Macro lens or prime with extension tubes.

33L

33L

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Lee
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Hi All,

I have the 100mm f/2.8 Non L as a macro lens at the moment. Considering trading it in for an 85mm 1.8 and auto extension tubes.

main reason for doing so.
  • 100mm is fairly close to the 135mm i have presently.
  • The 135 is my first choice as its faster
  • Macro is something i very rarely do.
  • With extension tubes i could fit it to the 50mm, 85mm or 135mm for macro work
  • 85 is a nice stop gap between the 50mm & 135mm

Is it a foolish decision to make the change the negatives are
  • I use a tripod ring and a bracket to get my flash gun into the right position, cant do that on any of my primes
  • changing from a normal lens to a macro is easier with a dedicated lens.

I cant think of any more negatives apart from what magnification i would acheive with extension tubes ( havent done th maths yet). Auto focus i very rarely use with macro work anyway. but want auto tubes to close down the aperture.

any one care to share some opinions on the move?
 
I had the 100L IS Macro, I haven't missed it since it went (swapped it for a Hassy), I use the 135L with extension tubes or the 24L TSE Mk2 with 2x extender and tubes.

I would use the tubes with my 85L but think it would be too unwieldy, would be great with an 85mm f1.8 though.
 
ecniv said:
Think it comes down to working distance... how close do you want to be and also is the 85mm/135mm 1:1 ?
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No they are not 1:1 but with extension tubes maybe close to it.
 
EdBray said:
I had the 100L IS Macro, I haven't missed it since it went (swapped it for a Hassy), I use the 135L with extension tubes or the 24L TSE Mk2 with 2x extender and tubes.

I would use the tubes with my 85L but think it would be too unwieldy, would be great with an 85mm f1.8 though.
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That's good to hear both on the 135 L and the other lens I was thinking of was the 85 1.8. What working distance and mag do you roughly get with the 135L
 
Tubes on the 135L looks favourite to me :thumbs:
 
HoppyUK said:
Tubes on the 135L looks favourite to me :thumbs:
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Cheers Hoppy as above do you know what magnification and MFD I should expect?
 
Just had a quick play with the 135L with Canon 12mm and 25mm tubes stacked (all I have) on the 1DsMk3.

The minimum focusing distance in this configuration is about 12-14 inches (didn't put it on a tripod to measure it) and the magnification is about 1:2 (71mm measured across the 36mm frame).
 
33L said:
Cheers Hoppy as above do you know what magnification and MFD I should expect?
Click to expand...

Ed has given you a good idea, but it depends on the length of the tubes of course. A full set of Kenkos is 12+20+36=68mm and on my 70-200L zoom and 5D2 (full frame) at 135mm I can fill the frame with a subject 55mm wide at about 9ins from the front element. Only a rough guide but basically you'll get better than 1:2 and not quite 1:1!
 
Thanks for that. Kinda cements my decision.
 
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