she want to shoot macro

[alien]

Hello
I have girlfriend she wants to shoot macro photography such as flowers and insects. Her birthday coming up and I want to buy her some capabilities to do this. However seems macro lenses so expensive, are there any inexpensive ones that are worth it? Or any budget alternatives? Hoping to stay under $200 on this. I do not know much about photography. I've been able to learn that she uses a Nikon D90 but that's all. I don't know what lens she currently has and i don't think there is any way for me to find out. Is that important? I was also considering close up filters like these: http://www.adorama.com/...CCUS58.html?searchinfo=macro%20filter&item_no=2
Would they be any good? If the close up filters are good which do you recommend? Is it even worth it to get those until we can afford a separate macro lens? Thanks!

 

[lyonsroar]

Extension tubes. You can get a good set for <$200 or a really cheapo set for <$50.

 

[thebutler4]

I have done some Macro work for my self .. mainly of Salt water reef tanks .. but I do have a question .. what are extension tubes used for? I don't mean to high jack the thread ..

 

[Darkhunter139]

I have this

2821A001 Canon 52 Close-Up Lens 500D, for Lenses 70mm to 300mm.

And it works awesome with my 55-200mm AF-S lens.

Here are some shots I took with it, Canon 500d closeup lens - a set on Flickr

 

[lyonsroar]

I have done some Macro work for my self .. mainly of Salt water reef tanks .. but I do have a question .. what are extension tubes used for? I don't mean to high jack the thread ..

Let me google that for you

I have these, they're cheap and crappy but they do the job.
MCAETEOSP Pro Optic Budget Auto Extention Tube Set for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

 

[Overread36]

My advice is when it comes to gifts that are more serious in cost and when they relate to a persons specific area of interest its sometimes best to change the nature of a gift from one of gifted surprised to gifted aid.

That is to say consider consulting your girlfriend as to the matter - it might be that she's already saved up some for a macro lens (or another macro setup of her choice) and that $200 might be all she needs to get there. It is an option to consider and it means that you still get to give a gift, but also know that its both something that she wants and will use.

When you chance getting things for a specific interest area based on others opinions you can hit lucky, or you can get something that isn't quite what suits the recipient - which can make for an uncomfortable gift in how it ends up not being used as much.


If you are dead set on a gift you can consider the following:
Extension tubes -a good set such as kenko extension tubes for nikon are not ultra cheap, but they have metal contacts in the tube, which allow retained control over the lens when used. Ultra cheap tubes don't have these and that greatly reduces how they can be used.

If she only has the camera and one lens tubes are the way forward, since its most likely that she has the "kit" lens and tubes work better (for macro) on shorter lenses rather than longer focal length lenses.


the macro filters/close up lenses/etc.. that you are looking at however work better on longer lenses, rather than shorter focal length lenses. In addition whilst I've not used the set you link to they are very cheap for what you get, which means they might do a job, but they don't do it that well. A better option is the canon 500D close up lens as suggested above (it is also a product name of a camera body just to be confusing) - however you'll need to know the specific filter size of her lens to get the right attachment.
The other option is a Raynox close up lens such as a DCR 250 = these have a variable attachment for the filter thread size, but again you'll have to make sure you know the thread size of the lens otherwise they still might not fit without adaptors.



Myself, based on your lack of understanding of her setup and shy of any big hits that she might drop to you I would approach it in the method I outlined above - sure you lose the whole "surprise" aspect, but you gain in knowing that what you buy/help to buy is something that she will get proper joy and use out of.

 

[lyonsroar]

^ Everything he said is spot on.

Just as a heads up. The $50 tubes I linked to in post #5 do have the electrical contacts but have a plastic build as well. Just in case you choose to get a set of tubes and something else maybe...

 

[Edsport]

I don't suggest using close-up filters. It's cheap but for macro work you need detail and those filters will degrade the picture to some degree. Electrical extension tubes is the way to go if you want to go cheap. There are extension tubes that don't have electrical contacts which are really cheap but then you lose auto focusing and have to set aperture manually etc. The images below taken with a 350D and an 18-55mm lens using a 12mm extension tube...

