Need some help in spending my money.

[Tight Knot]

Hi all,

I know these questions have been asked at least 1000 times before, but I was hoping someone could steer me in the right direction on some lenses and a flash for my camera.

I have a canon T1i with the kit lenses 18-55mm and 55-250 mm.

The 2 lenses I would like to buy are a 50mm lens for portraits, and a lens for macro work.
As per the Canon website, I have 2 main choices between the 50 mm lenses:
1. EF 50mm f/1.4 USM @ $389.99 or,
2. EF 50mm f/1.8 II @ $99.99.

I am on a very tight budget, and want to know how much the more expensive lens will out-perform the cheaper one and if it is worth the extra cost (if so, I will have to wait and save up for it).

As for the Macro lens,
I'm not really sure which is the best way to go, hoping for some friendly advice.

The other option is going with just the EF-S 60MM f/2.8 Macro USM as an all purpose lens for both portraits and macro, but then I will not be able to go up to f/1.4 or 1.8 like the 2 50mm lenses.

The next item on my list is lighting.

If I'm not mistaken, the first extra light I should get, is an off-camera flash. Is this the same as a flash that I can mount to the hot-shoe, and then use a pistol grip to use it as an off-camera flash? Or am I asking for too much? If it can be done, how would I then sync the flash to the camera?
Again, unfortunately, I am on a very tight budget, and hence I am looking for a more inexpensive way to go (read that as "cheap").
Or am I totally mistaken, and should I be looking for a
different type of lighting?

By the way,
If anyone has some lenses or flash/lighting equipment (as above, or something that you think will work for my purposes) that will work for my camera, I would most certainly be interested in discussing it with you.

Thanks again everyone,

Bruce.

 

[Big Mike]

I am on a very tight budget, and want to know how much the more expensive lens will out-perform the cheaper one and if it is worth the extra cost (if so, I will have to wait and save up for it).

That was the most asked question on camera forums, before "what digital camera should I buy" took it over.

The 50mm F1.4 is better. Maybe not so much in terms of image quality, but certainly in focusing and build quality. The F1.8 is a toy compared to the F1.4. At $400, the F1.4 is a good deal because it should last you a very long time. But it's hard to pass up the (image) quality you get for $100 with the F1.8.

For Macro, look at some of the Sigma lenses. Good deals to be had there.

As for a flash, it really depends on what you want to do/shoot. For all around, family type shooting, a flash that mounts to the hot-shoe, that can tilt & swivel and can talk to your camera, would be ideal. Look at the 430EX from Canon.

If you want to work on creative lighting, then off-camera flash is the way to go. You could use a cheaper flash that doesn't have the ability to communicate with your camera (for auto flash metering etc) and just use a cable or radio triggers to fire it. But you may be wishing for a flash that just works nicely on the camera as well. Either the Canon 430 or 580 could do both jobs, but they aren't as cheap as the 'manual' flashes.

 

[Tight Knot]

Hi Big Mike,

Thank you for your response.

Which of the Sigma lenses would you recommend, and where can I buy them from?

What do you think of the EF-S 60MM f/2.8 Macro USM as an all purpose lens for both portraits and macro?

I work on landscapes and portaiture, both indoor and outdoor, and feel the next step for me to learn is creative lighting.
Which of the manual flashes would you recommend?

 

[Big Mike]

I think there is a Sigma 90mm Macro that is spoken well of. Try searching the forum, as I'm sure this has been mentioned before.

I've heard good things about the EF-S 60mm Macro, one being that it's physically a small lens, which makes it easier to always have in your camera bag. But most people seem to prefer a longer macro lens, like the 100mm, because it gives you more working room when you are super close to your subject.

Again, the flash issue has been debated, so search around to get more info, but HERE is a kit that includes most of what you would need to get up and running with a decent off-camera flash kit.

You can get just about any photo gear (including Sigma) at B&H or Adorama.

 

[Tight Knot]

Thank you Big Mike,

I really appreciate the info.:thumbup:

 

[Overread]

sigma make several macro lenses at the moment:
50mm macro
70mm macro
100mm macro
150mm macro
there is also a discontinued 180mm macro which is every bit the equal match to the 150mm and was only discontinued in the last few months.
150mm OS macro - a newer lens but not yet out on the market and with no definite release date either.

Canon also make a 50mm macro however it is not a true macro lens unless you also get the lifesize converter for it. A decent performer from what I've read, but with the converter as well the price of both makes it more expensive than other all in one options such as the sigma 70mm macro.

Tokina make a 100mm and 180mm macro lens

Tamron make a 90mm macro lens that is often very popular as the shortest recommended macro lens for budget; and a 60mm macro lens.

Out of all those macro lenses there isn't one that stands out as an optically superior or inferior choice and on the build quality front only the sigma 50mm is questionable. Genearlly they are all solid well made lenses; what will differ are the costs; features; focal length etc...

