New Toy - Macro Lens

GAD

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I bought myself a true macro lens and a macro ring-light to go with it. Get ready for some close-up pics in my reviews!

All of these pics are from the same lens, which is a Canon 100mm iS F2.8L. It is not a zoom. Only the first pic was cropped - the rest are full-frame right from the camera.

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5D3_0058_1600.jpg
 

davismanLV

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Holy crap, the detail, Gary and that herringbone is insane and of course I love the turquoisette inlays on the DV!!! I'm usually playing mine and don't see that detail or the glory of it. Someone asked me, "Doesn't that inlay and detail screw you up when you're playing?" Uhmmmm, no I don't see it when I play. The only reference points are side markers. For me at least. IF I need a reference!! LOL!! That thing picks up EVERYTHING doesn't it??? WOW!!! :encouragement:
 

GAD

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Yeah, the detail is crazy when you have a real macro lens. Hell, I have a hard enough time with fingerprints on whole guitars. Now I have to hunt for eyelashes too!
 

JohnW63

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Nice. But I gotta' ask. Which lens ? It won't go on my Nikon, but I like knowing the focal length and macro "strength" for comparision
 

GAD

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Nice. But I gotta' ask. Which lens ? It won't go on my Nikon, but I like knowing the focal length and macro "strength" for comparision

It's right there in the OP. :redface-new: Canon 100mm iS F2.8L. https://www.amazon.com/Canon-100mm-Macro-Digital-Cameras/dp/B002NEGTSI

The lens is cool. The AF hunts a bit in low light or low contrast situations but the common fix for that is to manually focus and then move the camera.

Pic from Ken Rockwell:

100mm.jpg
 
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Stuball48

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GAD:
You are making me think I need to talk my son into getting one of those for our lure website. So detailed and clear. Thumbs up.
 

GAD

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GAD:
You are making me think I need to talk my son into getting one of those for our lure website. So detailed and clear. Thumbs up.

Oh yeah - for things like lures (assuming you mean fishing lures) a macro would be killer. You don't need the whole L-lens experience, either. There's also a cool trick you can do where you mount a 50mm lens on the camera backwards. I did that years ago with some wire ties and electrical tape. These days you can buy special adapters to accomplish it.

IMG_2683_700.jpg



Pics taken with that setup:

Macro-0040_700.jpg



Macro-0022_700_700.jpg



Macro-0082_700.jpg


Macro-0059_700.jpg


That last pic is of MINI-M&Ms!
 

Nuuska

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Hello

M&M reminds me of "M&M of Death" - this guy used to balance a bicylcle - brakes locked - on his nose while joggling a M&M of Death - a Bowling Ball of Death and a Cleaver of Death.

I saw him at the NACA-convention way back - 80:s - must have been hard to adjust the throw force between bowling ball and M&M.

But he WAS GOOD at it.
 

Stuball48

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Oh yeah - for things like lures (assuming you mean fishing lures) a macro would be killer. You don't need the whole L-lens experience, either. There's also a cool trick you can do where you mount a 50mm lens on the camera backwards. I did that years ago with some wire ties and electrical tape. These days you can buy special adapters to accomplish it.

IMG_2683_700.jpg



Pics taken with that setup:

Macro-0040_700.jpg



Macro-0022_700_700.jpg



Macro-0082_700.jpg


Macro-0059_700.jpg


That last pic is of MINI-M&Ms![/QUOTEG
GAD-I was talking about fishing lures and the detail and clearity would have to be a big plus.
Thanks for a great tip.
 

JohnW63

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You can get close-up adapters to put between the camera and lens, but you loose a good amount of light, so the scene has to be bright or the shutter very slow to make up for it.
 

GAD

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You can get close-up adapters to put between the camera and lens, but you loose a good amount of light, so the scene has to be bright or the shutter very slow to make up for it.

I have an extension tube that I've used on my 135mm f/2L lens. The downside is that you lose sharpness and a lot of light when using them and the lens is now physically longer. That said, I think my Canon tube was ~$150 while the macro was more like $750. A macro lens is designed to be used for macro so you'll have less issues with things like distortion and chromatic aberration. For casual shooting like the kind I did with the M&Ms above, it's way better than zip-tieing a lens to your camera backwards. :redface-new: This is the EF12 - I have the EF 25 which is longer, but the image was too big for the page.

41T%2BWTWQbZL.jpg


There are also lens adapters that go on the front of the lens like a filter. I don't really recommend these unless cost is the primary driver or you just want to play around with macro so see if it's something you'd enjoy. This one was something like $25. The fact that companies like Canon don't make them is telling to me.

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Lastly, all of these solutions will alter an existing lens's performance which means that you're still limited by the quality of that lens. Since an adapter never makes quality better, only different (and probably worse) your results will vary greatly based on the lens being used. If you're not a crazed lunatic about sharpness, bokeh, and the like then the adapters and close-up rings can be a serious amount of fun.
 

Quantum Strummer

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I have a set of Zeiss closeup diopters from the 1950s. They came along with a gizmo called a Contameter, which attaches to a Contax rangefinder camera and allows you to focus accurately using a 50mm lens with any of the diopters screwed onto that lens. Nowadays, with through-the-lens electronic viewfinders and mount adapters, I can leave the Contameter in its box and use the diopters with an old Zeiss (or Soviet Jupiter copy) rangefinder lens or any other lens that'll take 'em (40.5mm filter thread). Some Nikon and early Canon rangefinder lenses will take 'em too. As GAD says, image quality isn't quite up to the level of a dedicated macro lens…but they give me a nice vintage-y look with the lens wide open and are pretty darn crisp with the lens stopped down a bit.

My favorite modern macro lens is the Olympus 60mm I use on Micro Four-Thirds cameras. Wicked shaaahp!

-Dave-
 

Mr. Lumbergh

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It's right there in the OP. :redface-new: Canon 100mm iS F2.8L. https://www.amazon.com/Canon-100mm-Macro-Digital-Cameras/dp/B002NEGTSI

The lens is cool. The AF hunts a bit in low light or low contrast situations but the common fix for that is to manually focus and then move the camera.

Pic from Ken Rockwell:

100mm.jpg
Yeah, Canon would add IS to their 100mm macro after I got mine...
Macro is fun.
 
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