Macro lens for Canon 1100d

darreny

darreny

darreny

Soldato
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19 May 2004
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I'm after a macro lens, around 100mm but not got a lot to spend, are there any older models that are good, manual focus only is OK if the work with live view
 
It depends what your budget is, and to be honest I would start off with a macro hack to see if you get on. Macro always sounds appealing to start with, but it there isn't always opportunity to take it up; so my recommendation, invest in a 2nd hand nifty 50 (Canon's 50mm f1.8). Cheap as chips, especially second hand. Add a reverse ring and some extension tubes. You can combine them together or just try one or the other first to see how you get on. You can actually get some good results with this setup.

Some info on these here for example (just google reverse ring and extension tubes macro).
http://www.slrlounge.com/extension-tubes-reversing-rings-cheap-macro-accessories-reviewed/

Tthis was taken with the reverse ring and extension tubes.
Lily Anther by Andrew Young, on Flickr


This was taken with a reverse ring and the 50mm
Sleepy Snail by Andrew Young, on Flickr

Not great shots but give you an idea of what you can expect :)

Another nice hack is to get a black tube with a plastic diffuser on the end (I used a piece from a milk bottle) to carry the light from the inbuilt flash to the end of the lens. Attach it with elastic bands. It gives you a bit of flash for your subject, you can then user higher f/stops and get a bit more DOF. I'll take a pic of one I put together if you want so you get the idea. I took inspiration from this http://www.monkeyonabicycle.com/2010/10/diy-macro-photography-iv-on-board-flash.html but made one much smaller and compact than that one :)

After this if you do think you will take it up, then it's time to consider something like the Canon 100L, I picked one up second hand (IS version) for £440 some time ago.
 
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The regular 100mm F2.8 macro (not L and without IS) is still almost as sharp as the L version apparently and you can pick it up second hand from MPB for £240ish (perhaps cheaper in a direct sale).

IS is nice for handheld shots but I guess it's not the end of the world :)
 
I'm puzzled as why you would want an L version for a macro and think Genoma raises a few very good points. I've not had my macro lens out for a few months and it's not had the use as much as i like so in hindsight, i would have gone for this advice.

I would definitely go for the hack and see how you get on, then maybe, if it's something you'd enjoy and get use of then go for a third party lens like the Sigma 105 EX OS

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/105mm-f28-ex-dg-os-hsm-macro

IMO, the money is best spent on lenses that are using all time.
 
It's good to remember that these are just regular 100mm lenses that can get close to subjects so you don't have to use them just for macro :)
 
I do have to take photos of the products I make which was another reason to get one but am thinking a fixed focal length might make it more difficult.

Like the idea of using reverse rings but it was to be multi use
 
I guess it depends on the products you need to photograph - small items will be fine with a 100mm lens whereas larger items might be difficult if you don't have enough space to back away.

I guess it might help to know what other lenses you too :)
 
Got the 17-55 kit, the 50mm 1.8 and is it 55-250? Just got a yongnuo 558 speedlight and planning on getting a couple more flashguns in slave and an off camera trigger at christmas
 
Well as far as your product photography goes, you can certainly just take shots with your existing lenses to see what kind of focal lengths you'll find useful. Once you know that then you can try to find a better suited lens.

As far as macro, the 50mm reversed or even just with extension tubes can definitely give you some decent shots if you work at it. Macro specific lenses will make it easier to get the shots you want but they're not absolutely necessary.
 
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