About Macro Lenses

[GilesGuthrie]

I'm thinking I want a macro lens for my Canon EOS 350d.

Anyone got any advice for me? What's the difference between a 60mm and a 105mm in terms of the practicality of using them? (Anyone who says "45mm" will get -ve Rep )

Can anyone recommend a good lens from the 3rd party suppliers, or should I just stick with Canon?

 

[tait]

you can stick to canon if you'd like, but sigma and tamron also make some really great lenses. the mm refers to the focal distance from the glass of the lens to the sensor, and it's affects can be seen in this pic:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/graphics/tut_lenses_focal-length.png
basically, it's the amount "zoom" in a lens. so a 105mm will fill the frame with more of the object than the 60. there's also the magnification ratio to take into consideration. ideally, for macro you'll be looking for a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio. if you want to read up more on macro magnifications check out http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Optical/Macro_01.htm .
i see that sigma and canon both make fixed 100/105 macro lenses with a 1:1 ratio which i think will be your best bet, and they're fairly cheap. tamron likes to slap on the label of "macro" to their lenses for marketing reasons, but they usually have a poor mag. ratio (1:2.8) so stay away from them in this case. i hope i've helped.

 

[Jeremy Ricci]

^ I agree with everything said above. I really do not like Tamron lens's at all, and I'd highly recommend sticking with either Canon or Sigma. Tamron, IMO, is just not where the quality is at.

 

[Iceman]

Another good place to look for information is http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

There's a section just for macro photos so you can see what kind of pictures each type of lens takes.

 

[tait]

^ I agree with everything said above. I really do not like Tamron lens's at all, and I'd highly recommend sticking with either Canon or Sigma. Tamron, IMO, is just not where the quality is at.

actually, tamron can pull off some nice lenses. their 28-75 xr di lens is a beautiful lens that creates some damn sharp images with less chromatic aberration and glare than most. it can focus pretty quickly too 👍

 

[speedy_2]

I'm a part of that forum. Tons of information from knowledgeable people.

 

[Keano_transam78]

I have an old cannon (ie manual wind-on) ive found if u have two lens u can reverse two stuck together to make a macro

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Another good place to look for information is http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

There's a section just for macro photos so you can see what kind of pictures each type of lens takes.

Thanks. Have joined. It looks to have a good spread of abilities amongst the members, and a good atmosphere.

I'm in all sorts of trouble with this! I think I'm going to be trying to work up to replacing my 18-55 EF-S lens with a 17-85 EF-S IS jobbie, plus also get either the Canon or the Sigma ~100mm macro. Expensive times...