"Macro" Photography

[Mthoodlum]

So I am pretty much just getting into macro photography. I want to get a true 1.1 lens and I have a couple of questions on what to get.

First off I have a Canon 30D.

I am really interested in getting the Canon 100mm F/2.8 USM Macro lens. I have heard nothing but good things about this lens. However, I wanted to know if this a good starting lens. I also wanted to know if the basic flash that is on the camera will be sufficient enough for taking macro pictures. I know I will have some problems with pictures being to dark, but i've heard some lenses require external flashes more than others. I do not have money for a flash right now.

The other lens I was looking into was the Canon 60mm Macro. I wish to do wildlife photography more then anything else, so I was thinking the longer lens might be better for bugs such as bees, so I wouldnt have to get as close .

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[tirediron]

I'm not a Canon person, so I can't answer the specifics about the lens, but in general terms, the longer lens will be better suited for your intended use as it will allow you to get farther away.

Your on-camera flash will be pretty much useless for macro work. Ideally you want to get a ring light or macro flash attachment, but I find that a couple of workshop lights with suitable diffusers and/or reflectors work very well.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

I've heard great things about both of those macro lenses. For your application, I think the 100mm might be a better choice. The EF-S 60mm is good and is also quite small and compact, which makes it good for keeping your camera bag for the odd time that you might need it.

 

[lockwood81]

Why is it called Macro photography when you are taking pictures of small stuff....

Shouldn't it be Micro Photography. (just saying):er:

 

[Big Mike]

"Macro" - very large in scale, scope, or capability.

It's called 'Macro' because the 'image' of the subject is large, as it appears on the film/negative. (or as it is captured on a digital sensor).

Think about it like this. Normally, you would take a photo of a person, but the size of the image on the actual film would be very small (most film is pretty small)...but if you use a macro lens (a greater magnification) you can get very close to your subject and the size of the subject's image (on the film) gets closer to life size...so it's bigger in scale that a typical photo. (of course, with something like a person, they would be much bigger than the film/sensor at 1:1 magnification, so the typical macro subjects are things that are very small.
So maybe you could say that you are doing 'macro' photography on 'micro' subjects.

That's my explanation anyway :er: