Canon lens upgrade advice

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Robovw

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Hey all, newbie to the forum here. So glad i found this forum been very useful so far! :-). So Hi all!

Recently bought a 40d and need to buy some decent glass for it. I would like some advice on what to go for.

At the moment I do mainly close up work, small object work, flowers, arrangements and do the occasional portrait.

An obvious choice would be something like :
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro Lens
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens

But If I can get a lens that I can use as a general purpose lens too that would be awesome.

So my question is how are the lenses below at moderate close up work? :
Canon EF 17-40mm F4L USM Lens
Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM

Also would extension tubes assist me / be worth considering?

I have a feeling im trying to get too much out of one lens but would like any input.

Maybe i should go for one of the macros above and then get a decent 50mm prime??

Many thanks all!
 
To throw another in the mix, I have a Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro which is pin sharp for close ups and I recently found it to be pretty good as a portrait lens. It is reasonably inexpensive too which may leave cash for an all purpose lens too?!
 
I've got the Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro too, very sharp, but maybe a tikky tad slow to focus. If I had the money to spend then the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro Lens would certainly be on my list! If you only work on a tripod then save the extra dosh and get the older non IS version.
 
Interesting.....yeah makes sense spending less on the sigma to enable me to get a better all purpose lens.

I 90% of the time use a tripod and from the reviews and samples on the sigma I am suitably impressed.

Anyone got any other suggestions?
 
:plusone: for the Sigma 50mm, if your not doing insects then you could save some money and buy a shorter focus lens. Very nice lens and very sharp, if your doing Macro, generally manual focus, so AF speed isn't an essential criteria. :thumbs:
 
How about a nifty fifty (50mm/1.8) and a set of extension tubes? If you use your tripod a lot then the loss of light you get by using the tubes will not be an issue as you can use longer shutter speeds. The 50mm will also be a great portrait lens.

Price wise, you can pick up the 50mm from Kerso, on the forum, for about £75 I think. I would recommend a decent set of kenko extension tubes, which will cost you about £100.

You'd get a great combo that way. Then you'll have enough for a 17-50 Tamron as a walkabout. All bases covered!!
 
swag72 said:
How about a nifty fifty (50mm/1.8) and a set of extension tubes? If you use your tripod a lot then the loss of light you get by using the tubes will not be an issue as you can use longer shutter speeds. The 50mm will also be a great portrait lens.

Price wise, you can pick up the 50mm from Kerso, on the forum, for about £75 I think. I would recommend a decent set of kenko extension tubes, which will cost you about £100.

You'd get a great combo that way. Then you'll have enough for a 17-50 Tamron as a walkabout. All bases covered!!
Click to expand...

You dont happen to have any shots taken with this set up do u? Liking this potential setup.
 
50mm f1.8 mkII with probably the 21mm tube on a 400D

cropped to 1600 x 1200 then resized to 800 X 600 and sharpened, so at 100% is twice as big but was a bit too pixelly

IMG_3810small-sharpened.jpg
 
Im liking the shot....

Not sure what to go for now! Having the 50mm and being able to use it as a macro too saves alot of money. Enough for me to get a high quality general purpose lens.

But as I do mostly close up work id rather skimp on quality in general purpose as apposed to close up.

Hmm decisions decisions!
 
You're not meant to like it! I was showing where the limits are. I pushed the sharpenning a bit hard on that one and it was cropped so far that its showing pixels.

If you're seriously committed to macro then get a proper macro lens.

But the 50mm f1.8 plus tubes is good for playing with and dabbling.

Focus can be a bit hit and miss on the 50mm f1.8, they're a bit crude

Fronm my limited playing with macro you should be thinking about the flash setup.
 
let me put it another way:
- the nifty fifty is a superb lens for the price, everybody should have one, its cheap and sharp and it can turn its hand to many tasks, but its a bit crude in its build quality and operation.
- if you want to do macro you'll want a set of tubes, they allow most lenses to become macro capable to some degree.

the nifty50 plus tubes is a cheap setup, but can reach limits quickly if you want the hairy leg details on insects
 
more . . . if you stick all the tubes on the 50 together (my jessops set = 31 + 13 +21 = 65mm) you get more magnification, but you end up practically rubbing the lens on the subject and the limits between which it will focus are seriously tight, millimetres. There are some trade offs with using tubes.
 
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