good macro lens

petebuster1

petebuster1

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Which lens is good for macro been looking at a few but not sure what to go for ,would like a good all rounder that can do more than just macro £
500 would be the max for my canon 40d which i bought on here today. wondering if any stand out from the rest?
 
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Canon 100mm f2.8 USM (non IS) 2nd hand for £300-£320. Gives some spare cash for off camera flash;)
 
When I was looking for my first dedicated Macro lens, I was a 35mm film user and was looking for something around the 100mm mark. I played with the Sigma 105mm and the Tamron 90mm (both f/2.8) and was impressed with both for Macro and portraits. I ended up with the Tamron purely because one turned up on a 2nd hand shelf in town before the Sigma.
 
I was looking at the canon 100mm, I know its not major but the plastic build really puts me off , a personal thing but don't do plastic:lol:
 
I was looking at the canon 100mm but I know its not major but the plastic build really puts me off , a personal thing but don't do plastic
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Shame because the Canon 100mm L is probably the best of the macro lenses

Especially when Amazon were doing it for £435 after cashback :thumbs:
 
petebuster1 said:
Which lens is good for macro been looking at a few but not sure what to go for ,would like a good all rounder that can do more than just macro £
500 would be the max for my canon 40d which i bought on here today. wondering if any stand out from the rest?
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Either of the Canon 100mm macros will work for you, both are good. I've owned both and personally I think the L IS is an incredible lens.

But you should also look at the 60mm EF-S macro which is very nice and a more versatile focal length on APS-C.

And there seem to be loads of happy Sigma and Tamron users out there too so I don't think you can go too far wrong :)
 
Have you also considered a set of Automatic extension tubes?

Almost any decent lens - even a kit lens - will give excellent results when used with a set of automatic extension tubes.

I have used them with a kit lens on a 350D, a 50mm f1.8 on the 350D, 450D and a 1Ds MkII, the 100mm macro on the same cameras and also a set of Kenko extension tubes used on the Canon 70-300mm L IS USM lens all with good results.

But please note that whatever lens etc you may end up with it does take a lot of practice to obtain the best results.

Too many people seem to assume that just sticking a macro lens on a camera is a guarantee of good results but it's not.

.
 
Thanks guys now i'm going to put a spanner in the works:eek: i'm thinking maybe i'll get the raynox dcr 250 to put on the G15, i think to be honest that would do for me to work with for time being for macro and get a dedicated lens at a later date.
I think i need to get used to the 40d first and maybe 2 lenses to a decent focal range might be better to start with, any thoughts and recommendations?
 
Nowt wrong with trying a cheaper option before making an investment! Yours is one of the usual routes - supplementary close up "filter(s)", sometimes followed by extension tubes with the final upgrade to a true macro lens (sometimes followed by an upgrade within the lens genre...)

Hard to give lens advice without knowing where your areas of interest lie - if you're into wide angles, a Sigma (or other) UWA coupled with a kit lens is a good starting point, s is the budget alternative of just the kit lens until you know what you want! For a more telephoto kit, again, the kit lens but with a tele instead of a kit lens; loads of 70-300 options which will be long enough for most "normal" uses.
 
Re lenses for 40D
#1 A standard zoom either the kit lens or similar depending on your budget.
After that depending on your shooting needs, not wants, and after some experience with the kit lens either;
#2 ultrawide zoom
or
#2 medium tele zoom (70-200?)
or
#2 Someting fast, like around F2.

What do you mostly want to use your 40D for, beside macro?
 
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Other than macro it would really be general purpose, i live in the country so theirs plenty of wildlife, scenery things like that really and the dogs.
I dont want to spend a lot (don't have a lot lol) on lenses for a while at least but would like something a little better than the kit lenses
 
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For general purpose use I would be looking at one of these (I don't own one).

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-15-85mm-f-3.5-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

or, not quite so good, one of these (I do own one)

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-17-85mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

For wildlife etc that means long.

I would start with something like this (I own one)

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

or even better, because of the IQ, build quality, reach and versatility (it is my most used lens)

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-100-400mm-f-4.5-5.6-L-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
 
i like the look of the sigma 17-70 and it seems a bit cheaper
 
Next week's AP has a group test of Macro lenses. Probably worth a read.

Sorry, that's the issue that'll be on the shelves from Tuesday 19th March.
 
I started in macro with a basic 18-55 kit lens and a set of tubes. I got some really decent shots from it on a 550D. After about the first 10 minutes I knew I was hooked on macro so as soon as I could afford to I got a 100 f2.8L macro lens and I've been blown away with it ever since. The IQ is fantastic and with the addition of a cheap but good ring flash I was amazed by the shots I was getting. Now I've got a 5D3 and Sigma twin flash to go with the 100 macro and the shots are even more amazing. I can use the AF of the 5D3 and still get it fast and accurate enough.

Any of the other macro lenses mentioned above will give you a very good shot although you'll need a good bit of practise if you decide to go for the MP-E65 macro as that starts where the other macro lenses finish and is a whole new world.
 
RichardTaylor said:
Re the sigma.

I havn't used a Sigma lenses, however my experience with 3rd party lenses has not been positive.
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Only going by the reviews they all seem very positive. All I want is a good starting point and something better than than the kits
 
I haven't really looked at the prices of the macro range recently,but I used to have the Canon 60mm on my 40D about 3 year ago - which I bought from Amazon for 219 quid.

By far the best bang for buck lens I've ever owned!

Saying that I've just read the post above about the IS version being 435 quid with cashback.
Now that you can't argue with! :)
 
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