Canon 60mm lens (1 Viewer)

I am finding my way with this lens, just as long as I don't up the F numbers and then need a tripod.

With this photo I am surprised that the greenfly are so sharp even though they are so small.

Excellent capture Shirley was wondering about the 60mm macro,is it easy to use.What camera body was it on.Would not want to pay very much in case macro work is not for me.Suppose slightly limited with how close you can work.
GEORGE

I have it on my 50d, I use the lens for family photos, on the beach and general photos. This thing is for me is that its light and does not need a monopod. I have also got a filter on mainly because of the brightness of the sea.

A beautiful shot, Shirley.

I have had this excellent+ Canon lens for a few years (with my old and beloved 300D) and used for Insect and flower close-ups...I was always surprised indeed about its optical quality, only had a slight issue on the external lens barrel.

Luca

I'm using it now for all my flower and butterfly shots, the lens is so light and easy to use. Yesterday I got a Grasshopper photo, its up in the gallery.

Hi Shirley had a look into your gallery very impressive photos,especially the macros showing some great detail.Still wondering about about adding the 60MM to my set up.Many people seem to think the 60mm needs to be very close before you can take photo therefore if butterflys/insects your shadow will cause them to move on.
However must admit you seem to have mastered close work,any special ways you set this up for they are spot on.
GEORGE

Sorry I didn't see you had replied. The only thing I do is hold the camera a little away from the subject, take the first shot and then move the camera nearer taking shots all the time but keep my eye on the red focal point but only moving my arms, that works for butterlies and dragonflies. I use single shot so for every shot I keep refocusing and then take the shot. Its almost possible to get the lens almost touching the subject.
I love the combination, no monopod needed.

Thank you for your compliments, I don't take my photos in manual, I use AV because I enjoy the results.

Mackem George said:

Many people seem to think the 60mm needs to be very close before you can take photo therefore if butterflys/insects your shadow will cause them to move on.

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You are right about the focal length George, I use a 100mm macro lens for the weight and I.S. but many folk prefer 150mm or even 180mm as it gives you more working distance. I can highly recommend the Canon 100mm L IS lens, especially if you like hand holding as the IS really helps, IQ with the lens is obviously top quality, I can understand if you do not want to go to that expense to begin with in case you do not take to macro but it really does make hand holding a breeze. A good technique that many use is to roughly manually focus or use AF to acquire the initial focus and then rock gentle while looking through the view finder until the right part of the subject comes into sharp focus before firing the shots. I always use high burst mode as it increases the chances of really nailing a shot enormously. NOTE if you use AF and then the rocking technique you do need to use back button focusing because pressing the shutter button will mean the focus you have achieved will be lost (I always use back button focusing all the time anyway).
One of the big problems with macro is the shallow depth of field so you often have to stop down a lot to increase it, this in turn leads to low shutter speeds which means that you have to increase the ISO to suit, in this respect a Camera that gives good high ISO noise levels obviously helps although not essential with good technique.

I am the first to admit that macro is not my strong point but attached are a few recent(ish) images I have taken with the Canon L IS lens. Nothing special but it hopefully shows the potential of the lens.

BTW Shirley that ladybird shot of yours is very nice :t:

Great to hear from you Roy thank you for your advice,always followed those posts of yours re SX40 full of constructive advice.Would love to obtain one of the L lenses,wallet not in the greatest health.Having two L lenses both IS they are great to use,the CANON 100MM NON IS appeals to me Roy just checking out the actual handling never used the back button set up.However have the canon cable release which fits both my 40d/7d DGSLRS.Downside tripod job,not the end of the world though.Firmly believe its the person using it as much as its the equipment,so checking around re the 100mm perhaps this would work for me just in case lost my way with macro.It would be nice perhaps to just wander around using a hand held set up,not being restricted with the bulk of some of the tele/zoom gear.
So re the Canon 100mm non IS its a question of balancing technique maybe hand held that would work for me and the lens? Will see how far down the road we get with this one Roy, there are two retailers showing used models which need me to check them out.
Many thanks for your advice Roy always greatly recieved and digested.Those photos look great.
BEST REGARDS
GEORGE

Mackem George said:

Great to hear from you Roy thank you for your advice,always followed those posts of yours re SX40 full of constructive advice.Would love to obtain one of the L lenses,wallet not in the greatest health.Having two L lenses both IS they are great to use,the CANON 100MM NON IS appeals to me Roy just checking out the actual handling never used the back button set up.However have the canon cable release which fits both my 40d/7d DGSLRS.Downside tripod job,not the end of the world though.Firmly believe its the person using it as much as its the equipment,so checking around re the 100mm perhaps this would work for me just in case lost my way with macro.It would be nice perhaps to just wander around using a hand held set up,not being restricted with the bulk of some of the tele/zoom gear.
So re the Canon 100mm non IS its a question of balancing technique maybe hand held that would work for me and the lens? Will see how far down the road we get with this one Roy, there are two retailers showing used models which need me to check them out.
Many thanks for your advice Roy always greatly recieved and digested.Those photos look great.
BEST REGARDS
GEORGE

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George. I had a Canon 100mm non IS before I upgraded and it is a cracking lens - a snip at some of the second hand prices, highly recommenced. I also hand held that one although I did find a Monopod helped at times as well. Best of luck whatever you go for.

Canon L IS Lens

Hi Roy,
Do you still use the Canon L IS Lens with a monopod? I was wondering if the IS still works when the lens is supported on a monopod.

Regards

Cliff said:

Hi Roy,
Do you still use the Canon L IS Lens with a monopod? I was wondering if the IS still works when the lens is supported on a monopod.

Regards

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Hi Cliff, I usually hand hold the L IS but have used it with a monopod and IS on with no problem, with a monopod you can still have movement unlike a locked down tripod so IS should be fine.