Lense (need opinions)

[SOESANTO]

Hi,

I am new to photography trying to find my purpose to what I want to do. I learnt a lot this past weekend about practical vs impractical things in real situations/scenarios. (in red were my difficulty that I learnt the hard way)

I went to a zoo this past weekend (spent 3 hours there walking). I carried manfroto messenger shoulder bag with 3 lenses inside. They are 50mm 1.8, 24-70mm 2.8L, macro 100mm macro (non-L). I also carried my 60d with a handstrap, backup battery, Canon Circular polarizer for my 24-70mm (I hate this coz when I have the filter on, I cannot attach the lense cap on) and cleaning kits. For outdoor, I walked with my 60d and 24-70mm. They weighed about 3.4lbs. My right hand was numb at the end of the day after carrying that thing with handstrap. In indoor (where they have fish/reptile), I switched to 100mm macro which I had to ask one of my friend helped me on this (hassle). I had to take off the filter to put the lense cap on. My hands were shaking a lot while taking picture in a very close distance (here was when I figured that it almost impossible for me to take a shot. I had to switch back to 24-70mm as I exit the building. did not forgot to mention I had to reattach the filter. When I was taking pictures, my bags keep sliding in front of me as I bend my back to lean toward front (here when I learnt backpack will be more suitable). After walking 3 hours, my 3.4lbs gears feels like 340lbs and my back pack feels 200lbs. (I know it is exaggerated) . In the end of the day, I learnt the following lessons:
1. My camera with 24-70mm are heavy (need something like Black Rapid Sling or at least neck strap)
2. Carry messenger shoulder bag full of gears was not fun and could feel heavier in a long period of time.
3. messenger back could get in the way
4. hassle to change lenses
5. macro (for me) needs tripod, and it is a hassle to carry one (I am nowhere near a pro)
6. get a good quality CPL filter that is better, thinner and can fit the lense cap (I heard that canon PLC II is not that great and thick, could cause vignette)


I am planning to get rid of 100mm macro. Main reasons are the following: (being honest here)
1. it is a hassle to carry and change lenses (weekend routine is Lunch-go to park-dinner). Kinda not sure if I really need 100mm. I want to take picture of the food I eat for lunch/dinner.
2. 100mm ef macro is too slow.
3. 100mm is equal to 160mm. Kinda impractical to use that for food.
4. I have shaky hands. It pissed me off every time I try to take a macro shot. The image comes up blur.

Questions:
1. From those 3 lenses, is 100mm macro the sharpest lense in term of IQ? if so, is it significantly sharper by far?
2. Would it be enough to use 50mm 1.8 to do food photography? (or even 24-70 will do just fine?)
3. Is it redundant to have both 24-70 and 100mm macro on crop camera? (I feel that 24-70 fits almost about everything I need).
4. Is it really worth to get pictures with 100mm macro (vs 50mm/24-70mm) in terms of image quality/contrast/quick-slow focus?

Please don't bash at me for confusing over something I am not too sure about.

It is kinda long, Thanks for your time. I appreciate the time and opinions

Eric

[RichardTaylor]

(1) I don't own the 24-70 or 100 2.8 macro.

(2) Why not try the two alternatives lenses and see how they work for your food photography.

(3) Not if you want to shoot real close - like bugs etc.

(4) Only if you want to shoot real close (I did own a 3rd party 100mm macro - It mostly got used for shooting bugs/flowers etc)

[Shokinen]

My goal is not to tell you what to do or what to keep. Just sharing my experience

3 years ago when I started to dig into the photography world, I was carrying all my gear. I didn't want to miss any opportunity and I wanted the best equipment available in my kit to cover any situation. With time, I realized I was concentrating to much on what equipment I should use instead of just concentrating on crafting a picture.

I now force myself sometimes to get out only with 1 lens. I leave the rest home. It forces me to be more creative and I'm still surprise how this practive helped me improve my skills.

1- The 50mm is in the top.
2- I do most of my close-ups with my 35mm. Worst case you can always crop.
3- Nope, you don't get the 1:1 ratio with the 24-70mm.
4- Longuer range = more image compression. Test it with your 24-70. Take an image @ 70mm f/2.8. Take another image of the same subject @ 24 f/2.8 but get closer to get approximatly the same image. Compare the background. This is why many photographer likes 85mm and over for portrait.

