First Macro Lens

[mike strange]

As a newcommer to Digital Photography I am looking to buy my first Macro Lens.The camera I am useing is a Canon 450d,any surgestions from the Forum.

[PhotoNewt]

Originally Posted by mike strange

As a newcommer to Digital Photography I am looking to buy my first Macro Lens.The camera I am useing is a Canon 450d,any surgestions from the Forum.

My fisrt choice is the EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro, expensive but a superb lens in every sense of the word. My second choice would be the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro, only fits cropped body sensors so if you have plans to eventually move to a full frame Canon, this lens will not work with it - optically is also an excellent lens.

The EF 180mm f/3.5L USM Macro is the third one available on the Canon lens inventory. Is substantially more expensive that the previous two mentioned, and in my opinion the EF 100mm Macro provides that same level of optical quality (if not better) at a lower price.

There are multiple third party offerings and some may be very good. I shoot with Canon lenses only and have no practical experience with those to render any credible opinons regarding performance.

[daft_biker]

Originally Posted by PhotoNewt

My fisrt choice is the EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro, expensive but a superb lens in every sense of the word. My second choice would be the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro, only fits cropped body sensors so if you have plans to eventually move to a full frame Canon, this lens will not work with it - optically is also an excellent lens.

The EF 180mm f/3.5L USM Macro is the third one available on the Canon lens inventory. Is substantially more expensive that the previous two mentioned, and in my opinion the EF 100mm Macro provides that same level of optical quality (if not better) at a lower price.

There are multiple third party offerings and some may be very good. I shoot with Canon lenses only and have no practical experience with those to render any credible opinons regarding performance.

+1 on everything he said! The 100mm is a cracker of a lens and at a useful focal length. Whilst it may be (at least) as sharp as the 180mm it doesn't have quite as nice bokeh ...the 180mm does have it's uses in certain situations and I wouldn't mind one to go with my 100mm. I do think the 100mm is the best all round compromise though/

The internal focus on the Canon lens makes it more desirable to me than the 3rd party options - it makes life a little easier in tight spaces. Which produces the sharpest pictures out of Canon, Tamron or Sigma is almost irrelevant as they all seem to be excellent....although from reading reviews I've seen some favour the Canon and some favour the Tamron (Geoffrey Crawley favoured the Canon in his review but I doubt many on here will know who he is!).

[lowbone]

The good thing about macro lenses is that they are all good. I used to own the Sigma 105 and 180 macro lenses as well as the Tamron 90mm. The Vivitar macro lens is also good.
At present I own the Canon 100 and 180mm lenses. The longer the focal length of a macro lens the farther away you can get from your subject. This is a great advantage when photographing skitish insects. A good all around macro lens would be about 100mm and will also double as a portrait lens.

[irispatch]

Originally Posted by mike strange

As a newcommer to Digital Photography I am looking to buy my first Macro Lens.The camera I am useing is a Canon 450d,any surgestions from the Forum.

Welcome to the wondrous world of Macro. It isn't the easiest format but once you master the basics a whole new world opens up.
The others are right about the 100mm 2.8 I broke down and bought one last year and have never regretted it. If you are on a limited budget and can't quite spring for a 100 2.8 You can always go with a set of extension tubes. No need to pay a premium for Canon, the Kenko Ef set for ~ 125 ( less if you can snag a set used off one of the forums) works very well. They are a just hollow tubes so with no additional glass so you do not lose picture quality.
Another great option is a reversing ring. There are two types one allows you to mount a second lens in front of your mounted lens. A lot of people pick up an old 50mm FD lens to use as the reversed lens. The second type is a reversing mount to the camera body. Both work by using the filter ring on your lens to reverse the lens, so you need to get a ring to match the filter ring of the lens you will be using. You will have to manually focus but most macro photographers do anyway.
One thing that is essential is a good flash because the additional light makes the difference between a poor shot and a sharp wow shot.
If you have a healthy bank account and have mastered the basics the ultimate set up is the Canon MP-e 65mm and the twin lite MT24ex that will give you up to 1:5.
Another option especially good for Butterflies and Dragon flies is the Canon 300mm F4L paired with a 1.4 TC you will have a very good Birding/Wildlife lens that doubles as a decent close-up lens. You never get the true 1:1 with it but it does a fantastic job.

[compleks]

Hey.
Sorry, I don't mean to hi-jack the thread but I just had a quick question.

I'm hoping to buy myself a DSLR body in the near future, and am really keen on macro photography. I don't understand all about lenses and such that you guys are talking about.
I was just curious (assuming I already had the body) how much it might cost to set up a camera to be able to take decent macro photographs?

[daft_biker]

Originally Posted by irispatch

...the ultimate set up is the Canon MP-e 65mm and the twin lite MT24ex that will give you up to 1:5.

Agree with you but think you made a typo as the MP-E does up to 5:1 rather than 1:5 (5x lifesize rather than 1/5th lefesize).

Ultimate macro setup? In some ways but it doesn't stop me wanting these and a bunch of lenses to go on them.

Compleks - largely it depends on how much you are willing to spend. The Canon 100mm macro is about £400 for example but there are cheaper options aswell as more expensive ones depending on your budget and requirements. Have a read of this website and see if that helps give you an idea of the range of options available to you.

[macro freak]

i agree the best is the 100mm 2.8 macro what a lens.