So its a case that you've got to decide upon your budget and then see what fits into that budget.
Note that the Canon EFS 60mm macro; Tokina 60mm macro won't fit onto fullframe camera bodies like the 5D and 5DM2.

 

[Tight Knot]

Thank you very much for the detailed list of lenses. I was looking at pricing, and at this stage, I'm going to have to wait for the macro lens ( I currently have a budget of around $250-$275 for a macro, and may just have to save up some more), unless I can find something 2nd hand. I feel it's more important to get the 50mm for portraits and the lighting kit.
Of course, if you disagree about the order of procurement, please do feel free to let me know.

 

[reznap]

I have a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 and it's not so great wide open.. it has fringing/chromatic aberration issues. It's minor but it bothers me anyway - and often with macro you end up using 100% crops so minor problems can really show up. The Canon 100mm f/2.8 usm (non-L) however, tears it up. It's just contrasty and sharp and clean throughout its aperture range. I realize the Canon's a bit above your budget right now but I might hold out for it if you want a quality macro lens.

The rest of your dilemma, well I can't really help with that.

Oh yeah, here's a comparison of the Tamron 90 and Canon 100. See how great the Canon performs at f/2.8?

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens - Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens Comparison - ISO 12233 Resolution Chart Results

 

[Overread]

I have a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 and it's not so great wide open.. it has fringing/chromatic aberration issues. It's minor but it bothers me anyway -

Oddly looking at the tests you linked to I'd be tempted to say they got an under performing Tamron 90mm macro - I've never read of it having any major optical weakness as compared to the rest of the macro lenses on offer.

Also I disagree with your view that you'll

and often with macro you end up using 100% crops so minor problems can really show up.

I shoot a fair bit of macro and whilst I fully admit that I do view the 100% crops I've never "used" them as the full final shot. If you're using the 100% crops either you're not getting close enough or you're not after 1:1 macro and would instead be after a greater magnification factor given by either using adaptors on the 100mm; microscope objectives or the MPE 65mm macro lens (note I do not recommend this macro lens for beginners).
Would you care to share some examples (starting a new thread so that we don't take this one off course)

 

[Tight Knot]

Big Mike,

What do you think of a pistol grip? Will this give me decent quality light for most on-the-go situations? Any idea where to get one from?

Thanks for all the info and help,

Bruce

 

[Overread]

Pistol grip for which kind of photography? If its for general regular shooting then pistol grips are fast and popular choices - however they are not well suited to macro work at all*



*when the grip is released and the pressure applied to the ball so that you can remove you hand from the setup the head will dip down. This dipping is very tiny and not noticeable at all with regular photography shooting; but in macro work it makes a significant change to the view through the viewfinder. This along with the risk that the ballhead can creep a little when left at an angle for any length of time.

These are problems inherent with ballheads and macro work = generally speaking I would say a good 3way head is better for macro work and the best approach is a geared head such as the manfrotto junior geared head (however they are not cheap).

 

[Tight Knot]

Thanks Overread,

Can you give me some links for the above-mentioned products?

Thanks allot.

 

[Overread]

The Geared head is here: Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head - Geared

and should retail in all leading retailers online and on the highstreet (though highstreet shops might have to order it in of course). It's by far and away one of the most popular tripod heads for macro work alone - however outside of macro and landscape work its not very usable. Each of the 3 axis is controlled by a fine precision turner and whilst you can remove the pressure lock in each axis for faster adjustments you have to keep your hand on the pressure release (for each axis) do to this. Making the head useless for fast repositioning - basically I'd not use this head for anything that has a moving subject or for which you'll want a fast response time.

 

[Tight Knot]

The Geared head is here: Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head - Geared

and should retail in all leading retailers online and on the highstreet (though highstreet shops might have to order it in of course). It's by far and away one of the most popular tripod heads for macro work alone - however outside of macro and landscape work its not very usable. Each of the 3 axis is controlled by a fine precision turner and whilst you can remove the pressure lock in each axis for faster adjustments you have to keep your hand on the pressure release (for each axis) do to this. Making the head useless for fast repositioning - basically I'd not use this head for anything that has a moving subject or for which you'll want a fast response time.

Sounds great. I'll check it out. Thanks.

 

[Overread]

If you are going after the macro dedicated head and thus going to do macro work from a tripod you'll want one of these as well:

4-way Macro Focusing Rail Slider for Nikon Canon FD K1O on eBay (end time 13-Dec-10 09:41:05 GMT)

note that is just an example on ebay of the product - search "focusing rails" and you'll get loads of alternate retailers selling the same rails. Adorama also tell them under their name as well.

They are by far and away one of the better more budget choices (avoid the manfrotto). The next level up from them is considering a Novoflex focusing rail which are very costly.