To be honest, I'm not sure I would get rid of the 100mm. Question I would ask myself is do I need to carry all that gear all the time.

Hope this helps

[OsmosisStudios]

I think the problem here isnt the gear, but the technique and practice. Thats not meant to be an insult, merely an observation

[SOESANTO]

Originally Posted by Shokinen

My goal is not to tell you what to do or what to keep. Just sharing my experience

3 years ago when I started to dig into the photography world, I was carrying all my gear. I didn't want to miss any opportunity and I wanted the best equipment available in my kit to cover any situation. With time, I realized I was concentrating to much on what equipment I should use instead of just concentrating on crafting a picture.

I now force myself sometimes to get out only with 1 lens. I leave the rest home. It forces me to be more creative and I'm still surprise how this practive helped me improve my skills.

1- The 50mm is in the top.
2- I do most of my close-ups with my 35mm. Worst case you can always crop.
3- Nope, you don't get the 1:1 ratio with the 24-70mm.
4- Longuer range = more image compression. Test it with your 24-70. Take an image @ 70mm f/2.8. Take another image of the same subject @ 24 f/2.8 but get closer to get approximatly the same image. Compare the background. This is why many photographer likes 85mm and over for portrait.

To be honest, I'm not sure I would get rid of the 100mm. Question I would ask myself is do I need to carry all that gear all the time.

Hope this helps

Thank you for the response. This is what I am experiencing. Gears vs. Techniques. That is also one of reason i want to get rid of 100mm (extra gears), i just feel, i dont need it atm. I got my gears all in perfect used condition really cheap. Got the 24-70 with cpl only for 900 and the 100mm for 300. My plan is to sell 100mm now and buy again later after mastering 24-70 and 50mm, that is only if i ever needed. I was thinking that I want to change my lense to macro while at lunch and dinner. At park, ill do much better with 24-70. I am no longer interested in small object like bugs and flowers. If I end up keeping the 100mm, i will only use it for foods as the 24-70 is more versatile in taking indoor portrait.

[ceremus]

Have you tried to do macro work with the 24-70? It's not a true 1:1 macro, but it still has a better close focusing / magnification than many lenses. I haven't tried it myself, but I think it would be sufficient for food photography. Although if you're getting fuzzy results due to hand shaking on the 100mm, you're going to get similar trouble with the 24-70. Look to improve your hand holding technique if possible, or use a tripod, or increase your shutter speed and either add more light or increase your ISO.

The 100mm macro L lens has a stabilizer that would be more helpful for hand held work, though it's nearly twice the price of the non-L 100mm. Both lenses are nicely sharp and are versatile enough to pull double duty as good for macro work and good for portraits.

[inkista]

I agree with the idea of maybe slimming down the kit for now until you've mastered what you've got (and lens changing .

But. When the time comes to rebuy a macro lens, consider whether the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM might be a better fit for you than the EF 100 f/2.8 USM.

The working distance is better with the 100, but the 60 is better suited for things where you don't care about the working distance (food, flowers), is smaller, lighter, and a wee bit sharper.

The big disadvantages are if you want to take macro shots of things that might run/hop/crawl/fly away if you're too close, and if you decide to move to a full-frame camera.

[SOESANTO]

Yeah, slimming down the gears would be a good thing to do. I have a lot to learn and room to grow. I am planning to get ff camera, when? I am not sure. Ot would be 2-3 years from now at least. 100mm in crop is too difficult to work with. Or maybe i just do not know the technique yet to take picture. I am selling the 100mm, getting a backpack, refunding the messenger bag and get a sling strap for my camera. If i ever need 100mm macro again, I will get it again next time. For now, making 40 bucks profit thru ebay/craigslist is good enough for me. Thanks guys for the opinions.

Feel free to put more input, I will keep reading.

[ArmySoldier777]

I'm actually looking for a 100mm macro, I'd be interested lol.

[SOESANTO]

Lol. I got the lense with no box. Just lense and caps and rubber hood(brand new). The lense is in perfect condition, no sign of use. Maybe we could talk about it privately if you want.