MACRO LENS Q...

Any of you guys had experiance using the

70-300/4-5.6 DL MACRO SUPER 2

and the

28-80/3.5-5.6 MACRO HF ??

I heard the 70-300 is noisy and not really all that great, and that the 28-80 is a really nice lens for what it is!

Im pretty much choosing between the two, your knowledge and experiance would be greatly appreciated

Thanks !!!!

These are two very different lenses, what do you want to use them for?

And ... as far as I know ... they are NOT dedicated macro lenses. They have macro capability, but maybe not what you would get from a macro lens like the Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro or the Sigma 105/2.8 or Tamron 90/2.8 Macro.

Also have a look at this thread for other alternatives...

Best regards,
Andy

Thanks!

well, im pretty much looking for macro, but not anything too expensive. These have the macro feature. Im into wildlife photography and the like.

The macro on the 28-80 is supposed to be very very good?

Here in South Africa there is quite a difference in price between a "dedicated" macro lense and the ones above.

I am also going to be photographing alot of snakes as i breed reptiles.

303 .... what other lenses do you already have?

I don't know about the quality of those lenses, but there are other - even a lot cheaper - alternatives (look at the thread I linked).

Best regards,
Andy

ok thanks...

I have a canon 28-80mm and an 80-200mm lens.

Thanks

The lenses you list will essentially reproduce the ranges you allready have.. (with the addition of a 200-300mm zoom range..

But.. despite the markings on the lens.. they will not offer you a true "macro" lens...

If your intention is to get a lens for Macro work.. I'd look for something else...

or contemplate a set of extension tubes.. sometimes called "Macro rings" to use with your existing lenses.

Thanks all i want is to get pretty close to the subject without spending the money on a true "macro" lens. I will get that later.

I'll look into the macro rings.

So extension tubes and/or closeup lenses are your way.

Thanks...

Which is more effective? The extension tubes or close up lenses?

With my 28-80mm lens, would the canon 58mm 250D close up lens be a good extension?

The advantage of the extension tubes is you can use them with ANY lens for lots of different applications...

I love tubes with my 70-200mm lens.. it makes a super macro lens. I bet you'd do well with tubes on your 80-200mm.

Excellent! Thats news that puts a smile back on my face.

I think i'll go for an extension tube for my 80-200mm like you said.

Thanks

Dont know much about extension tubes. Busy looking up info on them!

Can you use more than one extension tube on one lens?

Would i be correct in saying that the Canon EF 25 II(2) tube allows for greater magnification than the EF 12 II(2) ??

You can stack extension tubes. Kenko makes a set of three tubes that you can stak up in pretty much any combination.
The amount of magnification you get from the extension tube will depend on the focal length of the lens. For example, a 50mm extension tube used with the 50mm macro lens will give you 1:1 magnification. The same tube used on a 100mm lens will give a smaller magnification.
Also, since extension tubes are nothing but hollow tubes (no glass in them), do you really want to spend a lot of money on the Canon ones ? For almost the same price you buy a set of 3 extension tubes made by Keno (or some other manufacturer). This will give you more options too. (nothing wrong with sticking with canon of course )
I'd also recommend reading the book "Closeups in nature" by John Shaw. It's an excellent book recommended by many folks here. I just got it recently and it's definitely worth the time to read it. He talks about all the closeup techniques you can use.

So to obtain a 1:1 magnification with a 200mm lens i would have to add on extension tubes untill i get 200mm. This would cost more than getting an extension tube of 50mm for my 50mm lens to get the same 1:1 magnification. But with the 200mm lens i wouldnt have to be as close to the subject to get the desired 1:1 magnification?

Is this correct?

Yup, thats correct. You are going to need a 200mm extension on a 200mm lens to get 1:1. As for the working distance, I'm not sure how close you'll have to get to the subject. But, a 200mm extension on a 200mm lens would make for a very unweildly combination.
I've never tried this, but you could potentially also look into using a combination of extension tubes as well as close up diopters/filters. Although I doubt that it will be cost effective if you use good quality close up lenses such as the Canon 250D or 500D.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of budget are you looking at ? Take a look at the Canon 100mm macro lens. It gives 1:1 magnification by itself and it's a great lens. Yeah, it's around $469, not exactly cheap....