Best Manual Focus Macro Lens?

Sp1207 wrote in post #11657234
Canon EF 35-80 with the front chopped off. Here's two I handheld last night.

First is at 35mm F/6.3, second at 80mm F/13. Unsharpened/processed, but both lost a bit from the resizing and compression.

It goes from ~.9x life size to well beyond. Figure that last frame is a 1.3cm wide pop tab on a 3.6cm wide sensor. Goes for ~20$ on ebay everyday.

I have a 35-80mm Canon lens that I removed the front lens element as well. it's all manual since Autofocus will work...but without a front element won't lock on focus. Bought it off eBay for around $20. great little lens to play around with.

about as cheap as you can get for a manual focus macro.

But very far from being great. Bang for buck, ok.

gasrocks wrote in post #11659273
But very far from being great. Bang for buck, ok.

you can have cheap and ok, or expensive and awesome. just depends on what the OP defines as "expensive" or what he can accept as "awesome" or "ok" for the price.

gasrocks wrote in post #11659273
But very far from being great. Bang for buck, ok.

I don't know, I can't fault it for sharpness or microcontrast. Bokeh isn't the smoothest but it's certainly above average.

It is, on the other hand, exclusively for macro and will not focus more than a few inches, meaning it's tight working distances.

gasrocks wrote in post #11658584
Coastal 60 macro, followed by the Leica R 100/2.8 APO macro. ZE 50/2 and ZE 100/2 are in the running. Olympus 90/2 is great.

Gas, recommending the Coastal 60 is just CRIMINAL.. it costs like $4.5K!

I think if the OP is looking for a great macro on a budget... he should look at some old Tamron 90's. Perhaps a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5, or the Vivitar Series 1 90-180mm f/4.5 Flat-field Macro... both can be had well under $400.

If money isn't a big concern, I'd go for a Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100. Thats a lens I want to someday own.

I do most macro manual... as for best, I am going have to agree with Brian and say the MP-E 65 is! It is so manual, it doesn't even focus confirm! lol

nureality wrote in post #11659747
I think if the OP is looking for a great macro on a budget... he should look at some old Tamron 90's. Perhaps a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5, or the Vivitar Series 1 90-180mm f/4.5 Flat-field Macro... both can be had well under $400.

If money isn't a big concern, I'd go for a Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100. Thats a lens I want to someday own.

I'm looking for macro on a BUDGET.... yes. Like I don't want to spend $400 on 100mm f2.8 no IS. I want a macro for wedding detail shots, which I will use for about 20 shots a wedding... and just something to play around with in my backyard.

I'm sorry. Thought I read "best" in the title.

yuriyo923 wrote in post #11660789
I'm looking for macro on a BUDGET.... yes. Like I don't want to spend $400 on 100mm f2.8 no IS. I want a macro for wedding detail shots, which I will use for about 20 shots a wedding... and just something to play around with in my backyard.

An MF macro is still the right idea, but you'll have to hunt around for a good price. There are lots of 50/55/90/100/105 macros out there in the hands of people who still think they're worthless "film" lenses.

There really aren't any bad macro primes, and it sounds like working distance won't be a concern, so search for one that suits your budget.

gasrocks wrote in post #11660923
I'm sorry. Thought I read "best" in the title.

Yeah Sorry, I should have said "older film" type lenses that can be used with EOS easy.

While a 55-60mm is great for a first foray into macro,a longer focal length may be desired....

For longer focal macro lenses that would not be as costly,it's hard to beat the Tokina 90/2.5 or the Vivitar Series 1 90/2.5 which are optically the same...the Tokina however has better multi-coating...at one time both these lenses were rated almost at the top in third place of all lenses produced for resolution by Photodo....however the Leica 60mm f2.8 Elmarit Macro was the best lens rated by Photodo.My next recommendation would be the Tamron 90/2.5 macro followed by the Kiron 105/2.8 macro(my favorite in this focal length,unfortunately due to the internet, prices are a wee bit higher these days...expect to pay $400-$500 for a mint copy).

The Micro-Nikkors 105/2.8,105/4 and the 200/4 are all viable options as well.

Many are put off by the price of the Voigtlander 125mm f2.5 Macro APO-Lanthar,but for a modern macro...this lens is a dream.

There are not to many quality macro zooms from back in the day,but as recommended above the Kiron(Kino Precision)built Vivitar Series 1 90-180mm f4.5 Flat Field Zoom is a fine addition to any macro lens collection....I have two of these fine jewels in my collection.

My favorite 50-65 macro after the Leica Elmarit 60/2.8 is the Micro-Nikkor 55mm f3.5 with the compensating aperture,which was in seventh place of all lenses tested by Photodo and are a very sharp macro that can be found at a low price...there are more then a few versions of this lens,with some optimized for medium distances and the final versions for infinity...the one optimized for true macro with the compensating aperture are serial numbers 188128-273153....these can often found on ebay for $50-$60 US.

Excluding the Voigtlander...My favorites from the lenses listed above are the Kiron 105/2.8 for ease of use(these can also be found as the Lester A Dine 105/2.8)....followed by the Tokina 90/2.5 then the Tamron 90/2.5.

Most of these lenses are reviewed here....http://makingnottaking​.blogspot.com …lens-macro-shoot-out.html

The Bokina 90/2.5...http://makingnottaking​.blogspot.com …25-at-x-macro-bokina.html

The Vivitar 90/2.5...http://makingnottaking​.blogspot.com …mm-f25-vmc-12-bokina.html

The Kiron 105...http://makingnottaking​.blogspot.com …20105mm%20f%2F2​.8%201%3A1

The Vivitar 90-180...http://makingnottaking​.blogspot.com …%20F%2F4.5%20Fl​at%20Field

You don't really need to do ANY sort of focus with a ring if you shoot 1:1 macro. Just jam it to 1:1 and focus by moving the camera.
That said, some of the MF lenses are really good, but for me personally I'd need an electromachnetic aperture. I just don't find manual aperture /stop down metering to work well in the field.

yuriyo923 wrote in post #11660789
I'm looking for macro on a BUDGET.... yes. Like I don't want to spend $400 on 100mm f2.8 no IS. I want a macro for wedding detail shots, which I will use for about 20 shots a wedding... and just something to play around with in my backyard.

yuriyo923,
Well seeing how this went from best manual focus macro lens to macro on budget, I suggest picking up a set of Kenko extension tubes. A full set should give your 85mm enough magnification for wedding rings etc.... You can probably also explore macro with your 35mm

TweakMDS wrote in post #11664552
You don't really need to do ANY sort of focus with a ring if you shoot 1:1 macro. Just jam it to 1:1 and focus by moving the camera.
That said, some of the MF lenses are really good, but for me personally I'd need an electromachnetic aperture. I just don't find manual aperture /stop down metering to work well in the field.

Hmmm...my Vivitar Series 1 90mm f2.5 macro is over 30 years old and has traveled around the world and operated under all types of challenging field conditions....my daughter still uses this lens,the Vivitar 135mm f2.8 macro and a few other MF micros and doesn't have any problem either,using them for the challenging field conditions of marine biology,as well as the lab.