the 135L and closeups

I love to do closeups and am wondering (without ext tubes) what kind of images you can get with the 135. Things like leaves and flowers and to some extent people. i'm worried that a macro would be "too" close and hard to get most of it in focus. Would the 135 be better for this?

Can someone/or a few people post examples for me? I've seen the archive thread but most seem to be farther away then what I'm looking for.

The focus distance on the 135L is not good enough for Macro.. You would need extention tubes, but it does work great with ext tubes

I'm not really looking for real macro shots, more so closeups. I don't like using ext tubes as they loss infinity focus, I've lost many shots by not being able to move quickly and focus farther away.

The macro, such as the 100mm would be "too close" only if you were too close. The 100mm macro is a 100mm prime with focusing from a few inches to infinity. Sounds like that's what you need rather than the 135. Although not an "L" it's IQ is excellent.

The 100mm f/2.8 macro is an excellent, sharp lens that will let you get as close as you want and can provide a nice portrait lens as well. It's slow to focus if you need to go from very close to very far because of it's extended focus range, but focuses quite quickly otherwise. It would be my choice for the applications you've described.

Mark

I'm going to borrow a Sigma 105 from someone I know, I guess I'll have to see how it does. I've never really been into macros (I love looking at them but don't seem to have the patience to do them) so I am hesitant about getting one. I want something that's more multi purpose. But I'll see soon.

Thanks for you help.

If your doing closeup shots why would it matter if you lose infinity focus with the tubes. You wont be using that anyway.

The last time I used ext tubes I was shooting with my 200 and looked up and saw a great heron flying so low I could have got a head shot if it were not for the tubes. Where I live I need to move quick because we get lots of fly/walk-by animals and birds.

gardengirl13 wrote in post #3732574
I'm going to borrow a Sigma 105 from someone I know, I guess I'll have to see how it does. I've never really been into macros (I love looking at them but don't seem to have the patience to do them) so I am hesitant about getting one. I want something that's more multi purpose. But I'll see soon.

Thanks for you help.

The 100 macro is more multi-purpose since it is both a 1:1 macro and a 100mm f2.8 telephoto. I think you are under the misconception that a macro can do only macro work. As Mark said, it will make an exceptional portrait lens as well as short/medium telephoto. I think once you've played with the Sigma, you'll see what I mean. Good luck.

Thanks! The old FD macro I had was a good lens but not so good for portraits and other shots (it was an f/4), which is why I had the 135 and 85 as well. I'm hoping to not have to buy so many lenses.

macro lenses tend to focus very slowly. If you really don't need true 1:1 magnification ratio, then I'd avoid the macro lenses. Some faster AF'ing close focusing lenses to consider is Sigma 17-70 and Sigma 70-200mm f2.8. They have a 1:2.3 and a 1:3.5 magnification respectively. Canon 135mm has a magnification ratio of 1:5.3.

Seeing as you are looking at the 135mm range, the Sigma 70-200 maybe a good fit for you. FYI, Tamron is also working on a 70-200mm f2.8 with a 1:2 magnification ratio which maybe even better.

The 135MM EF L is capable of excellent closeups. Here is an example I made at 1/1000th, f/5, ISO 1250 -- shot outdoors with natural light. This was cropped slightly...I don't remember the ratio.

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The 135L can get you relatively close, but not super close without tubes. The MFD is about 3 feet, so it's very good for close up shooting, just not near macro shooting. Here are two shots near the MFD (both at f/2):

Here's an example of the 135L with a subject distance of ~1 Meter. The centre thistle head measures about 3 x 5 cm.

30D 135L f/2 1/350 ISO 100
http://gallery.photo.n​et/photo/6311307-md.jpg

How about the Sigma 150 macro. Usually gets excellent reviews, and I'm pretty sure it's HSM, so should focus fairly quickly. Unfortunately, I don't own it myself, but definitely considering it for the future.

Jim