looking to buy new macro lens

i am new to the DSLR thing and i have been looking into mcro lenses and i was hoping i could get some opinions one what would be a good light weight lens and a decent price

i am using a Rebel XT

I use the EF-S 60 f/2.8 Macro USM on my EOS Rebel XTi and love this lens' macro performance, plus it makes dandy normal lens, creating super portraits, too.

B&H has it for $370 with $30 instant rebate right now. Use the rebate $ to get the Canon ET-67B Hood that goes with it!

Been using this for about a year now and have absolutely zero regrets!

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wow nice picture and thanks for the info i will look into it

I personally chose the 100mm macro for the additional reach over the 60mm. I have had it just a few months and have been very please with it. It works great for macro and will double for portrait shots as well. I have even shot some Automotive with it and was very pleased.

There are plenty of threads about the two lens.
Here are some on the 60
https://photography-on-the.net …arch.php?search​id=1192829

Here are some on the 100
https://photography-on-the.net …arch.php?search​id=1192844

It depends on what you want to spend, but I would recommend the 100 f/2.8. Very sharp and has a reasonable standoff distance. You might also want to check out this thread.
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=160960
Lots of good info here.

I have a Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro and I absolutely love it. It does have its quirks though, like the cocking motion on the front of the lens to get the lens to focus manually.

Jamie Holladay wrote in post #5769601
..It works great for macro and will double for portrait shots as well. I..

Ya know, I have used this as a portrait lens as well and find that I need to soften the pics. This lens is so sharp that is shows every single pore.

The macro lenses from all the big companies are excellent. What you need to figure out is how much you want to spend and the subject to determine the working distance. The shorter the focal length the closer you have to be to the subject. Look at the thread on the sigma 150mm EX HSM macro. Super sharp, long working distance so you don't scare any bugs off and gives you more room for creative lighting (its hard to light something when your working distance is very short unless you have lens mounted macro light).

Every macro lens is good...

I personally like a macro with a focal length of 90-100mm because IMO, this gives the best combination of lens to subject distance (important when shooting skittish little critters and when lighting your subjects), weight (they are easy to hand-hold) and cost. The longer 150-180mm macros are great but cost a lot more and are heavier. Some photographers even consider them too heavy to comfortably hand-hold. I cannot attest to this because I have never, except for handling them in a shop, used these long macros.

I personally like the Tamron 90mm which is equal to the 100mm Canon (another absolutely great macro lens) in image quality. There are some points in favor of the Canon (it focuses faster) and some points in favor of the Tamron (its focus tends to be more accurate). There are other pros and cons regarding these two lenses but, either of these two lenses are great and I have never heard of a complaint against either by their owners.

Right now, with a $90 Tamron rebate in effect and the fact that Tamron supplies a lens hood at no extra cost while you need to purchase a Canon hood separately, the Tamron 90mm f.2.8 SP Di Macro lens is well over a hundred dollars (B&H prices) less expensive than its Canon counterpart. The Tamron also has a six year warranty compared with the canon one year warranty.

However, which ever of these two lenses you decide to purchase, I feel certain that you will be happy with your new macro lens.

By the way, Tamron does not reverse engineer their lenses as does Sigma. I have used my Tamron on a D60, 10D, 350D, 30D and feel certain it will work well on my upcoming 40D.

I'd either go with the Canon 100mm or the Sima 105mm, I like the working distance with this range lens,, I went with the Sigma 105mm because it was around $100.00 cheaper than the Canon and optically about the same.
Here is a sample with the Sigma 105mm

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jaharris1001 wrote in post #5769889
... $100.00 cheaper than the Canon and optically about the same...

The Siggy is a nice lens and though optically about the same, there is one important difference between the two. The Siggy has an extending barrel as most lenses do. The Canon 100 has a internal focusing system so that the barrel does not extend. This also helps with skittish critters.

gjl711 wrote in post #5769922
The Siggy is a nice lens and though optically about the same, there is one important difference between the two. The Siggy has an extending barrel as most lenses do. The Canon 100 has a internal focusing system so that the barrel does not extend. This also helps with skittish critters.

this is true, it does extend,, I personally have not had a problem with this,, I do like the Canon focus system better than the Sigma though, on the Sigma you have to hit a little switch to turn from manual to Autofocus,, just a small little inconvenience,, you dont have to do that with the Canon.

I have the EF-S macro 60 mm f/2.8 USM. I often take close-ups that aren't that extreme. In such cases longer focal length is more a problem than a solution.

The 60 mm has internal focusing (constant length) and full time manual focus (ring-type USM) as well.

WOW! thanks everyone for input

Another vote for the Sigma 105. I actually have the Canon 100, but fiancé has the 105 and it's just as good, if not better. Don't worry about the MF thing, with macro you're always MF anyway. And the fact that it extends or doesn't isn't an issue. You only get rough focus with the lens anyway, the real focus technique comes by moving you and the camera slightly forwards or backwards. Macro is different to normal photography.