I am very interested in macro photography. I plan to soon invest in a good macro lens. I was looking for some feedback from others, as to: brand, manual settings (ISO, shutter speed, etc) & any other pertinent information you may have to share with me. I currently shoot with a Nikon D3000. I want to eventually upgrade to maybe Canon 7D, but that isn't in the near future. I would love any & all comments you can give. Thanks.
@hjstinebiser Hi Heidi. I'm full-of-the-joys having just bought myself a macro lens for my sony alpha and had a first play with it yesterday. So far I have found that good light makes a real difference as does getting up very close to the subject! My lens was a budget one, £29 from Amazon, (Opteka .35x HD² Super Wide Angle Panoramic Macro Fisheye Lens) It came with different rings to allow it to fit onto different lenses and also does fisheye and wide-angle, which is a bit odd but no doubt I'll get used to it. I bought it for the macro and am loving it so far! Will be following this thread for any macro tips folk come up with :) Now off to look for misty cobwebs oops I mean off to work...!
My main piece of advice would be to use a tripod and remote shutter release. Also, if you can use your LCD and zoom in to focus (see the current camera setting challenge) then you will get sharper results.
ISO, shutter speed, aperture etc will depend so much on so many things (available light, whether the subject is moving or likely to move etc) although usually you will want a wide aperture (low number) to separate the subject from the background.
Here is my shot from yesterday using a tripod (couldn't use my remote because I couldn't find it grrrr, but I used the timer on my camera instead) and the Canon 100mm f2.8 lens. You should give it a go, it is great fun, and don't just use the lens for macro work, you will get some lovely results using it for portraits and other stuff too.
@hjstinebiser Tamron 90mm f/2.8 is the best bang for your buck macro lens in existence. All my macro shots are taken with it. For $350 brand new, it can't be beat! Optically, it's on par with the Canon 100mm L series lens! The secret is to keep the ISO as low as you possibly can when shooting on crop sensors. If you want to upgrade, keep your lenses and stick with Nikon, look at the D7000, they have reduced in price substantially and it's basically the same as the 7D from Canon.
If you want to pore over the details this site should be of assistance to you, the reviews are not biased, maybe a little too in depth for most folks, but you can always cut to the chase and just read the first and final parts. http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests
For those who try to avoid a tripod if at all possible, me for one, look for an Image Stabilized lens. The version of the Tamron lens Alexander mentions above for $450 (I can't find it for less) is not so stabilized. Also if you want to rely on auto focus, it will not operate unless your camera body has a focus motor. Your D3000 doesn't.
The USB Tamron f/2.8 (stabilized and an internal motor) sells for about $800 and has a good review. The Sigma 105, a very similar lens, is also a good choice. But so is the Nikkor 105 "micro" and for about the same price performs even better in tests.
You can find shorter focal length macro lenses for less, but a 105 prime, especially on a cropped sensor body, is very versatile. Always keep the ISO low, but don't think the cropped sensor camera (your D3000, or even the D7000/7100) will perform any worse than a full frame camera. It's the sensor technology itself, not the size, that determines noise charachteristics. Indeed, since cropped sensor cameras crop away the image edges of a full frame lens, you won't get typical edge drop off in sharpness.
The Sigma 150 Macro is also a very versatile lens, but look for the most current version, allowing you to step back even further and still get your 1:1 magnification. But it is significantly heavier and bulkier. I hear Sigma is discontinuing the current version of this lens, so you might be able to pick up a copy of it for less than $1,000.
Switching from Nikon to Canon would not be a great idea if you have invested in a lens like this. The lens costs as much as the camera.
I had been looking for months on which macro lens to buy. I have a Nikon D5100 and access through work to a D800 so it had to work with both Crop and Full frame cameras. After much deliberation, reviewing, reading, hair pulling etc, I opted for the Nikon Micro 105. Let me just say, it has been over a week and I am certainly not disappointed. It is by far the sharpest lens in my kit and the VR is very good. I've only had it for a week or so but it has rarely left my camera.
@dtigani Nice David. I shoot with a D7100 and an IR converted D5100, and I find that full frame lenses work beautifully with them both. The only "DX" lens I have is the Sigma 10-20 f/3.5, which I bought when a 12-24 was beyond my budget for that month. A nice performer, but I wish I had held out for the full frame...
@dtigani I agree with David. It's my 'go to' lens and is very dependable. I can use it with a tripod or hand-held. It is pricier than others but it was the first lens I had saved up for, waiting til I could get this one instead of one of the others sooner, and I've never once regretted it. I've used it on my D90 (cropped sensor) and D600 (full frame) and it's great on both.
