New Girl on the Forum!

Greetings fellow Photographers!

I just joined this forum, and I am so happy to have found a community of EOS digital users!

I have just purchased my first EOS digital camera! I got the EOS-1ds Mark II, with a 75-300 lens and a 28-135 also.

I am hoping to get a good Macro lens as well, but am not sure which will suit my needs. I've never owned a prime lens for a 35mm, much less a Macro. Any suggestions? I like to photograph flowers, bugs, jewelry, eyeballs, hands, textures, etc. Indoors or out.

A little about myself: I live in the Northwest, lots of rain! Photography has been my passion for 18+ years. I am a Graphic Designer at a major communications company, and I just want to keep on taking photographs, doing digital manipulation, and having fun with it!

I can't wait to meet some of you and learn from/with you!
_______________
"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours." -Richard Bach, Illusions

Howdy neighbor and welcome to the forum!! Nice choice there on your first dSLR! WOW! Usually people start out small and work their way up. You just started at the stop. Awesome!!

Others will offer much information on macros. Most prefer the 100 f/2.8, but there are several choices. We love helping others spend their money! That's 'cause we don't have any left!

Enjoy your new home here.

Welcome, Cricket ... and congratulations!

I must say - and you'll hear it from others - that your lens choices will likely not allow your camera to live up to its potential. You need some "L" glass on that fancy professional body.

Regardless, I'm sure you'll have fun!

Welcome cricket. You and your 1Ds will fit in nicely here. Congrats on such a great weapon.

Although I winter in Fl, summers are spent out west or northwest, some very good ones in Wa and neighboring states. I do mostly landscapes, but also some "close-ups" of flowers and bugs...don't own a macro. We'll look forward to seeing some of yours.

Thanks for the welcome! Now, Since I am here to learn... What is "L" glass?

Thanks!

Hi welcome, just joined myself, L's = Luxury, I think, correct me if I am wrong.

Cheers,

Charles,

Welcome to the forum.

As for macro lens you really only have three choices that are good enough to put on a 1Ds.

From Canon
100mm f2.8
180mm f3.5 L

From Sigma
180mm f3.5 APO IF HSM

The primary difference between the 100mm and the 180mm will be working distance. With the 180mm you can be farther from you subject and still be 1:1.
The canon and sigma 180mms are both very close in quality but the canon is much more expensive, but will retain better value over time if you ever decide to part with it.

All three of these lens will make you very happy. I have and use the 100mm Canon and the 180mm sigma and the are wonderful lenses.

Welcome

L stands for luxury, basically the top of the line Canon lenses. The lenses you have really can't measure up to such a fantastic camera. Take a look here for reviews. The 28-135 is a pretty reasonably good walk around lens, I think. Maybe the Canon 70-200 lens would be good for you, $550 for the F4, or quite a bit more for the F2.8 IS (image stabilisation) lens. If you need 300mm consider the 70-300 DO IS.

I have the Canon 100mm F2.8 Macro lens, it's fantastic: sharp as a tack even wide open, fast, it's not overly heavy, and can be used for general purpose too. The 180mm lens is a bit slower.

Welcome Cricket!

Here are a couple sites for you to snoop out that you may find interesting about "L" glass.
(1)
(2)

Looking forward to seeing some of your work.

I wish I had known about the "L" lenses when I bought the camera... I haven't used them yet, so I wonder if it would be worthwhile to send back the lenses and go for the "L" series. I had better go check out the prices, etc. I do appreciate the advise and feedback. I am pretty sure I'll go with the 100mm Macro for my close-up work!

Thanks again!

Welcome to the board. I have to ask though. How could you spend $8000 on a Canon DSLR and not know what "L" glass is? I have the 28-135IS. You might want to send that one back. I'm sure its shortcomings will be very apparent on your awesome camera. You will really have to use top notch lenses with that camera.

Welcome to the forum. Just a word of advice - It may be time to cut up your credit cards!

Chris1le wrote:
Welcome to the board. I have to ask though. How could you spend $8000 on a Canon DSLR and not know what "L" glass is?

Well, the last Canon I bought was a T-90 back in 1986! I have used medium format and Nikon 35mm for the past ten years. I decided to go back to Canon, and do it right (so I thought). I read reviews of the camera, talked to several folks, and I never heard that Canon had this "L" line of lenses!

Just another spike in my learning curve!

Well you did it right as far as the body goes! Look forward to seeing some of your shots.

Cricket, you have been hanging out at the wrong places. Those Nikon guys won't tell you about "L" glass.

But now you are in the right place and you'll learn all about the Canon "L" glass. Remember, without pain, you can't learn, but the pain goes away after the credit cards and 2nd mortgage are paid off.

And from another Northwesterner, let me add my welcome to you. If you are in the Portland/Vancouver or Columbia River basin area and you like taking outdoor and scenic pictures, you might check out this site: PNNP The guys on here know about every neat outdoor place to shoot, when to shoot it, and how to shoot it.

So welcome to the site.

Mike