Tamron 55-200mm f4.0-5.6 Di II LD Macro Lens? Any good?

aprilmcg

aprilmcg

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I am wanting to start taking macro shots however with pretty much being a beginner I am not too sure what I should be looking at and also I don't want to be going spending a huge amount of money on one to find that either I don't like it or I'm just no good at it. I have found the Tamron mentioned in the title for £59 and was wondering if this would be any good to start off with. If not does, anyone have any suggestions for a macro lens around £150 or less for a beginner at macro photography? Cheers,

April
 
The lens you are talking about isn't actually a macro. It just does close focusing. You would be better off i would have thought buying some extension tubes from somewhere like jessops as they sell them. ( although probably not the cheapest)

An actual macro does 1:1 meaning life size. the right extesion tubes on a kit lens can also get you 1:1 if i remember correctly
 
For a macro lens, you will pick up second hand Tamron 90mm or Sigma 105mm in eBay for under £150.

For extension tubes goto OneStop Digital and get the Kenko for £65.

The Tamron 55-200mm is a good budget lens, check out slrgear.com for a review or look at pixel-peeper for photos.

Im in the exact same boat and have being researching this for a few weeks now.
 
It's all about compromise , if you're looking for a dedicated macro lens then the ones mentioned above will be ideal but if you're after a do-it-all lens then the 55-200 will fit the bill.

I took this with a Tamron 28-300 and while it's not a true macro shot (ie 1:1) it is good enough to keep me happy :)

kipper.jpg
 
Okay, thanks all for the advice. Mr Gubby, cracking shot!! I don't however have the four or five hundred pounds for that lens so I may just have to go for the Kenko. Thanks again :thumbs: (still confused though);)
 
aprilmcg said:
Okay, thanks all for the advice. Mr Gubby, cracking shot!! I don't however have the four or five hundred pounds for that lens so I may just have to go for the Kenko. Thanks again :thumbs: (still confused though);)
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My 28-300 was "only" £200 ne :).

Have a look on fleabay for Jessops extension tubes, they are pretty much identical to Kenko and they were selling them off for less than £30.

Don't get the £10 tubes , they don't have any electrical contacts so the camera can't control the aperture etc
 
mrgubby said:
My 28-300 was "only" £200 ne :).

Have a look on fleabay for Jessops extension tubes, they are pretty much identical to Kenko and they were selling them off for less than £30.

Don't get the £10 tubes , they don't have any electrical contacts so the camera can't control the aperture etc
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That's great, thank you. Off to have a look on "fleabay":lol:
 
mrgubby said:
My 28-300 was "only" £200 ne :).

Have a look on fleabay for Jessops extension tubes, they are pretty much identical to Kenko and they were selling them off for less than £30.

Don't get the £10 tubes , they don't have any electrical contacts so the camera can't control the aperture etc
Click to expand...

You may be lucky, I tracked afew sets of these over the last month and they all went for £50+, but for £65 get the new kenkos from onestop or try and wait for a bargain that may never come.
 
Okay, I have definitely decided to go with Kenko tubes and someone advised me to get a Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 to use with them. Dos this seem like good advice? It's certainly do-able when it comes to pricing.
 
aprilmcg said:
Okay, I have definitely decided to go with Kenko tubes and someone advised me to get a Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 to use with them. Dos this seem like good advice? It's certainly do-able when it comes to pricing.
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April, I know some of the folks (check out hillwalkinggirl, I think she uses them with 50mm) on the macro forum have used them on a 50mm, but with this you need to get pretty close to the subject.

The 50mm 1.8 is abit of a legend. I bought one a few weeks ago, but to be honest I haven't used it much. But it is great for protrait, so you would see benefit of it beyond the macro.

Another option I looked at was the Raynox adaptors, which I have seen some great results. There is a thread on these.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=32826&highlight=raynox


I see you asked this on EOS-MAGAZINE as well, it would be worth asking Phil s (who said he doesn't use his jessops) if he would sell, you may get a bargain.

Other option, 50mm 1.8 (£60 from kerso) + extension tubes (£65 from onestop) is £125 towards a decent macro lens such as the Tamron 90mm, or the sigma 105mm. As you know I had the same debate and decided to spend my money instead on a decent walkabout lens (Canon 28-105mm USM II).

Hope haven't added more confusion.
 
Yeah, still confused :thinking: anyway, I may look into asking Phil s about the Jessops ones, thanks for that. Thanks again for your advice. I think I will get the 50mm as it's decent price wise and it'll not be too expensive shoud I decide I'm no good at Macro!!! It's just a case of figuring out what tubes to get.
 
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