Macro lens choice?

The matt 'sigma coating' is a pain, it might feel nice but it shows even the slightest little mark.
I'd prefer the new shinier coating I think, I'm guessing it's a bit more forgiving.
 
Diving Pete said:
I love my 150mm Sigma EX DG HSM Macro f2.8
Second-hand can be had for under £400 - I paid £350 for mine..
Click to expand...

I got the Sigma 150mm just before the new IS version came out, so I should say the none IS will be in your price range now, its a great lens, you can be that bit further away from your subject at 150mm, plus I have used mine as a prime with a 1.4 converter on and still had AF,

As for a ring flash/light I have just purchased Seagull MRC 80V LED from Keene retail at £79.99, fits from 52 to 72 lens thread and as a variable light control, used it the first time this morning, worth a look at the website http://www.keene.co.uk/electronics/catalogue.php
 
The build quality is fine, it just feels cheap!
 
The led ones cant provide the power of a flash, but do ggive a constant light, so that's useful in some situations :-)
 
Once you are addicted to marco, there is no stopping. Buy buy buy, flash unit, focus rail, bracket & other marco accessories. Flash lighting to harsh, look into diffuser & keep on improving the diffuser. I started with 105 mm f2.8, then 200 mm f4 and now end up with 60 mm f2.8 as it is lighter and easy to handle.
 
modchild said:
I went straight for the Canon 100mm f2.8L IS when I got a macro lens as I had the money to do so. ......With the IS on it focusses fast enough on both my 5D3 and 70D to be able to use AF nearly all of the time and I have it prefocussed to a subject area for most of the other shots. I have used MF but only on a very few times as the AF speed is excellent and is supposed to be similar for the non L version.
Click to expand...

....Me too, I went straight for the Canon 100mm f2.8L IS as so many insect photographers rave about it and one only a few months old came up for sale on TP's Classifieds. I haven't used it fully yet as it's off-season in the world of mini-beasts. But on my Canon 70D you can override the Autofocus at any time with the Manual Focus and also check fine focus using the Magnify '+' button, IF you have time!

I would rather have IS and not need it, than need it and not have it - It's simply a useful option. But I do appreciate it's often a matter of budget.

modchild said:
You will need to think about lighting for most macro shots as I usually shoot between f9 and f16 to get a large enough DOF to cover the subject but that will slow down the shutter speed too much (unless you really bump the ISO and then you end up with noise) so good light is essential. You can use a speedlite, but that doesn't tend to give the best light if it's on camera, but off camera flash with a speedlite is better. Alternatively you could get a ringflash or dual flash which attach to the front of the lens and gives a nice even light. My macro shots were greatly improved with a ringflash, I got a Marumi ETTL flash for around £60 to start with but I've now got a Sigma EM140 DG twin flash and that gives a whole lot more lighting options but is a lot more expensive.
Click to expand...

....Very poor DoF is the downside of designed-for-purpose Macro lenses. I am very reluctant to start using flash of any kind because I much prefer to capture my wildlife subjects in natural lighting and in their own environment - I haven't bought my Macro lens to produce science lab images.

We'll see what results I do or don't get next Spring - I am lucky enough to have photographed (with my FinePix F500EXR pocket camera) no less than 5 species of Dragonflies in my 'Backyard' just beyond my garden and many Damselfly species, some emerging from my small wildlife pond.

Stuart aka 'modchild', methinks you and I may be comparing notes as we each have the Canon 70D and 100mm f2.8L Macro IS setup :thumbs:
 
Robin, I've used my 100 f2.8L IS macro on a 650D, a 60D, two 7D's, a 5D2 and a 5D3 and now with the 70D. The 70D has overtaken the 5D3 as my default body for macro. The IQ is excellent and the AF is fast and accurate enough to use for most shots and with my ring flash I'm getting some great shots from it. The articulating screen makes shooting at awkward angles easier (and safer) to shoot as well. Like you, I can't wait till the summer to get a wider variety of insects to shoot, I really want to concentrate on getting some dragonflys next year as I only got a couple this year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top