Macro on a 5d mk2

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Soldato
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Hello all,

I'm thinking of venturing in to macro photography and I'm not sure which approach to take.

I'll be taking pictures of still life, mainly at home and probably for some stock photography ideas I've got.

I understand there are various options:

Tamron 90mm
Canon 100mm f/2.8
Canon 100mm f2.8 L
Canon MP-65E

The MP-65 is way out of my budget so it's down to the other three. Do any of you guys have the Tamron 90mm? I've heard good things but worried about the lens sticking out when focusing which will be a pain when close up.

Also, is there really £300+ worth of difference between the Canon 100mm lens?

I understand lighting in Macro is key, how do you guys do it? I assume a ringflash is not all that is needed??
 
I compared the 100mm and the 100mm L a while back - the L is better and has VR which may or may not matter depending on how you use it. It's also weather sealed which (again) may or may not matter to you.

I ended up holding off for now but I think I would have bought the L option if I had gone ahead, it's not night and day better in any one area but the little things add up and for a couple of hundred quid I figured you might as well get the best available rather than replace it later. If you're on a tight budget you'll likely see it differently - the non L version is optically fine, takes nice pictures...
 
I've got the non L 100 mm f2.8 although not used it too much :eek: since upgrading to my 5D2. I'm sure I've got a couple of macro shots that I could post up later on for you to have a look at although its nothing exciting (my watch) if you want.
 
What will you be shooting? 100mm wont give much working distance on full frame and will be challenging for insects etc. You might find the Canon EF 180mm f3.5L Macro more useful, or the Sigma 150mm f2.8 MACRO for less cash.

In the 00mm range the Zeiss does very well, will need an adapter for Canon I think. Manual focus of course but that is fine for Macro
 
i have had the canon 100mm Non L and the Sigma 150mm I couldnt tell you which one i favoured more as they are both designed for different applications. E.g. the 100mm is more for static macro and being light nice and easy to trasport for weddings i do i found it great and didnt take up much room. The 150mm's great working distance its very useful for bugs/insects. tripod ring is handy to attach a flash towards the front of the lens with a simple bracket.

To be honest at the moment i use extension tubes on my 135 L to get close ups. its not quite 1:1 but for weddings i dont need that. I would honestly think about what you intend to use if for and see if you can get any where to handle them.
 
Derek - I'd love to see some pics, my first thought was to get some close up pics of my watches as a project.

I've heard the 100mm Canon lenses can be used as portrait lenses which would be ideal to have a lens that is dual purpose.

I'd like to take pics of everyday household things quite close up and any stock photography ideas I have. To give you an idea, in my kit bag I've got a 24-105mm f4 L lens and the 50mm f1.8.

The 24-105mm just doesn't get me close enough and won't focus when getting as close as I want. I assume the 100mm Canon macro lens will allow me to put the lens closer to the object and allow me to get closer?

What do you macro guys use for lighting? I'd love to see pics of how you do it.
 
Extension tubes on the 24-105 might work a treat and not break the bank either. a Kenko set can usualy be picked up around £80 second hand.
 
Are there any good guides on extension tubes and how they work?

My main fear with tubes is losing f stops and having to use artificial light - which would cost extra.

If anyone has any pics of the macro rigs that'd be great.
 
no more so than using a dedicated macro lens.the loss of light is down to the distance away from subject and also the narrow apetures that are needed to get good DOF on a closely focussed subject.

the only down side is with the tubes on, you cant focus to infinity like you can with a macro lens, however its just a matter of taking the tubes of and doing what you need to. Make sure if you go for tubes you are gonig for auto tubes that provide a connection between the lens and the camera to retail Aperture control.
 
It sounds interesting and at 30% of the cost of a second hand 100mm f2.8 canon lens it might be worth a go.

A quick Google shows a few people doing it with the 24-105, I'll need to google and youtube these extension tubes in more detail.

Thanks for the suggestion..
 
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