Okay so I love to do close ups of flowers and water drops and all sorts of other things, but do not own a macro lens. I dont really know much about them. If you all could help me out that would be great. I guess some of my questions are, what type is the best, how much do they range from, are they really worth it and so on. If there is already a thread on this please post, I need all the advise I can get. Thank you so much and Happy easter by the way too.
(Feel free to also post your macro shots, I would love to see them) :)
@chelseap92 - during my first year, my macro lens was my lens of choice. My best advice is to check out what lenses are available for what camera you own. I shoot Olympus so naturally I purchased an Oly macro lens, but in hindsight, there was a more expensive model which now I think I should have gone for... but I made do without.
And yes, a macro lens is worth it... but so is my telephoto. ;)
See what Tamron and Sigma do for your camera. Good lens will not be cheap. You can get surprisngly good results from a compact camera. Extension tubes are an alternative, but may make camera manual only.
I use a Sigma 105mm 2.8 macro lens with my Nikon camera and they, of course, do a Canon fit as well. I love using it and, though I say it myself, get good results. Although I don't always use it, it may be worth getting a tripod as well. Here's a fairly recent example:
I just got a new one which was around the £200 mark and is awesome! It's the Nikkor 40mm. What type of camera do you have? Also, you can take awesome close ups without a macro if you don't want to spend the money, I took this: with my standard kit lens x
I'm with @gurry , that's the lens I use and IMO it's the best one out there for Canon (which I noticed is what you shoot with). Not only is it a 100mm prime, but the amazing focal length allows you to get right up to your subject allowing for incredible detail.
A macro is absolutely worth getting. So many times it has just been my walkabout lens of choice as mentioned by @bobfoto.
I have the Canon 60mm and love it, and I have a good friend who used to post on here (you can do a search and check out her shots...her name is Tasha Chawner) who used the Canon 100mm in most of her pics, and had nothing but good things to say about the lens :-)
If you're not sure about investing in a prime lens (like me), then you can get converters that screw on the front of your existing lens and do a similar job. Not quite the same quality, but soooo much less expensive. Here's sample taken with an Opteka converter on the front of my Canon lens:-
I shoot with a Nikon D5000 and LOVE my Tamron 60mm macro lens. I took this shot single handed (no tripod) since the butterfly was on my left hand. Love this lens!
I have two right now--a Nikon 85mm (around $500) and a Nikon 40mm (around $280) that I most often use on a D90. I'm lusting after the 105mm one and eventually I think I'll sell the other two and get that one. I have a blast using them both. I love shooting bugs, flowers, and other things outside so I use them a lot. I tried using a tripod, but it's too much fussing around for me. I take all my shots handheld and I get pretty good results most of the time.
I took this shot the other day with the 40mm, it was inside near a window
One thing to consider is the focal length. If you shoot flighty bugs then look at a lens in the 100 mm or longer rance, so you can stand back from your subject more. If you are shooting fishing flies to sell, you don't have to worry about distance so getting a wider macro would work nicely. As far as I can tell, just about any of the 100 mm macros are excellent. Mine is an older Vivitar, wasn't as expensive as modern macros and has excellent quality.
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http://365project.org/discuss/general/10980/macro-photography-tips
http://365project.org/discuss/general/11803/macro-photography
And yes, a macro lens is worth it... but so is my telephoto. ;)
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_100mm_f_2_8_macro_usm
. . .and here's a very recent example:
My nifty fifty and tubes, i love em
A macro is absolutely worth getting. So many times it has just been my walkabout lens of choice as mentioned by @bobfoto.
And Gary, this one makes it 23 times...
http://www.amazon.com/Tamron-60mm-2-0-DI-II/dp/B00200K9NQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333912744&sr=8-
I took this shot the other day with the 40mm, it was inside near a window
One with the 85mm