what MACRO lens for a Cannon 5D?

[BlueCorn]

From a macro perspective the 180 won't give you any better magnification than the 100 so I'm not sure what your logic is.

 

["Umm fish?"]

You're right, it's 1:1 magnification at the closest focus either way. But macro is not the only thing to use them for. With the crop factor on my small-sensor Canon, the 100 mm is acting like ~130 mm, right? So, I'm used to the 100 mm giving me a little more reach than I'd be able to get if I were to connect the lens to a full-frame body. That's all I was trying to say.

 

[jmarko]

ya I agree thats basically why i went with the 180 with the 5dmkII and what i was trying to say in my earlier post

 

[areze]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15281527#post15281527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
From a macro perspective the 180 won't give you any better magnification than the 100 so I'm not sure what your logic is.

100mm is around 6" I think. gives you 1:1 for about 25-50% of your tank at best. I think thats the discussion. on a DX camera, you can extend that to 9" or so. its not much, but 180mm on a FX camera is only 12" so we are really grasping at tiny differences, so every little bit is kind of significant

 

[BlueCorn]

Crop factor doesn't impact minimum focusing distance.

 

[areze]

no? learning something new here! so... something must adjust for that then... no? does the magnification change then?

 

["Umm fish?"]

By "reach" I'm talking about how large the subject will be when they are farther away. I do like to use the 100mm for portraits (and anything else that doesn't require a fast autofocus) because it's so crisp and it does a good job of isolating subject from background. I would need to be a heck of a lot closer to the subject if I used a full-frame camera.

 

[SimonSKL]

I am pretty new to DSLR world and just bought a Canon Rebel XSi. I want to take some macro pictures of my corals but I can't afford another $600 on a Canon 100mm macro lens. I read somewhere you can place a closeup lens (Canon 250D or 500D) in front of the telephoto lens to reduce the minimum focusing distance and get great magnification. Is that true? Anyone with any experience with such lens and what are the pros and cons? These closeup lens are much cheaper than the real macro lens.

Thanks

 

[areze]

donno of closeup lens, but I know extender rings do something similair

 

["Umm fish?"]

Yep, your cheapest alternative is to go with extension tubes. They are usually sold in sets of three different lengths and are just hollow aluminum tubes. You put them between the lens and the camera body, moving the lens farther away from the camera. Try to find a set that'll pass the electronic information from the lens to camera (and vice versa). But, other than having electrical connectors, this is one area where it really doesn't matter what brand you get because they really are just hollow tubes.