Fuji macro lens vs extension tube

[Flavio]

How close can you get with your current lens?
Putting a big camera at macro distance close to the baby could scare him
I would rather use a longer lens of 50mm or more, on your APS-C camera, to get more distance from the baby.

Hello ac12,

I guess the 35mm f1.4 I have is good enough for the job, and maybe I'll invest in the 50mm 2.0 also...

Thanks for the help ;-)

 

[Flavio]

The Fuji 60mm macro is my favorite lens. It's hunts a bit in low light but otherwise it's creates beautiful images and really easy to isolate subjects from background. I don't use it much for portraits since I don't really shoot those but I'll see if I have any examples. I use it sometimes with extension tubes to get super macro on flowers. Check out the Fuji 60mm macro group on Flickr for lots of examples including portraits.

One of my favs with the 60mm at f/4 If my memory is correct I took this in the car so not the best light...

Hello! Thanks a lot for the help.
I'm considering that lens vs the 50mm f.2.
I will check out that flickr group ;-)
By the way, great photo!

 

[SquarePeg]

The Fuji 60mm macro is my favorite lens. It's hunts a bit in low light but otherwise it's creates beautiful images and really easy to isolate subjects from background. I don't use it much for portraits since I don't really shoot those but I'll see if I have any examples. I use it sometimes with extension tubes to get super macro on flowers. Check out the Fuji 60mm macro group on Flickr for lots of examples including portraits.

One of my favs with the 60mm at f/4 If my memory is correct I took this in the car so not the best light...

Hello! Thanks a lot for the help.
I'm considering that lens vs the 50mm f.2.
I will check out that flickr group ;-)
By the way, great photo!

I highly recommend buying Fuji lenses used to stretch your $. I’ve had great success with used gear. Other than the Xt2 and 18-55, all my other Fuji stuff was bought used or refurbished. I see you’re in Portugal, not sure what the used market is like there, but here in the US it’s very easy to find what you want.

 

[Flavio]

The Fuji 60mm macro is my favorite lens. It's hunts a bit in low light but otherwise it's creates beautiful images and really easy to isolate subjects from background. I don't use it much for portraits since I don't really shoot those but I'll see if I have any examples. I use it sometimes with extension tubes to get super macro on flowers. Check out the Fuji 60mm macro group on Flickr for lots of examples including portraits.

One of my favs with the 60mm at f/4 If my memory is correct I took this in the car so not the best light...

Hello! Thanks a lot for the help.
I'm considering that lens vs the 50mm f.2.
I will check out that flickr group ;-)
By the way, great photo!

I highly recommend buying Fuji lenses used to stretch your $. I’ve had great success with used gear. Other than the Xt2 and 18-55, all my other Fuji stuff was bought used or refurbished. I see you’re in Portugal, not sure what the used market is like there, but here in the US it’s very easy to find what you want.

Well, it a very small country so everything else is small to, including the fuji used market. It's a mix of luck with persistent searching to find a good lens used.
Actualy I'm about to buy the 23mm f2 used from a neighbour city, but it's the only one I've found in this region. I will search for the 50 f2 used. ;-)

 

[SquarePeg]

The Fuji 60mm macro is my favorite lens. It's hunts a bit in low light but otherwise it's creates beautiful images and really easy to isolate subjects from background. I don't use it much for portraits since I don't really shoot those but I'll see if I have any examples. I use it sometimes with extension tubes to get super macro on flowers. Check out the Fuji 60mm macro group on Flickr for lots of examples including portraits.

One of my favs with the 60mm at f/4 If my memory is correct I took this in the car so not the best light...

Hello! Thanks a lot for the help.
I'm considering that lens vs the 50mm f.2.
I will check out that flickr group ;-)
By the way, great photo!

I highly recommend buying Fuji lenses used to stretch your $. I’ve had great success with used gear. Other than the Xt2 and 18-55, all my other Fuji stuff was bought used or refurbished. I see you’re in Portugal, not sure what the used market is like there, but here in the US it’s very easy to find what you want.

Well, it a very small country so everything else is small to, including the fuji used market. It's a mix of luck with persistent searching to find a good lens used.
Actualy I'm about to buy the 23mm f2 used from a neighbour city, but it's the only one I've found in this region. I will search for the 50 f2 used. ;-)

Why the 23 f/2 if you have the 18-55? I’m biased because I prefer the longer focal lengths but I bought and returned the 23 f.2 because I didn’t think it did much that the 18-55 couldn’t do. I don’t take a lot of low light stuff though... I ended up with the 35 f/2 which has the fastest auto focus of any lens I’ve ever owned. Even so, I rarely end up using it because the zoom is so much more convenient. I can’t see repeating a focal length when you’re current kit doesn’t have anything long.

 

[Flavio]

The Fuji 60mm macro is my favorite lens. It's hunts a bit in low light but otherwise it's creates beautiful images and really easy to isolate subjects from background. I don't use it much for portraits since I don't really shoot those but I'll see if I have any examples. I use it sometimes with extension tubes to get super macro on flowers. Check out the Fuji 60mm macro group on Flickr for lots of examples including portraits.

One of my favs with the 60mm at f/4 If my memory is correct I took this in the car so not the best light...

Hello! Thanks a lot for the help.
I'm considering that lens vs the 50mm f.2.
I will check out that flickr group ;-)
By the way, great photo!

I highly recommend buying Fuji lenses used to stretch your $. I’ve had great success with used gear. Other than the Xt2 and 18-55, all my other Fuji stuff was bought used or refurbished. I see you’re in Portugal, not sure what the used market is like there, but here in the US it’s very easy to find what you want.

Well, it a very small country so everything else is small to, including the fuji used market. It's a mix of luck with persistent searching to find a good lens used.
Actualy I'm about to buy the 23mm f2 used from a neighbour city, but it's the only one I've found in this region. I will search for the 50 f2 used. ;-)

Why the 23 f/2 if you have the 18-55? I’m biased because I prefer the longer focal lengths but I bought and returned the 23 f.2 because I didn’t think it did much that the 18-55 couldn’t do. I don’t take a lot of low light stuff though... I ended up with the 35 f/2 which has the fastest auto focus of any lens I’ve ever owned. Even so, I rarely end up using it because the zoom is so much more convenient. I can’t see repeating a focal length when you’re current kit doesn’t have anything long.

The 18-55mm is a great multiporpuse lens, but I would like a wider aperture at 23mm for low light and better bokeh. I've heard great reviews of the 23mm f2, great image quality, silent, fast and light.

 

[jaomul]

You might be better getting something like the faster f2.8-4 kit lens ( kit lens makes i sound so so but apparently a great zoom lens)

 

[greybeard]

IMO, what you already have will get you as close as you need to be. Macro lenses are for shooting very small things like bugs, coins etc.