More Lens Questions...

Rosseau

Rosseau

New member
I'm looking for a few lenses for my 400D. I really enjoy macro photography, not only in my aquariums. I am on a bit of a budget and don't want to be limited with my lens choice.

I can't really see any advantages to buying say a Canon 100mm macro as opposed to a 70-200mm lens... other than slightly better optics in the prime lens.


I want macro ability but some telephoto use as well. I'm not really sure what my question is, but any advice from the macro side about using the zoom lenses?

Thanks..
 
I guess i'm looking for a telephoto with some range that will take great macro shots. Anyways i'm reading away on the internet for now..
 
How about getting the canon macro lens with a Teleconverter for it. You will loose some IQ and some light but as yo uare starting with fast lens with good IQ I think you'll still get decent pictures.
I never used such a setup and am not familiar with canon lenses to know if it works with a TC but it's worth researching it. At least you will never regret not having went to a dedicated macro lens which would always give better quality than a tele used for that purpose
 
I have both the Canon 100mm macro and the 70-200 F4, they're probably my two most-used lenses. Completely different beasts though. Minimum focusing distance on the 70-200 is nearly four feet, making it totally unsuitable for detailed macro work (at least, without adding a bunch of extension rings). Fantastic lens though, the overall quality and richness of color it produces is outstanding.

The 100mm macro can focus on a subject about 6" away, and can do true 1:1 macro (while the 70-200 is roughly 1/4:1). I use it for most of my in-tank photography. It can delivery razor-sharp pictures, but the primary reason for having it is that close focusing ability. I highly recommend both lenses to any Canon user who's serious about photography.

btw, I also have a 1.4X teleconverter, and it will not fit the 100mm without adding a small extension tube between them.
 
I think you have a couple of options.

You can do as was posted above and get the 100 + a teleconverter.

You can get a 180mm macro lens which will give you both telephoto and macro, but no zoom.

You can get the 70-200mm and add some extension tubes to get close ups. I used to use the 70-200 f/4 with extension tubes and it made for a good close-up lens, but you would need 200mm of extension to get 1:1.
 
If you really like the 70-200mm lens, then get that. Just add the 500D filter onto the front element and you're set.
 
jeffbrig
What is the minimal focusing distance when yo uhave the extension tube + converter + 70-200 mm? How about DOF is it as limited as having a 50mm over extension tubes? will you still be able to use autofocus or is it manual focusing with that setup?
 
I don't have any extension tubes yet, so I can't say for certain. I did some reading not long ago because I was interested in ways to increase the working distance of the 100mm. You need about a 6mm ring so the elements don't touch when you put the 1.4x on the 100mm.

I would expect DOF at 200mm to be signficantly shallower than when using a 50mm, even worse if you throw the 1.4x into the mix.

If the extension tubes were reporting, it would be theoretically possible retain autofocus. The 1.4x reduces your max aperture by just one stop. The tubes, from what I understand, don't work quite like that, but do reduce the amount of light that hits the sensor. All said and done, you may have trouble getting enough light to make AF work, but it won't be outright disabled.
 
I have the 100mm macro and love it. However, maybe you need to decide whether you want to take pictures of a gnats butthole or just a closeup shot of your tank. If all you want is a nice closeup, maybe a 50 mm 1.8 for $70 would work great, then get the 70-200mm too.

Mike
 
Thanks for the advice.

I do want the pictures of a gnat's butt.. well, other things too, hah.

I think i'll probably end up with a dedicated prime macro lens, like the 100mm unless I dive into the tubes a little more. I'm worried a smaller lens won't get me in as close.

Then down the road i'll find myself a nice telephoto with zoom.

And a wide angle and a... ahh...

Why am I getting myself into reefing and photography?



Or, haha I just found this.. I could DIY an "extreme macro" lens out of a pringles can....
 
If you're looking for another cheap macro idea, search the web for "50mm reverse macro" and see what turns up. :)
 
If you're really looking for a macro lens solution for cheap, then definitely take a look at a reverse 50mm lens. Here are some shots that I've taken with the setup.

50 1.4D by itself; as close as the lens will allow.
54742333.DSC_0961.jpg



50 1.4D reversed.
54742334.DSC_0552.jpg



If you don't want to deal around with reversing a 50mm, then stick with the 50mm and take a look at extensions. To get that 50mm to 1:1, you'll need 50mm of extension tubes. Here are some shots with the 50mm f/1.4D lens with 68mm of extensions (Kenko tubes).
D2X_0560.jpg


D2X_0523.jpg



The way that the extension tubes work is by moving the lens farther away from the camera, thereby increasing the magnification. At the same time, there's no glass element in the tubes, so picture quality doesn't degrade as much as using a teleconverter. What you do have to take into account is the amount of light loss using both. To get around it, bump up your flash power.
 
Jeff thanks for the info

Edwing
The only problem with teh reversing ring and the tubes is that your focusing distance will be really limitted so unless your subjects are just centimeters away from the glass you will not be able to get them in focus. Not to mention that your deapth of field will be very limited so small apertures are a must which will necessitate use of flash.
with the reversing ring focusing and metering do not work so you have to work on manual.
Some extension tubes (Kenko for example) allow you to retain focusing and metering but as mentioned above you will lose so much light that the lens will not be able to focus so you will have to focus by moving yoru camera back and forth.
Keno tubes come in a set of 12-20 and 36 which you can add together to have a total of 68mm.
Add the BR2a and reverse a 50 mm over them and you get LOTS of magnification. I recently took some shots of GSP with the tubes +BR2a and 50 mm 1.4 reversed on top. one polyp nearly fills up the whole frame. Will post those as soon as I'm finished processing them. only problem is that I'm processing Feb 2006 pictures which means That I have a 1 yr delay in my processing and I'm still not shooting RAW yet.
 
ok thanks for the help, and maroun.c- what do you think of the pringles can extension? have you ever tried it? thanks
 
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