macro dilemma

[reneethomas]

Okay sadly I had to sell my 100mm macro this month due to poor planning on my part. :o So now I have a decision to make. Next month I can buy another 100mm macro or buy a 500.00 GC from B and H towards a 180mm macro or MP-E 65mm. I think I am leaning more to the 100mm or 180mm because I am not sure if I am ready to make the MP-E leap yet. Just not sure I am good enough yet for that one. My only concern with the 180 compared to the 100mm is the weight and length. With my 100mm I hardly every used a monopod but with the 180 this seems to me a must. I know I got some darn good pictures with the 100mm so I am wondering if I should just stick with that. Any thoughts? Thanks

[vincent_su]

It's hard to say since I don't know what you'll use the lens for. I would ask myself the following quesitons.
1) What's my budget?
2) Will 1:1 ratio be enough to me?
3) Do I need longer working distance often?
4) How am I going to use this lens, macro only?
You may want to add your own questionaire and answer them by the importance of each equestion.
Hope that helps.

[reneethomas]

It's hard to say since I don't know what you'll use the lens for. I would ask myself the following quesitons.
1) What's my budget?
2) Will 1:1 ratio be enough to me?
3) Do I need longer working distance often?
4) How am I going to use this lens, macro only?
You may want to add your own questionaire and answer them by the importance of each equestion.
Hope that helps.

1. Depends on how patient I am at saving :p One month I can buy the 100mm two months the MP-E and 3 months for the 180mm. As long as I have a macro by Spring again I will be happy.

2. When I had the 100mm I envied those who could obtain more than a 1:1 ratio. I was always in awe of their work wishing I could take my macro to their level. I even took all my macro pictures in manual just to prove to myself that I could use a manual lens.

3. Only once can I think of that I used the 100mm for taking a picture of a sunset. The rest were all macro shots.

4. Most likely only macro but the thought of having a prime L telephoto does seem to be a nice idea.

Maybe I should bit the bullet and get the MP-E. I am just scared of making that leap for some reason. Will Canon ever make a MP-E with IS :lol:?

[LordV]

Renee, I'd stick with the 100mm - much easier to use than the 180 and it's sharper too.

Before thinking about an MPE-65, I'd also get a set of ext tubes - these will allow you to get to 2:1 with 100mm.

Brian v.

[Naturalist]

Before thinking about an MPE-65, I'd also get a set of ext tubes - these will allow you to get to 2:1 with 100mm.


+1 Exactly what I was about to propose. If you need more, then go for the MP-E65.

[reneethomas]

Renee, I'd stick with the 100mm - much easier to use than the 180 and it's sharper too.

Before thinking about an MPE-65, I'd also get a set of ext tubes - these will allow you to get to 2:1 with 100mm.

Brian v.

Thanks Brian. I am shocked at the 100mm being sharper. You would think with the L factor the 180mm would be sharper. I did have ext tubes for my 100mm but I never used them. I thought I was getting really good results without them like this one:

http://www.siriusimagery.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/misc/IMG_4267.jpg

I just have to decide where I want to go with my photography. I would like to eventually sell my work and not sure if there is more of a market for real detailed shots like taken with the MP-E or if the sales would gravitate towards images taken with the 100mm which provides nice detail but not frightening detail the MP-E sometimes produces :lol:

[vincent_su]

If you decide to go with MP-E, make sure to get a focus rail. Well, get it anyway and that will help a lot.
If you have the budget, get a macro lighting bracket and two of the ttl flashes with dual ttl sync cable, so that you can use HSS with moving objects.
Have fun.

[LordV]

Renee- the sharpest lens in the canon macro lineup is probably the 60mm EF-S. If you found no use for the ext tubes I can't see why you want the MPE-65 which has a minimum magnification of 1:1.

Brian V.

[macro junkie]

. I would like to eventually sell my work and not sure if there is more of a market for real detailed shots like taken with the MP-E
you would think so wouldn't you?fact is iv never sold a single image.and i have a da acount..there isnt no money to be made in macro photography