Thread: Forget the macro lens, get a serious compact instead!

Originally Posted by Pelao

Well your hand would make a fine tripod.

I use the same stroll-by method. I don't shoot much macro at all, but sometimes the opportunity is just there.

Exactly ... stroll and see what you can find.

Gary

Ps- Yes, I am missing two fingers.
G

Originally Posted by Luke

there are definitely two opinions of macro. True macro being a 1:1 representation to real life on the sensor. Anything less is close-up photography (and the reason I sold the Fuji 60mm "macro" lens.....shame on you Fuji) and not true macro. If your friend just wants to do the occasionally flower close-up or larger insects.....any of the compacts will be good. But still I think better yet would be using some cheapo extension tubes for the Canon....at that point any lens can become a macro lens.

Here's a great resource for photomacrographers ........ www.photomacrography.net...Front Page

That's a good example. The Fuji is fine for my macro; even their 35 is reasonably good. The 60 gives me reasonable macro and a superb tele in one. But that is what I call mainstream macro, and not the 'real' thing.

I'm not really sure it's shame on Fuji though. Serious macro photographers will check the specs before purchase, and will know (and often prefer) a manual focus lens for this work.

Originally Posted by Pelao

I'm not really sure it's shame on Fuji though. Serious macro photographers will check the specs before purchase, and will know (and often prefer) a manual focus lens for this work.

I was just joking (a bit), but you're right. Shame on me for spending that kind of money without checking first.

Originally Posted by Luke

I was just joking (a bit), but you're right. Shame on me for spending that kind of money without checking first.

Now hang on, that's not what I meant. Be nice to Luke!

No, I can take a good scolding when I deserve one.

Won't an occasional macro shooter be happy with a "reverse lens adapter" instead? Something like this - Amazon.com: Fotodiox 52mm Filter Thread Lens, Macro Reverse Ring Camera Mount Adapter: Camera & Photo

I haven't tried shooting macros much, but there are some nifty examples of what's possible on flickr - reverse lens macro - Flickr: Search

Mike Brown talking about it here - Macro Reversing Ring - YouTube

Reverse lens macro is fun.. but not something you can do on a walk whereas I have carried the 50mm macro like a traditional nifty 50 but had the capability to do macro on the fly.. or even my 100mm has gone for walks with me. Reverse via adapter is fully manual shooting though there is a rather expensive adapter one can buy made by Novoflex [might as well get a lens instead] to couple the reversed lens with the camera. Manual is fine for many people though and reverse is a good way to see how close you want to get, but it also depends on what lenses you have to begin with as to what your results will be.

I think back to the OP's original post.. it sounds like the friend wanted advice on a lens for the camera she already owns.. not an entirely different camera. It's important to tailor a response to the buyers needs. I think I would have been very angry if someone steered me towards a compact to fulfil my macro needs, it would have been like using my 55-250 with tubes all over again. Best to ask her what she wants to accomplish, tell her to look up images taken with various lenses she's considering and she will likely come to a conclusion based on her findings :) Canon, Zeiss [manual only], Sigma and Tamron all make lenses for Canon giving a buyer a good price field. Secondary options are a reverse adapter, close-up lenses [Canon makes the best there], extension tubes and tele-converters. I know a guy that uses bellows and focusing rail too. Also, one can do really dreamy close-ups with Canon's 28mm 1.8 [I have] and I hear Sigma's 30mm 1.4 .

I don't know if this idea is all that far removed from suggesting a compact zoom camera as an alternative to any new lens for an ILC. I figure that she chose to use a larger sensor SLR camera for good reasons and may not wish to compromise from that. If it is an APS-C Canon it is possible to buy a used EFS 60mm f2.8 Macro for ~$300 or perhaps even slightly less which is a very good lens: sharp, compact, does not extend during focusing, and has ring-type USM focusing with full-time manual override. A compact camera with good close-up focusing is obviously far more flexible than a dedicated macro lens, but would only be the better choice it she found value in having a second, smaller camera. Of course a macro lens is also useful for more than just macro photography.

I think that a compact camera is a perfectly reasonable alternative but not quite a no-brainer decision.

Wow this has evolved into an interesting discussion on macro photography and related equipment.

I wasn't asking for the friend of mine, she's only just got into photography and went straight for the DSLR by default, with which she can take great photos of her young daughter while she's still a little toddler. She is finding how much she loves photography and she was casually asking about macros without any clear idea of what kind of photography she wants to do.

I was actually asking about macros and compacts for myself. I thought the discussion would go into the various compacts with most of you dissing the S110 as being left behind in the compact race. I've always had a thing for the very pocketable size and the minimalist look of the S95.

What I didn't factor into the equation was how close to the subject you'd need to be with a small sensor compact macro. For me, I was thinking more about still life, I hadn't thought about insects.

I have a huge macro lens with my Canon 7D, it's this huge thing that is actually a slow f/4-5.6 big zoom lens which has a macro switch. If I wanted a dedicated macro lens that can go faster than f/4, I'd probably have to put in some big bucks I'd imagine. In which case for me personally I'd much rather get a serious compact for all the reasons I mentioned in my original post.

Not prohibitively expensive. For a 7D, $300 will get you a 60mm, and even the non-IS EF 100mm macro can be had for close to that price but is about twice the length. Both are proper macro lenses.

EFS 60mm on a 50D