Macro work

  • Thread starter Thread starter astroeddie
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astroeddie

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Hi Guys,

Debating upon which lens to go for, for Macro work.

Looking at the Tamron 90mm Macro, but, have came across these ......

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-canon-ef12ii-extension-tube/p12866

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-kenko-dg-canon-af-extension-tubes-set-36mm-20mm-12mm-/p1005553


Are these OK to use with the 18-55mm kit lens that came with my 550D ?
Or, am I better off getting the Macro lens ?

I have no idea what they actually do apart from bringing yoyr focus closer to the object.

Hope this query makes sense ......

Eddie
 
Hi Eddie,
I think bringing things closer is basically all that they do. Although you will be losing a couple of stops depending on how you use the tubes in combination with each other, the resulting quality should match your original lens as there is no glass in the tubes. You need to find out whether auto focus is possible with extension tubes and your camera if that is important to you, obviously that wouldn't be an issue with a dedicated macro lens.
I'm wondering myself whether tubes would be good enough for what I want as they are an obviously cheaper alternative, providing you are not dissatisfied with them and then have to buy a macro lens. Decisions decisions.
 
18-55 is not sharp enough to make much sense. You want a good prime with tubes, such as 85mm f/1.8 or 90mm TSE for the ultimate closeup control.

But a dedicated macro lens is an obviously easier entry and well worth the money. You may find buying from the classifieds here or ebay a little cheaper.
 
Extension tubes are great but won't rival a dedicated macro. The Tamron 90mm, Sigma 105mm and Canon 100mmm are all great. I have the Canon 100 which is crazy sharp and renders beautifully.

If you're serious about macro though, make sure you plan to add a dedicated flash, as you may struggle with getting enough light for some subjects and keep your shutter speed up.
 
Hi Eddie

i guess it depends on how much macro you intend to do? and what else you shoot or plan to shoot?

Personally i was sold on the 100mm for ages, i did a complete change though and decided on the 60mm. I also have a 550d and im not intending on upgrading any time soon - the 60mm is EF-S only so no use on full frame.

The main reason i went for it was i wanted that extra functionality and to be able to use it for Macro work, but equally a massive amount of pics i take are of my kid. The 60mm ticks both boxes for macro and portrait at a reasonable price. So does the 100mm depending on what perspective you want as on a crop its equivalent to 160mm. I bought mine from Kerso (on here)/flashcamera as he was best price and i would certainly recommend.

i do have the nifty fifty though and wondered if there was any point as the 60mm lowest aperture is f2.8 compared to f1.8 on the 50mm. To be honest though, this lens is amazingly sharp, so where you may normally stop the aperure up to get the sweet spot i find the 60mm very sharp wide open at f2.8.

Downsides, well that depends on your use. The 100mm has a lot better working distance so you dont need to get your face so close to these bugs! and they dont fly off! my first spider scared the life out of me, as the autofocus worked it felt like it was jumping at me!

Im very pleased with my decision and after reading every possible review i think you would be happy with either as they are both incredibly sharp. I dont know a lot about the others but the tamron always seems to get decent reviews too, again it depends on what focal length you want etc

I would echo the comment about flash too, DOF can be paper thin so you often need to shoot at say f11, in poorly lit areas you will need flash. i find the onboard does the job for my use anyway. If you are wanting to dedicate yourself to macro work then you may want to buy a ringflash etc later on.

Thats my 2p anyway, good luck with the decision
 
Many thanks guys.

After reading, I'll opt for the Macro Lens. Now to do a bit of saving.

Best regards Eddie
 
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