Whats the key to Macro?

unreggd

Ive got me 350D with the KIT lense and a 300mm Zoom


Should I be looking for a new Macro lense, or just some adapters for the nifty 50?

Was lookin at this guys Flickr and his shots are amazin!
According to the tags he uses a reversed lense, a canon FD 35-70mm and Kenko extension tubes

Macro is something I'd be big into, im just not sure how to start

I know Elven's a macro head, so share the knowledge!!

Borderfox

I use a 5d and a 100mm f2.8 macro lens but with the 350d and the 100mm f2.8 you would get fantastic pictures. Maybe try the extension tubes for the 50mm first? They are some scary shots from his Flickr

Heres on from the 5d (not strictly macro but it gives you an idea)

tr33lo

I use the Sigma 105mm macro lens on a 350D and 400D and I think its a peach of a lens! extension tubes can be used with practically any lens so this could be a cheaper way to try, personally though i would go with the proper macro lens.



Jon

unreggd

So i should be lookin for a low-rang lense with a low aperture, and get some extension tubes?

I still havent got a clue about lenses

theres loads for sale on ebay [tubes] but i dno what to look out for, so ill post some later and ye's can advise the best, if yes dont mind

thanks a mil!

Fajitas!

Kenko tubes are quite good.

The key to macro is to take your time, and play with your subject.

If you were to get a macro lens, most of them also make lovely portrait lenses, so it's a win/win situation.

unreggd

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140208328066

Would these be good to start off with?

PaulieC

they are described as being Canon, but look down further and you can see that they are not. I had a set of these once and found them very difficult to use due to the fact that you have no aperture control with these connected, meaning that your lens will always be at it's widest setting. I used these with a nifty-fifty (f1.8) and found that the depth of field was so narrow as to be almost unuseable.

Mind you, I got a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens last year and I can't really use that either for macro, so maybe it's me . I can get much better results using a Canon G9

fguihen

use your telephoto lens or the hights focal length on whatever lens you have.

Get a close up filter. Not the rubbishy ones you buy in a set of 3 in any photography shop. they are absolute trash and should be stampped on until nothing but tiny pieces remain! Get propper achromat lens such as the Nikon 4T,5T,6T or the canon 250D or 500D. these are high quality lens, made from two pieces of glass to correct issues such as vigennetting. I have never used a dedicated macro lens so cant comment on them, but this is a cheaper way of doing macro.

You may need a step up/down ring to go between your close up lens and your camera lens.

The close up lens will reduce the distance you need between you and your target to focus accurately.

You can stack these lens's also to decrease distance further, although stacking more than 2 or 3 will cause issues with image quality.

Ive used this method successfully to capture some half decent images. note for every one good macro image you take there will be 40 terrible ones. DOF is usually tiny using this method so lots of practice is necessary.

if using your cameras built on flash, try to defuse it. I taped layers of tissue over the flash until i got the required soft light. you can get defussers for larger camera flashes.


Use a monopod. it gives you more freedom than a tripod but gives you lots of stablization also.

when you see your target, get within focus range, set your camera to burst mode ( as many frames per sec as possible) and once focused, get trigger happy. as the DOF is so small, any movement from you will result in the subject being out of focus so in burst mode you increase your chances of getting one or two decent shots.


again, practice practice practice.


here are the best of what i could take. taken with a panasonic fz7 at telephoto end of the lens ( 432mm 35mm equiv), with the nikon 4T and 5T


They are not as good as that guys flickr, but im happy enough with them for the time being.

















I would love to get a macro lens for my new slr, but cant afford it at present so I will be attempting this method with my new camera also.