 

[Bend The Light]

I don't use macro kit with autofocus myself, anyway. That's because I don't have the money for it.
What I do use, now, is a vivitar 90mm Macro lens which was sold cheap to me. It is an M42 lens, which means it has a pentax screw thread fitting, and I use it with a cheap adaptor from eBay.

Thing is, Depth of Field is so small in macro, that autofocus is "not always" useful...your lens gets focus, but then you sway about a bit and the focus is gone. Unless you are using a tripod for static macro, you may end up just chasing focus.

With my lack of autofocus, I get into a good position and move ever so slightly to get focus...focus by swaying, it is.

I agree about asking her what she wants...I have a camera that I like very much which was a gift from my wife, but I am kinda stuck if I want to change or part-ex it because "she bought it" and would be upset if I decided it wasn't what I wanted (it's fine, but it could always be a better one!)

 

[mjhoward]

This could not have possibly been taken with an 18-55mm and only a 12mm extension tube.

 

[Bend The Light]

image removed from quote...

This could not have possibly been taken with an 18-55mm and only a 12mm extension tube.

Why not?

I have an image I just took of a tape measure, taken with 12mm of extension tube with the kit lens at 55mm, which shows about 2.5cm across the screen. That's nigh on 1:1 macro. This fella could easily be 1cm wide, couldn't he?

 

[alien]

My advice is when it comes to gifts that are more serious in cost and when they relate to a persons specific area of interest its sometimes best to change the nature of a gift from one of gifted surprised to gifted aid.

That is to say consider consulting your girlfriend as to the matter - it might be that she's already saved up some for a macro lens (or another macro setup of her choice) and that $200 might be all she needs to get there. It is an option to consider and it means that you still get to give a gift, but also know that its both something that she wants and will use.

When you chance getting things for a specific interest area based on others opinions you can hit lucky, or you can get something that isn't quite what suits the recipient - which can make for an uncomfortable gift in how it ends up not being used as much.


If you are dead set on a gift you can consider the following:
Extension tubes -a good set such as kenko extension tubes for nikon are not ultra cheap, but they have metal contacts in the tube, which allow retained control over the lens when used. Ultra cheap tubes don't have these and that greatly reduces how they can be used.

If she only has the camera and one lens tubes are the way forward, since its most likely that she has the "kit" lens and tubes work better (for macro) on shorter lenses rather than longer focal length lenses.


the macro filters/close up lenses/etc.. that you are looking at however work better on longer lenses, rather than shorter focal length lenses. In addition whilst I've not used the set you link to they are very cheap for what you get, which means they might do a job, but they don't do it that well. A better option is the canon 500D close up lens as suggested above (it is also a product name of a camera body just to be confusing) - however you'll need to know the specific filter size of her lens to get the right attachment.
The other option is a Raynox close up lens such as a DCR 250 = these have a variable attachment for the filter thread size, but again you'll have to make sure you know the thread size of the lens otherwise they still might not fit without adaptors.



Myself, based on your lack of understanding of her setup and shy of any big hits that she might drop to you I would approach it in the method I outlined above - sure you lose the whole "surprise" aspect, but you gain in knowing that what you buy/help to buy is something that she will get proper joy and use out of.

thanks. i'd like to vote this best answer

 

[ulrichsd]

I have a question about extension tubes... so you can only manual focus with these? (not a problem). But do Nikon G (gelded ) lenses work with these? Since G lenses don't have an aperture ring, will extension tubes not work on G lenses?

 

[Overread36]

ulrichsd - extension tubes with metal contacts (Eg Kenko extension tubes) retain the electrical contact between lens and camera and thus retain AF, metering and aperture control over the lens as normal. However the super cheap $/£5 type tubes do not have these contacts and thus, as you say, without the aperture ring on the lens the tubes will result in a setup that won't let you take photos at varying apertures. The tubes will still "work" in that they give the magnification, but your lens will be stuck shooting wide open all the time (with canon there is a trick to close the aperture blades, but this trick does not work for nikon lenses).

 

[lyonsroar]

I have a question about extension tubes... so you can only manual focus with these? (not a problem). But do Nikon G (gelded ) lenses work with these? Since G lenses don't have an aperture ring, will extension tubes not work on G lenses?

I think the ones with the contacts abvertise AF as being useful, but IME all my lenses do is "hunt" for the focus point so I end up MF'ing it anyway.