Macro lens. What to look for?

[Robin Usagani]

I'm tired of shooting a mediocre wedding ring shot and I want a macro lens. I shoot with a 5D. What lens shall I get? L lens? Regular one? Which? I would love to start taking photos of insects too. I know nothing about macro photography.

 

[tyler_h]

Longer is better for insects as it increases your working distance. Problem is you'll have a shallower DoF.

Either 100 is good; the L has higher resolution but the non-L is still quite good. The IS is all but useless at 1:1 from what I have heard, but the need for IS is then questionable for other circumstances if your signature is correct; 70-200 2.8L already fits the bill.

If you have the budget get the L but you'll likely be pretty happy with the non-L as well.

Best investment will be in lighting. You'll need to stop down for DoF. At the same time the effective aperture in terms of actual light is:
f-stop + f-stop * magnification
So look to invest in a macro flash set up or similar if you want to get the most out of the lens.

 

[Robin Usagani]

tyler, you lost me at f-stop + f-stop * magnification. Care to explain more?

 

[tyler_h]

So you know f-stop changes the amount of light you get in.

Consider it for f/8

If you are focused to infinity you actually get approximately "f/8" worth of light. (considering a lens to have a lot magnification then)
At 1 to 1 and set to f/8 you will actually get half the light hitting the sensor for the same settings.

So, naturally, coupling that with the need to stop down a lot more for DoF in macro work you need a lot more light to maintain good shutter speed and low ISO.

Does that explain it a bit better?

 

[Robin Usagani]

Wow, i need to read more about this. I didnt know focusing changes the amount of your light.

Tyler, how about pairing the lens with an extender and teleconverter? What combo and what do I get from it? 2:1?

 

[mwcfarms]

That is a great explanation.

 

[tyler_h]

That i know of no Canon macro lenses are compatible with their teleconverters (only the white primes; 70-200's; and the TS-E series).

I haven't played around with extenders so can't say much on them. Their magnifications: 1.19x (EF 12 II) or 1.39x (EF 25 II) so not a huge jump there.

If you really want to get high magnifications I've heard good things about the MP-E 65mm its a dedicated macro lens (1-5x magnification only).

That is a great explanation.

Thanks.

 

[Robin Usagani]

MP-E 65mm is wayyyyyy later down the road. I want to use something that is usefull for weddings hahaha.

 

[tyler_h]

MP-E 65mm is wayyyyyy later down the road. I want to use something that is usefull for weddings hahaha.

Suspected as much, but if you want to get to 2:1...

If it's mainly as part of making income from wedding shots; I'd consider how much you will use the lens for how much you should invest in it.

 

[Hardrock]

Schwetty I think you should look into the Canon 100 f2.8 usm lens. Its very sharp , mine focuses very fast (at longer focus distances for headshots and waist ups) the close focus is fairly quick but 99.9% I manual focus due to I like to handhold mine at 1:1. Like tyler said its best to have longer focal lengths for insects for a couple of reasons 1. to not scare of the insect , icreased working distance 2. the back ground is usually cleaner and more of a smooth look. But for weddings I think a 150 or 180 is going to be too long and may limit you ( plus most dont focus as fast). Also to go along with what Tyler said the more magnification the more light you will need and the longer the focal length the harder it is to hand hold. Even on a sunny day with lots of light I use the 100mm at 1:1 with a 1.4tc at f11/13 iso 400/800 and shutter speeds around 1/30 to 1/200 just to give you an idea. But for rings Im sure other will chime in the important thing is the reflection and loss of detail. You may also want to look into a 50 with extension tubes or even the 135 f2. I was impressed with the 135f2 and its close focus. Hope this helps...

For strictly macro I wouldn't get the 100L over the 100 Usm but if you plan to do a lot of handheld portraits you may want to look into the L with IS. I thought about selling mine for the L but I dont feel like Im really missing the IS and I dont believe the L is much if any sharper than the USM version.

 

[tyler_h]

I was impressed with the 135f2 and its close focus.

Max magnification is listed as 0.19x on Canon's site... certainly a great lens but that would imply its not going to be of a lot of use.
The 24-70 f/2.8 is meant to have 0.29x at 70mm...


Another consideration not noted before; cause of its L status it does come with a better accessory kit, so if you'd look to by the hood etc anyway don't forget to consider that in their price difference.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Im still struggling to understand magnification factor VS. focal length etc. so a .19x magnification is just saying that if I shoot a wedding ring, I can only fill the ring maybe like 1/5 of my frame right? What if I put this on my 500D? Is the magnification factor going to be multiplied by 1.6?

Hardrock, could you shoot a ring with 135L uncropped? I want to see how close you can get and see the result. Also post the cropped version to zoom in a bit. I am just wondering.

 

[tyler_h]

Im still struggling to understand magnification factor VS. focal length etc. so a .19x magnification is just saying that if I shoot a wedding ring, I can only fill the ring maybe like 1/5 of my frame right? What if I put this on my 500D? Is the magnification factor going to be multiplied by 1.6?

Hardrock, could you shoot a ring with 135L uncropped? I want to see how close you can get and see the result. Also post the cropped version to zoom in a bit. I am just wondering.

Magnification is a product of focal length and minimum focusing distance. To get decent magnification at short focal lengths you need a very short minimum focusing distance.

As for crop factor and magnification; you would still get 1:1 magnification on a crop sensor, but magnification is related to sensor size.
1:1 is just meaning an object the size of the sensor will fill the sensor. So you are still 1:1, but you have 'thrown away' information around your object so your have (for sensors with the same number of pixels) more pixels representing your actual subject. So even if you can fill the frame with a smaller object it is still 1:1.

For 0.19x magnification it should be:
36/0.19 = 189mm wide, and
24/0.19 = 126mm tall
The APS-C sensor will get filled by a 116.8 x 77.9 mm object though.

Just checked the above physically with my camera and a ruler to make sure I did it right; they are correct.

Consider the EF 25 II extention tube for your 24-70 as well; you get get better than 1:1 apparently (canon site) so that might be an easier options for weddings instead of another lens.

 

[Derrel]

Good advice above. I have the 100mm f/2.8 Canon EF USM Macro, and that's the one I think I'd suggest for wedding ring and bouquet shots, detail shots, etc. Its weight is okay. Focusing speed is normally decent. Good image quality. Fair price. For bugs, I have a 180mm macro lens.

 

[Hardrock]

With the 135 you would probably need some extension tubes for a real close shot. I used the 135 for flower shots and decorations on the reception table. I dont have any pics off hand but if you go to treyharrison.zenfolio.com and go to I believe Bryan and Megans wedding there is a shot of some mints that I though came out decent(I was second shooter and I didnt get any ring shots with the 135). Overall I was real impressed with the 135 and enjoyed the close focus. But for a true macro it would be best to have a macro lens that is capable of 1:1. I also have the 50f1.4 and I believe its close focus is about 1foot and if your main interest is wedding rings I would rent some extension tubes and try some ring shots with that setup. It would be a cheaper alternitive. Im really not sure what the .19x means either but 1:1 simply means that if you take a picture of a penny at 1:1 it will be that exact size on 35mm film. Im sure you have 430 or 580 flash and if so look into getting the lumiquest soft box it will help out alot.