I have a Nikon D5100 and after a huge amount of researching and pondering I also bought the 105 mm Nikon Micro lens. My first shot with it got to the PP and overall I've been delighted. Because of the image stabilisation I can use if handheld even with quite a low shutter speed, but it's actually pretty heavy, to I don't take it out and about much.
Depending what sort of macro shots you want to take ..... have you tried the macro extension tubes or reversing rings you can get off Ebay? this shot from yesterday was taking with my extension tubes which were under £5.
It's interesting that folks have mentioned image stabilisation. I'm currently doing a macro photography course at the moment and the recommendation is to add light to the subject and not to rely on the image stabilisation for best clarity of handheld and tripod shots. With using image stabilisation there is a compromise to using it and that will be some loss of fine detail. If you are only posting at 1024 pixels wide on the internet, you'll never notice it! If you want to print an 8x6 inch print, you will notice it a bit. As Molly mentioned above, vibration control adds considerable weight to the lens, so factor in how you would go holding that extra eight for a long time. Go to a local store and see just how heavy the various lenses are to be mounted on your camera body, you may need to work on a tripod or monopod all the time. As an aside, vibration control won't help with the frustration of something gently or frantically bobbing in the breeze! There are cheap solutions for that though! Bamboo garden stakes and green garden twisty wire is fantastic and quick if you need to stabilise a section of a plant!
The Tamron 90mm with VC is available for $586.34 (AU) and without it costs $358.89 (AU) as grey imports from Hong Kong, both with free express postage, if you check Fleabay. So if you are in Europe or America, it will be cheaper again and that has a 16 month warranty too, but you would have to return it to Hong Kong. I've had my Tamron for nearly ten months now and no problems at all.
It all depends what you want to shoot and how. Light is the key to successful macro if you want depth of focus to your small subjects and they are active. It takes practice to learn to brace yourself to be still. I discovered an interesting cross-legged pose yesterday for a tiny spider.
Regarding focusing, I do all of it manually, for my macro shots. That would depend on your eyesight though as to how you went about focusing. Test various lenses in a local camera shop and see how you go trying both manual and autofocusing on your current camera body.
Make sure whatever size lens you get, that it has this ratio on it "1:1" Length is neither here nor there, the best Canon macro lens has the ability to fill a sensor with a grain of rice and it's only a 65mm length lens. If you want to be a further distance away from the critters, look at a 150-200mm macro lens with the 1:1 ratio of magnification, but they will be heavier. You can get 60mm lenses with the 1:1 magnification aspect that also have good quality imagery and are relatively light to hold.
Go to your local camera store and explore the options there, but don't be in a rush to buy that day. Think about it, compare the shots you take with your camera body and take a shot of the box of the lens you are testing before shooting anything small with that lens, so you can see what photo's are from what lens.
All the best with your journey into the inner reaches of macro, Heidi.
@jantan - I purchased the one that was made by Olympus for my Oly lens and camera. So it has an adapter that attaches to the macro, and then the ring flash clicks onto this adapter hood. It has a flash drive just like a speedlight which screws into the flash mount and of course the wire from ring to mount.
BUT, and I'm not too technical as you may guess, it allows me to shoot at f18-f48 without fear. I normally aim for around f-18 to f22.
@tandem02 So cool, was that taken with extension tubes, or a tight crop in post? Who would have thought I'd be getting excited by flies, they drive me mad when the boys leave the doors open and a big fat blowfly gets in the house!
@quixoticneophyte While a tripod is clearly best for true macro shots, your macro lens is surely useful as a general prime lens so image stabilization has to be a plus to have.
@frankhymus Yes, you may well be correct there, Frank.
For indoor macro, I always use a tripod and I'm just learning to use flash to illuminate it so as to get the most detail possible. When I'm outside, I don't use a tripod. Later on, when I start setting up honey traps and such, I possibly will. My preference at the moment is to go handheld as this allows me to recompose and to refocus on the fly, so to speak!
I don't shoot people as a rule and my 24-105mm or my 90mm macro are the only two lenses on my camera body these days! I have no need for a 90mm prime, so really can't comment on the usefulness of a macro doubling as a prime except as hearsay. Using it for another purpose would never enter my consciousness.
On a separate note, I haven't forgotten about the get pushed challenge, I'm off to the big smoke tomorrow morning for some shots of big architecture.
@bobfoto Thanks for the reply Jason, definitely food for thought. I really like the idea of getting a greater depth of field in some of my macro stuff, so the f18-f22 possibility sounds very tempting.
