Macro lens for beginner..

[nigelisabelle]

Hi,
I'm a total newbie in the world of photography. I have a Rebel XTi 400D. I'd like to get into macro photography for fun, taking photos of flowers, bugs, my children's eyes etc....

Can you recommend a good beginner (not breaking the bank and keeping me married!) type lens please.

I've been thinking about a set of filters +1, +2, +4 & +10 as a starting point.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Joanne
Brit living in PA, USA!

[shadowkipper]

Im a newbie to DSLR Macro photography myself. The best choice for an intermidiate Macro lens according the vote on another topic is the Canon 100m f2.8 USM Macro lens. Its high quality and i've been convinced to buy it in the next 2 weeks.

Just wait until someone posts some pics to show amazing it is

[spud14]

hi Joanne

I have a tamron 90mm macro lens and I love it... I've had it for quiet a while now and have used it for a range of photography, especially flower photographs. Id really recommend it.

[ironchef31]

The cheapest setup you could have is a 50mm 1.8 and a set of Kenko extension tubes.
As far as filters go, polarizers usually removes 2 stops of light. Not sure if this fits into your plans but still good info.

[nigelisabelle]

Thanks so much everyone, I appreciate your feedback. I'm tempted to get the 100mm f.2.8.... maybe in a few months.

For now I'm going to pick up some filters :)

[shadowcat]

I started with the 50 2.5 macro lens it works great

[wallybud]

If your sticking with canon the-digital-picture.com gives a good comparison between your two pups. 100 2.8 and 60mm

Im sure youd be able to use both so read the reviews and se what you think, any questions afterwards and well be here haha

If you read the whole thing youll be quite educated on the subect. Im sure your not gunna go for the 180mm as most prolly dont (i wouldnt ) lol. But the 100mm clearly has a muchh nicer bokeh...even though that can be compensated for by subjects distance from he back and you =)

http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-100mm-f-2.8-USM-Macro-Lens-Review.aspx


Hope that hels

[gryphonslair99]

The cheapest setup you could have is a 50mm 1.8 and a set of Kenko extension tubes.
As far as filters go, polarizers usually removes 2 stops of light. Not sure if this fits into your plans but still good info.

I would second this suggestion to get started. The extension tubes have no optics. If you get the Kenko tubes and the nifty fifty and find you don't like macro all that much the tubes will not loose much of their value and you can sell them in the sellers forum and still have a nice 50mm lens.

[wallybud]

I would second this suggestion to get started. The extension tubes have no optics. If you get the Kenko tubes and the nifty fifty and find you don't like macro all that much the tubes will not loose much of their value and you can sell them in the sellers forum and still have a nice 50mm lens.

Yeah I also agree with that! NIce call OP + help from my man gryphonslair99 ;)

[nigelisabelle]

Thanks so much. This is super helpful.

[GSansoucie]

The EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro is my choice. I did try out the 60mm, but prefer the big honkin 100.

Whatever you get, you will need two other things (very important!):
1) A Decent Monopod (For bugs)
2) A Decent Flash

Believe it or not, you need a flash for a lot of the macro photos in the summer.

If you plan to shoot bugs, forget the tripod, you need something that is stable and quick to move around.

I hope to be adding to my macro gallery in the coming weeks here. The frogs just started peeping last night.

[Bill Pham]

i suggest getting a set of extension tubes before the filters. or one of the dedicated macro lenses. i have the 100 myself but they all are pretty good. there are plenty of example in the archives section to see.

Bill

[Bumgardnern]

I use an old Nikon 60mm Macro lens. It does the trick back when I bought the lens it was rather pricey. Today you can get the Nikon 60mm f2.8D off KEH for like 300ish.

[RPCrowe]

The present Tamron offering in the 90mm f/2.8 Macro line has the designator Di added to the alphabet soup with which Tamron persists in naming their lenses. The Di is supposed to indicate that the lens is optimized for digital. I honestly cannot imagine a lens that gets better image quality using my 1.6x cameras than my non-Di model of the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 lens.

My Tamron 90mm f/2.8 SP AF lens is a jewel. The image quality is right up there with my "L" glass and my 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. It is light in weight and produces a creamy bokeh which makes it a very good portrait lens.

Best of all, since it is a discontinued model, it should be significantly less expensive than the present Tamron Di offering or the 100mm f/2.8 Canon Macro which is still in production.

I got my Tamron in mint shape on eBay for less than $125 including shipping. That is about the price of a set of good extension tubes.

If you can find a used Tamron, at a good price, snap it up. However, don't but the Tamron Adaptall Macro lens. The IQ is not quite up to the models with mounts for specific cameras.