Lens choice for wide angle macro

I have never done this type of photography but I love some of the wide angle macro images I've seen. The widest lens I have is my Tamron 17-50. Don't think this will cut it, unless the subject is a big snake or lizard.

I'll be considering only 3rd party lenses since they are more affordable. Some of the lenses I have shortlisted are the Sigma 15mm and Tokina 10-17mm.

All input welcome

Suspect I would look at the minimum focus distances and max magnification they can give. I think adding any extension tubes to them can be unworkable.
Have also wondered about this but suspect it would only be of limited interest for me.
Brian v.

I have been recommended the Sigma 15mm fisheye for this sort of thing. I never tried it, but like you, I thought those type of pictures were very interesting. I asked the guy I was looking at the picture of and he told me that is what he uses.

Thank you, Brian, Martin.

Right, Sigma 15mm is quite popular for wide angle macro. Adding tubes is not recommended.

I am still looking at the Tokina 10-17. I have found a few photographers who are quite good at this. Both use Tokina 10-17

https://www.flickr.com​/photos/federico11/

https://www.flickr.com​/photos/matteo86photon​ature/

new wide angle lens from Venus/Laowa with 1:1 magnification:
http://www.venuslens.n​et

racketman wrote in post #17611072
new wide angle lens from Venus/Laowa with 1:1 magnification:
http://www.venuslens.n​et

Yes, I'll be receiving this lens soon! Can't wait to test it out in the field. Wide angle macro is totally new to me though. Going to be a steep learning curve but I'll be okay.

I recently stumbled across this practice, it looked way too interesting to dismiss. So I put a 12mm extension tube on my 17-40mm lens and tried it out in my back garden. The results weren't that good but the light was fading and I had a lot of other stuff I was supposed to be doing. The Venus/Laowa lens sounds like just the ticket, can't wait for it to appear on Amazon.co.uk!

orionmystery wrote in post #17613009
Yes, I'll be receiving this lens soon! Can't wait to test it out in the field. Wide angle macro is totally new to me though. Going to be a steep learning curve but I'll be okay.

I look forward to seeing your incredible herp captures in a wide angle macro format

Snowyman wrote in post #17613477
I recently stumbled across this practice, it looked way too interesting to dismiss. So I put a 12mm extension tube on my 17-40mm lens and tried it out in my back garden. The results weren't that good but the light was fading and I had a lot of other stuff I was supposed to be doing. The Venus/Laowa lens sounds like just the ticket, can't wait for it to appear on Amazon.co.uk!

I think you'll need a wider lens if you intend to photograph smaller subjects like big beetles, medium sized lizards.

CanopicJar wrote in post #17613750
I look forward to seeing your incredible herp captures in a wide angle macro format

Maybe just big lizards. Snakes are harder to find during the day and I don't bag and keep the snakes I find till morning for natural light photography.

Can't wait to see how the laowa lens performs.

I tried some wide angle not too long ago. I was playing with some DIY setup consisting of a wide angle security lens with an enlarger lens as a relay lens to magnify the image onto the sensor. Focus was real hard. It probably wouldn't have been tack sharp anyway because of diffraction. Here's some examples though of what kind of view I had.

Defante, your pics remind me of a dragonfly I shot a couple of years ago on my Sony RX100. It does wide angle closeup photography, at an equivalent focal length of 28mm. The best magnification is only about 0.16X. And the camera is tough to focus at close distances. Fun to try, though.

Dragonfly on a picnic table.

I tried the 17-40 with tubes a few years back - the results were not that good.

Someone did his royal photographic society fellowship project using wide angle macro - there is a book but I can't recall the reference.

The 15mm macro shift lens looks interesting.

I have seen Kurt amazing shots with the Venus 17mm, anyone been using it on full frame?

BTW if you are in the UK there is a local distributer http://www.ukdigital.c​o.uk/laowa-lenses.html.

The wide angle price is a bit eye-watering after the UK government have got involved, £419.00 .