Macro advice

[Zombane]

Hello all. I am a little bit of a noob when it comes to photography. One of my main interests is macro-photography. To that end what is a good macro lens to use with a canon 350D?

Budget is important as photography is only a hobby!

I currently have an 18mm-55mm lens and a 70mm-210mm lens.

The 70-210 lens has a macro switch, but it doesn't seem to work lol.

[PaulBoy]

Originally Posted by Bigmoisty

Hello all. I am a little bit of a noob when it comes to photography. One of my main interests is macro-photography. To that end what is a good macro lens to use with a canon 350D?

Budget is important as photography is only a hobby!

I currently have an 18mm-55mm lens and a 70mm-210mm lens.

The 70-210 lens has a macro switch, but it doesn't seem to work lol.

Big-M "Budget is important as photography is only a hobby" - presume you want to spend the least possible? In that case the clear winner would be the Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 Di Lens although the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro is highly rated too - both are just over £200 from OneStopDigital
There are a few even cheaper options like macro filters & extension tubes which some people have have good results from but if macro is one of your main interests you should be looking at a dedicated lens IMHO ... HTH - Paul

[Valleyman]

The Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Macro is not only one of the best budget macros out there... it's one of the best macros full stop.

IMO the only macro that is better is the Nikon 105mm f2.8 with VR, but thats over twice the price of the Tamron the image quality is comparable. Some people even claim the bokeh is better on the Tamron, but the inclusion of VR makes it a winner in my opinion. Still, I couldn't justify the price.

I myself own the Tamron, and did extensive testing of the various options. Other ones I tested were:

Nikon AF Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR
Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG
Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG APO HSM
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG

And obviously the Tamron which I chose.

[Astaroth]

For canon lenses rather than 3rd party most people come down to the choice of the EF-S 60mm and the 100mm. The 100mm gives you more working distance but the 60mm is significantly cheaper. The other consideration of cause is the fact that the 60mm is an EF-S lens and therefore ties you into the smaller sensor size which is fine for the 350d and 30d but would make the lens useless if in the future you decided to upgrade further to a full frame sensor like the 5d

[vulkan75]

My comp entry this month was taken with the tamron.I think its a brilliant lens and cant recommend it enough.

If cash is realy tight extension tubes might be an option.... or how about the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro Lens for £119 HERE.

[denno75uk]

Originally Posted by Astaroth

The other consideration of cause is the fact that the 60mm is an EF-S lens and therefore ties you into the smaller sensor size which is fine for the 350d and 30d but would make the lens useless if in the future you decided to upgrade further to a full frame sensor like the 5d

Does the use of an EF lens (instead of an EF-S) on an APS-C mean that the minimum focussing distance is altered at all (ie closer)?

[Astaroth]

A good question, thinking about it logically I can see no reason why it would - after all the sensor is simply smaller and that is the only difference - however I do not know for certain to give a definative answer

[Zone]

It really is down to the type of macro photography you are interested in, if its wildlife, butterfies etc then the longer the focal length the better so as not to spook the critters, you're going to have to pay for it though