be able to try the lens out with that.

tarves57 · Jun 22, 2004

tufty said:
I've just managed to get a Second-hand Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro from
Jessops apparently in mint condition with 3 years warranty for £150.
I'll let you know how I get on with it.

Me too. Apparently it is just as good as / better than the Canon 100mm and very much cheaper.

I've not done much with it yet apart from portraits would you believe and it's smashing for those.

Where does time go??????

Susan

Merop · Jul 25, 2004

I use the Sigma 105mm 1:1 on a 10D it's a good lense and quick too. If you intend to do a lot of macro photography take your time and try out different combinations first it will save a lot of time and grief.

tuftyhill · Jul 26, 2004

The Tamron 90mm macro was as advertised in Jessops - mint condition. I used it a great deal on holiday in Northern Spain (Butterflies) and will be posting a few images of the ones I'm struggling to ID.
The lens is absolutely fantastic, definitely my favourite lens (although I don't have that many !!!) Unfortunately I don't have a DSLR to use it on now.
I did have a Fuji S1pro on '30 day trial' while on holiday and it looked good on that 3Mp interpolated up to 6Mp.
It really is ideal for Butterflies and Dragonflies / Damselflies, I can't recommend it enough.

Adey Baker · Jul 26, 2004

tufty said:
I used it a great deal on holiday in Northern Spain (Butterflies) and will be posting a few images of the ones I'm struggling to ID.

Look forward to seeing your photos, Paul - I'm hoping someone will be able help with some of my Italian butterfly IDs, also. I've mentioned them in one or two other threads hoping to generate some interest!

We could do with 'signing-up' a few more real Euro-butterfly experts to BF to help us out!

christineredgate · Jul 26, 2004

Adey Baker said:
Look forward to seeing your photos, Paul - I'm hoping someone will be able help with some of my Italian butterfly IDs, also. I've mentioned them in one or two other threads hoping to generate some interest!

We could do with 'signing-up' a few more real Euro-butterfly experts to BF to help us out!

Adey,this Forum is swamped with Butterfly experts:eek!:

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