Macro Lens - What should I be Looking For?

ProG77

ProG77

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Hi All,

I am currently contemplating buying a dedicated macro lens for the following kind of shots:

  • Flower Close Ups
  • Water droplets
  • Garden insects/butterflies
  • Some stock photography of household products such as jewellry etc.

I do have a 50mm f1.8 and a 2 stop & 4 stop close up filters but they are quite restrictive and I really do want an actual macro lens.

Having looked around, I am unclear of the various terminology such as 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 reproduction. Also, am I best buying one that is a fixed prime e.g. 105mm or should I be looking at one with a zoom? What is the benefit of a prime macro lens over one with a zoom (other than being able to zoom in to a subject obviously).

I am not looking at spending hundreds, so unfortunately the Nikon 105mm is out of scope - ideally looking at spending up to a max of £250, so will probably be second hand.

I have seen the 2 lenses below currently available second hand at Digital Depot and am tempted, but given the type of shots I'm after as listed above, not sure which one would be a better option:

Tokina 100mm f2.8 AT-X Macro

http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/secon...ina-100mm-f2-8-at-x-macro-lens-nikon-fit.html

Sigma 28-300mm F3.5-6.3 Macro

http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/second-hand/sigma-28-300mm-f3-5-6-3-macro-nikon-fit.html

All advice/views/suggestions truly appreciated. Thank you!
 
You want 1:1 ratio, 1:2 will only get half as close.

Of the two lenses you've found only one of them is a true macro (the Tokina) and I would get that - you also want the fast f2.8 to get nice shallow depth of field which looks great on macro shots.
 
You could try a set of Kenko extension lenses which you could couple with the 50mm f1.8 for very good results.

See here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20926615@N05/4032796615/sizes/o/in/set-72157623715955928/

I got a set of Kenko DG AF tubes on here for about £75.00 so you could keep a lookout.

But be aware that working very close usually means using a tripod because of blur.

Also beware because Macro is VERY ADDICTIVE!


EDIT:OOOOOPS just noticed you have a Nikon so edited out the Canon Macro!

.
 
Macro photography uses reproduction ratios to descibe what you get in the picture. It is not directly related to focusing distance, but to both distance and focal length.

1:1 means that the subject is reproduced life size on the sensor - if you photography a beetle 10mm long, the image will be 10mm long on the sensor. That's pretty big, and obviously when enlarged it will be the size of a rabbit! At 1:2 the image will be 5mm long, at 1:3 it will be 3.3mm etc. This is always true, regardless of sensor size/crop factor etc.

Longer focal lengths will deliver the same magnification ratio at greater distances, and since you get very close with a lot of macro, that's why 100mm or even 150-200mm macros are popular. All true macros are primes - there are no zooms worthy of the name.

There are no poor macro lenses. They are quite an easy spec to design and make and they are all very good.
 
Well when you're working at 1:1 the only way to get a bigger DOF is to stop down to F16 or so but that doesn't really give you great DOF - it's a physics thing - after that you have to go for focus stacking where you take a series of photos focussing on different parts of the image so that the sharp areas overlap in each photo and then combine them in a dedicated program like CombineZM.
 
Thank you everyone - as always, a wealth of info and advice from members here that I found really useful - so much so that I popped to Digital Depot earlier and bought the Tokina :D

As usual, great service from Stuart there and also got a good deal. Didn't want to risk losing out as it's not often he gets them 2nd hand.

Just need to get out and about now and find some good subjects - really looking forward to developing my macro skills.
 
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