macro lens

[holty]

looking for a macro lens just wondered if anyone has one of these and whats your view of it ?
Laowa 100mm F2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro APO Lens

any other reccomendationd for a good macro ?

 

[markyboy.1967]

Holly, the Sigma 105 macro is worth checking out. I m happy with mine for the price. Sure I can get better by paying much more money but it’s a really nice sharp lens.

 

[TCR4x4]

There is no such thing as a bad macro lens really. Just pick one that is the right price and focal length For you.

 

[Joeturner11]

Not sure what format your shooting, I use a Canon 50mm f/2.5 Tack sharp little lens but depending on what your shooting the 50mm might not be long enough

 

[nandbytes]

I had one till recently. IQ wise it's outstanding. The only problem is that is focus throw is rather small especially for a lens that goes from infinity to 2:1 magnification. That really annoyed me considering it's a manual focus lens. That is a very bad design oversight of this otherwise perfect/amazing macro lens.
Not to mention at macro distances it works very well with 2x TCs too! So you can get up 4x magnification without having to buy any specialised lens like the canon MP-E which in itself is very well worth it.

 

[Dael_Pix]

@holty Had a quick search for the lens you mentioned. Reviews say it's a 'tack sharp' lens but there's no auto focus.

Would be better if we knew what camera you were using

 

[holty]

using nikon d850 and d500
im now looking at the sigma 105 os macro lens in Currys its just over 3 hundred quid with 3 yr warranty

 

[ecniv]

I have (and used on a nikon d300) a 105 nikkor macro (f2.8 I think). Currently (via an adaptor) on the leica m10. Very versatile lens, bought used for around 300-400 ukp many years ago. I believe there is a newer version (or two) after it, might be worth looking at. Only thing I do not like is it requires a lot of light... (d300 wasn't much of a problem but I feel it more on the leica).
Sigma, 105mm or 150mm (always wanted the 150) I haven't tried but people said they were good.
Tamron 90mm ?
If you can, borrow a lens from a friendly tog or check for a place that loans them, and try them out to see how well they work with your camera... then is hunt for a used one or fork out full price...

macro shots
All the shots in this album should be 105mm macro (some with tubes)...

 

[Cagey75]

I had one till recently. IQ wise it's outstanding. The only problem is that is focus throw is rather small especially for a lens that goes from infinity to 2:1 magnification. That really annoyed me considering it's a manual focus lens. That is a very bad design oversight of this otherwise perfect/amazing macro lens.
Not to mention at macro distances it works very well with 2x TCs too! So you can get up 4x magnification without having to buy any specialised lens like the canon MP-E which in itself is very well worth it.

This was my experience with this lens too. It's also quite hefty and long when you add an adapter - in my case Nikon to Fuji. You won't have to worry on that of course. One thing I will say is that the output is outstanding, in my testing I couldn't even force CA of any noticeable kind even shooting harsh contrast scenarios [branches or plants against strong backlight] - amazing optically, even wide open. It can be tricky to nail focus very close up though, for the reason nandbytes states here. I mostly would set my min focus then move forward and back rather than use the focus ring for extreme close up shots. I do this with most macro lenses but this was just a little heavier than I'd like and didn't balance very well on the Fuji with adapter, wasn't the most comfortable macro experience. They have a smaller lighter 65mm for the X mount that I will consider at some point. You would be balancing this on a bigger/heavier body so might work out better

 

[woof woof]

Not sure what format your shooting, I use a Canon 50mm f/2.5 Tack sharp little lens but depending on what your shooting the 50mm might not be long enough

I had one of those, a nice lens but slow to focus for general use.

 

[woof woof]

I think with macro lenses one of the first things to decide is the focal length you want which could be decided by the subject. For example if you're going to be taking pictures of things that might get frightened and run, jump or fly away you may want a longer lens to give you distance between you and the subject. Then I suppose there's the question of perspective.

I did like the Sigma 150mm I had for my Canon DSLR's and I do miss it. These days I just have an old film era Sigma 50mm f2.8 which is 1:1 and gives me a 100mm equivalent FoV if I mount it on a MFT camera.

 

[mark richards]

tried them all, tamron, nikon, sigma, in all sizes, my all time favourite was the sigma 180mm 3.5 you have a great distance between you and subject, when it broke i got the sigma 150mm 2.8 vr also very good, and never really given it a good trial, but seems a really sharp lens also, the sigma 180mm (old version ) does turn up now and again in second-hand shops and is a worthy lens..

 

[Callophrys]

looking for a macro lens just wondered if anyone has one of these and whats your view of it ?
Laowa 100mm F2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro APO Lens

any other reccomendationd for a good macro ?

I'd never even heard of this lens until reading this thread, so I did some googling and read some reviews which suggested it was worth getting. I found one at Carmarthen Cameras which was a discounted "as-new return". I ordered it yesterday morning and got it today, and I've had a very quick play with it. Looks good so far!

I'll be using it on a macro-rail most of the time for focus stacking, so just waiting until I can get out!

I have to say too that the service from Carmarthen Cameras was excellent.

 

[THIRTYFIVEMILL]

I used the 60mm version extensively and they're great lenses. Super sharp and image quality is spot on across all parameters. Obviously it's manual focus only but in a studio environment or shooting still objects that's all you'd ever use on a macro lens anyway.

 

[LeeRatters]

If you are a typical shooter with something like a nifty fifty (which most of us are at some point) then a longer focal length dual use macro is a good investment imo

It's one lens I miss from my Canon days (along with the 135L)

If it is going to be dual use, it might be worth the extra pennies for AF though.