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I did a lot of research before I jumped and bought, you may find this site useful
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/reviews.htm
ISO, shutter speed, aperture etc will depend so much on so many things (available light, whether the subject is moving or likely to move etc) although usually you will want a wide aperture (low number) to separate the subject from the background.
Here is my shot from yesterday using a tripod (couldn't use my remote because I couldn't find it grrrr, but I used the timer on my camera instead) and the Canon 100mm f2.8 lens. You should give it a go, it is great fun, and don't just use the lens for macro work, you will get some lovely results using it for portraits and other stuff too.
If you want to pore over the details this site should be of assistance to you, the reviews are not biased, maybe a little too in depth for most folks, but you can always cut to the chase and just read the first and final parts.
http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests
The Tamron 90mm f/2.8 review is here http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/283-tamron-af-90mm-f28-di-sp-macro-nikon-mount-lab-test-report--review
Hope that helps.
The USB Tamron f/2.8 (stabilized and an internal motor) sells for about $800 and has a good review. The Sigma 105, a very similar lens, is also a good choice. But so is the Nikkor 105 "micro" and for about the same price performs even better in tests.
You can find shorter focal length macro lenses for less, but a 105 prime, especially on a cropped sensor body, is very versatile. Always keep the ISO low, but don't think the cropped sensor camera (your D3000, or even the D7000/7100) will perform any worse than a full frame camera. It's the sensor technology itself, not the size, that determines noise charachteristics. Indeed, since cropped sensor cameras crop away the image edges of a full frame lens, you won't get typical edge drop off in sharpness.
The Sigma 150 Macro is also a very versatile lens, but look for the most current version, allowing you to step back even further and still get your 1:1 magnification. But it is significantly heavier and bulkier. I hear Sigma is discontinuing the current version of this lens, so you might be able to pick up a copy of it for less than $1,000.
Switching from Nikon to Canon would not be a great idea if you have invested in a lens like this. The lens costs as much as the camera.
The Tamron 90mm with VC is available for $586.34 (AU) and without it costs $358.89 (AU) as grey imports from Hong Kong, both with free express postage, if you check Fleabay. So if you are in Europe or America, it will be cheaper again and that has a 16 month warranty too, but you would have to return it to Hong Kong. I've had my Tamron for nearly ten months now and no problems at all.
It all depends what you want to shoot and how. Light is the key to successful macro if you want depth of focus to your small subjects and they are active. It takes practice to learn to brace yourself to be still. I discovered an interesting cross-legged pose yesterday for a tiny spider.
Regarding focusing, I do all of it manually, for my macro shots. That would depend on your eyesight though as to how you went about focusing. Test various lenses in a local camera shop and see how you go trying both manual and autofocusing on your current camera body.
Make sure whatever size lens you get, that it has this ratio on it "1:1" Length is neither here nor there, the best Canon macro lens has the ability to fill a sensor with a grain of rice and it's only a 65mm length lens. If you want to be a further distance away from the critters, look at a 150-200mm macro lens with the 1:1 ratio of magnification, but they will be heavier. You can get 60mm lenses with the 1:1 magnification aspect that also have good quality imagery and are relatively light to hold.
Go to your local camera store and explore the options there, but don't be in a rush to buy that day. Think about it, compare the shots you take with your camera body and take a shot of the box of the lens you are testing before shooting anything small with that lens, so you can see what photo's are from what lens.
All the best with your journey into the inner reaches of macro, Heidi.
BUT, and I'm not too technical as you may guess, it allows me to shoot at f18-f48 without fear. I normally aim for around f-18 to f22.
That's with my 35mm macro plus 2x converter.
I've got the Tamron 90mm, too :) Amazing lens. I use it on my Sony A500 :)
This is the original picture!
For indoor macro, I always use a tripod and I'm just learning to use flash to illuminate it so as to get the most detail possible. When I'm outside, I don't use a tripod. Later on, when I start setting up honey traps and such, I possibly will. My preference at the moment is to go handheld as this allows me to recompose and to refocus on the fly, so to speak!
I don't shoot people as a rule and my 24-105mm or my 90mm macro are the only two lenses on my camera body these days! I have no need for a 90mm prime, so really can't comment on the usefulness of a macro doubling as a prime except as hearsay. Using it for another purpose would never enter my consciousness.
On a separate note, I haven't forgotten about the get pushed challenge, I'm off to the big smoke tomorrow morning for some shots of big architecture.
Looking forward to any challenge images you can come up with.