Use of a macro lens?

[lespaulowner]

Hello everyone,

One of my biggest loves to photograph is food and guitars. I noticed that a lot of people that do both have used a macro lens. Is this common amongst food photographers?

Thanks

[Deep Pocket]

I'm not sure about that, but for me when I do my indoor food/product shots with a bounced flash off the ceiling at 1/4 power, I find 100mm the perfect distance for me.

I tried the sigma for it and it seems a bit short- the flash ends up overexposing or not looking as great

[Craig in LA]

The fact that a lens can focus close enough to achieve 1:1 does not alter whether it is useful for other purposes (such as food photography). If the focal length enables you to compose your shot the way you want, you should be fine. Macro lenses tend to be very sharp, but are sometimes slow to achieve focus lock. I have the Canon 100mm f/2.8macro, and I have used it for much more than true macro photography. On a crop body, however, the 100mm is a relatively long fixed focal length, so you may need some room to work with.

[canonloader]

I've used my sigma 105 for everything, from birds in flight, to motox, check out the link in my footer. I have used it for Macro stuff, a few times, I can't remember when. :)