Lens upgrades, considering....

[ogbyte]

Hi All,

I've had my DSLR for about a year now and am looking at upgrading/adding lenses in order to fit better with what i've been tending to shoot most.

Currently have:
Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro (possibly sold, funds towards 100-400L)
Canon 50mm F1.8 II
Canon 18-55 kit lens

Shooting tends to concentrate on birds and insects (notably Dragonflys, damselflys etc) although did spend 3 days at Goodwood last year and may do so again this year

So, my thinking is:
100-400L to replace 70-300
24-105L walkabout (Goodwood???)
100/105mm Macro lens (insects etc)
Keep 50mm & kit lens (or sell kit lens??)

I haven't done much, if any, landscape stuff but would like to at some point (get 10-20, 12-24 for this, need tripod, ND filters etc I think to make most of it??)

Any other ideas (400L f5.6 fast AF, but lose zoom ability of 100-400 etc)

many thanks
Gary

 

[theory]

tamron 90mm 2.8 is a lot of fun if you fancy a good (bang for buck) macro lens fro insects... couples really well with raynox msn-202 and the like for getting in really close too (taking it from a 1:1 to a 4:1) and it's great for portraits too with a nice creamy neutral bokeh.

you need to decide what you wanna shoot i suppose

edit - just realised you proposed a whole list rather than choosing just one of the above. Looks like you have it pretty well covered then imo. My only problem with more reach on macro lenses is keeping the things still while you shoot. When I take insect pictures I usually get the focus right and then move toward or away from the subject which involves my hand touching the lens and something else that doesn't move then snapping away.

 

[LauraF]

12-24, 24-105 and 100-400 would give you great coverage (although I can't speak for the quality of the lenses themselves as I haven't used them). Then perhaps just a couple of primes as you suggested, a macro and your nifty fifty.

The 100mm macro is a great piece of kit, but if you're mainly photographing insects it may be worth looking into a lens that gives you a bit more distance between you and the subject - something like the sigma 150mm f2.8 perhaps if it's within your budget. If not, it may be worth looking into a 1.4 teleconverter for the 100mm

 

[ogbyte]

Thanks for the info, something to take onboard from both of you

Will consider the longer Macros also, as even with the 70-300 Sigma Dragonsfly etc are skittish

Was probably going to look at a 1.4x for use with the 100-400, although i will lose AF, but it would be worth trying.

cheers
Gary