If only I had a macro lens!

MuGeN

MuGeN

MuGeN

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was taking some shots in the garden last night, and after getting a few shots like this:

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It made me really want a macro now!, i've hovered around the buy button for a Tamron 90mm a few times now, but I can't help but think that the 100mm Canon with USM and internal focusing and all that jazz might not be the better investment in the long run...

Not going to show you that pic any closer as it was taken with my 55-250mm and its not mind bogglingly sharp (as you would expect)

Not sure what the purpose of this post is, but just to say really enjoyed taking these shots and using the manual focus and that the macro world looks quite exciting :D
 
Yeah Macro is fully tempting isn't it?

Do it. Get the 100mm if you can. I think with photography you can afford to take that extra step in purchasing, cause if it doesn't work out how you planned, Glass holds it's value really well, and you can make up a lot of your losses by selling on.
 
Bloody hell mate, that shot is awesome. I have tried for a long time to catch something in mid flight and it just hasn't happened. Then again I haven't done any macro for about a year and I would say my photography has improved significantly since then.

I really need to make more of my 150mm Macro lens! (I actually use it for portraits which is a little odd I suppose)
 
Raikiri said:
Kerso is doing the 100mm f2.8 for £379 at the moment.
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£410 at the moment i'm afraid :(

ScarySquirrel said:
Bloody hell mate, that shot is awesome. I have tried for a long time to catch something in mid flight and it just hasn't happened. Then again I haven't done any macro for about a year and I would say my photography has improved significantly since then.
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hehe cheers :D - but i fear it is beginners luck it was my first ever sesh trying to do this kinda photo...

real shame i didn't have the right kit to make the most of it like i said...

as a followup, just read this: http://photo.net/equipment/canon/can-tam-macro/ - long story short, it says the tamron 90 and canon 100 shots are virtually indistinguishable, so the choice comes down to the USM/FTM/IF bonuses on the canon...

that really is a bitch of a choice, if only the canon IQ was noticeably better it'd be much easier to justify!
 
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I don't think USM or FTM are big selling points on a Macro lens, the IF and longer working distance are the things I would consider important, but it's an extra £140.
 
yeah i agree (i actually specifically really enjoyed the manual focussing side of yesterdays shoot (hehe listen to me :D)) - so really its IF + longer distance vs. extra £££ & 50% more weight

i will ponder this ;)
 
As far as I know, IS / VR and all those stabilisers don't really help that much when you hit the macro range.
You will find yourself manually focussing 99% of the time by moving forward and backward, etc. When using the lens for other things IS/VR/USM etc will have their usual payoffs, but at macro magnifications they aren't really that helpful.
 
any idea if those prices include a VAT element? that'd be great! that would mean theres only a £100 gap between the aforementioned lenses and i think that seals it for me...
 
denyerec said:
As far as I know, IS / VR and all those stabilisers don't really help that much when you hit the macro range.
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actually they do (assuming hand-holding) but afaik there currently only is 1 in-lens IS/VR Macro lens - a Nikon 105 VR.
However, the recent Canon press release re. their new hybrid IS system hinted at Macro so oerhaps there is a Canon IS Macro on the way..
 
Yeah that is with VAT included I believe, but then you can also get the Tamron for £230 (imported but they cover VAT if you get charged).

BUFF said:
actually they do but afaik there currently only is 1 in-lens IS/VR Macro lens - a Nikon 105 VR. However, the recent Canon press release re. their new hybrid IS system hinted at Macro so oerhaps there is a Canon IS Macro on the way..
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The effect of VR reduces as you get closer to 1:1 magnification, the manual for the 105 VR even suggests turning it off for macro use.
 
IIRC away from eBay, his prices don't include Postage, but then that's nothing compared to normal prices anyway :)
 
I've emailed him so we'll see...

I can't help but feeling that shot above might be a one off opportunity and it'll never happen again when I get a proper lens :p
 
MuGeN said:
I've emailed him so we'll see...

I can't help but feeling that shot above might be a one off opportunity and it'll never happen again when I get a proper lens :p
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Well, choose the right lens correctly and it doubles as a portrait/wildlife lens :p especially the Sigma 150mm with a TC or something.
 
I saw sense in the end, just bought the 90mm Tamron, it just isn't worth the extra wad of money simply for USM and IF since the image quality is very very similar, also had a play with the Tamron in a high street store and was very impressed with it. Paid £226 which is a right barry-argain so I hope the import tax monster doesn't see me :(

All very exciting :D
 
Raikiri said:
the manual for the 105 VR even suggests turning it off for macro use.
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isn't that because of parking errors causing uneven sharpness across the frame - bad news with limited dof that you get with macro.

If you do handheld macro (insects etc.) stabilisation will still give you an extra couple of stops which is good for handholding as you can bump the shutter speed or increase aperture for better dof.
if you do macro of static subjects using a tripod then it won't make a difference & indeed for tripod use stabilisation is usually turned off.
 
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