Macro Help Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PicturePerfect]

Application was sent yesterday for Dip of arts applied photography, the next two stages are intake test & folio presentation
after looking at my folio i really need to delve into the world of macro's,
lots of portraits landscapes ect but no macro stuff. and seeing the awsome stuff you all put on here i thought that you's would be the best ones to get info from about it

first off i have NFI on macro's, never ever done it.

need help on macro lenses/macro filters what the???/dof/ things to remember/tips hints ect generanlly everything to do with macros

any info or even links to good site's would be greatly appreciated (luv u long time )


thanks

Alison

[PicturePerfect]

not sure if this should be in here or general help, if in wrong spot, feel free to move it

[SSSchwing]

I'm a noob, but can I suggest going to your local camera store and purchasing a set of Hoya Macro Filters... They usually come in +1, +2 and +4 and you can also get +10.

Once you have these, head out into the garden and test them out. You will find the DOF quite shallow and you have to choose the focus carefully.

Try taking some of flower stamen, bugs etc..... Even maybe electronic equipment (motherboards, resistors etc)....

It can be tricky, but given you have much more experience than me, you'll more than likely pick up the skills required quite quickly

[K.I.A.]

I got a tip, if your looking to do this on a budget here are some things you can consider:

P&S - probably have one already and you can go as close as 1cm! depending on your camera
Diopters - relatively cheap compared with buying a new lens
Reverse mount - if you want larger than 1:1, though it is quite fiddly since you lose all automatic controls

[Knawful]

A set of macro filter's if your on a budget.
I'm looking into buying a macro lens atm but they're around $1200ish.
I use a +10 macro filter on 18-55mm kit lens and x2 t/c at present.
DOF is a major issue for me.(even w/o the t/c.

[xpantz]

I just got my extension tubes today and have been playing around a bit... I'm quite impressed.

Not as extreme as a reverse mount but better than macro filters and pretty cheap on ebay too... unless you want the type that retains all the electronic functions.

[PicturePerfect]

Thank you all so much for your replys, i wont sound like such a moron in the camera shop tomorrow
since posting i have been reserching macro lenses i'll add them to my wish list

currently my camera is Canon EOS 300 yes i still run film
lens is EF 28 - 200mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 72mm (bloody expensive to get filters this size) my uv filter was $70 and i havn't had the joy of buying other lenses yet, i love this one sooooo much, does everything i need.

will the macro filters work on this lens ????

do i need to buy the set +1 +2 +4 +10 ???

[dejavu]

Allison, firstly you need to define for us what you need help with. Do you want help with technique? equipment purchases? other specialised questions?


You can:
1. get a set of Kenko extension tubes and use on them your current lens
2. get diopter lenses (high quality close up filters). Both Nikon and Canon offers these. The multi-element ones are much much better, but with corresponding prices. Nikons are called the 3T, 6T etc and Canon's the 500D and 250D. Testing gives a slight edge to the Canon 500D, but the Nikon's are cheaper. Not brand specific. If you do go this route, buy the 77mm one and get a 77->Xmm step-down adapter, this way it can be used all future lenses too and thus protecting your investment.
3. get a reverse mounting adapter and reverse a lens onto your camera body OR onto another lens
4. buy a dedicated macro lens. The Nikon/Sigma/Tamron 100/105/90 are all highly recommanded. In fact, the Tamron 90 macro is considered the sharpest macro lens in that focal length range. The only disadvantage of the Tamron is that it is build out of plastic.

So so many choices, all give "macro" capability, which to pick? It depends on your purpose. Here's some pro and cons for each of the above:
1. Extension tubes are cheap, but you lose quite a bit of light. A 25mm ext tube will cut the light by about 2 stops (need 4x longer exposure to achieve the same exposure). Extension tubes can be used on longer lenses to reduce working distance. i.e. the 300mm + ext tubes is a favourite for shooting butterflies. You lose infinity focus with ext tubes.
2. Diopters are cheap, and high quality diopters give good optical result. They work on all lenses so long as the filter ring fits (hence getting the biggest one protects your investment). You also lose infinity focus with this.
3. Reverse mounting a lens gives very high magnification but the working distance is apooring. Personally I would recommand this only to more seasoned macro shooters. It's not all *that* useful for everyday macro shooting since it gives very high magnification. No infinity focus, cheap method. The adapter rings can be had on Ebay for next to nothing.
4. Best ooption but most expensive too. Provides 1:1 magnification without accessories dangling everywhere. Provides infinity focus, and can be used for shooting everyday objects too. Pretty good working distance.

Personally I started out with option 1 (EF25 ext tube) on my 28-80 f3.5-5.6 aka "Dog Toy". This gave me time to decide if I am passionate about macro, and tell me what kind of macro I like to shoot since this directly dictates equipment needs. After a year, I upgraded to a 180 f3.5 macro since i mostly shoot insects.

I have left out some of the more technical details regarding macro gear choices, we can discuss those once you have a concept of what does what. Macro gear shopping is probably one of the most confusing for someone just getting into it since there are many way of achieving the same result, but with very different costs and different suitability for the task.

So that's all talks, here's some examples:

EOS 500N, Provia 400F, 28-80 f3.5-5.6 II, EF25 tube


EOS 500N, Provia 400F, 28-80 f3.5-5.6 II, full set of Kenko extension tubes + on cam flash diffused with white paper


10D + 180 f3.5 macro


10D + 180 f3.5 macro + EF25 extension tube


10D= + 70-200 f2.8 IS L + EF25 extension tube


10D + MP-E65 f2.8 (specialised macro lens 1-5x)


10D + MP-E65 f2.8 (specialised macro lens 1-5x)


So what the photos trying to show? Regardless of the setup, with some practice, nice photos are possible. i.e. I don't have any worthy insect photos to show that were shot with the 28-80+EF25 because it just wasn't a suitable insect-shooting setup, well not for the kind of skills I had back then.

[Knawful]

Loving that beetle shot every time i see it.

[PicturePerfect]

Thanks Dejavu you hit the nail spot on !!!
after reading all the posts i am looking to get a filter set or ext. tubes.

any idea if the canon DSLR's have the same mount as Canon EOS300???

i'm getting a canon DSLR soon and i dont wanna get the extension tubes unless they fit the DSLR too