Macro Lenses & TCs

[Jon]

I have 150mm, 180mm and 1.4 and 2x TC macro lenses for trial. I won't mention the make but it is probably the most popular one used by WABers.
If anyone wants any particular questions or points to be addressed I will try to answer them. I will be looking at the practical aspects of handling and just how much difference there is in terms of distance to subject when photographing in the range of around 1:1 to 1:4 or thereabouts.

Jon

[Fourwings]

I look forward to seeing some of the feedback.
As you know I have been using the 150mm version of this lens for the last two years and it has revolutionised my photography. A brilliant bit of kit in every aspect and a joy to use.

[Jon]

I have had a quick session with the 180mm, I also tried it with the 1.4TC. Autofocus does not work - occasionally it tries sometimes it just refuses and I lost a couple of potentially nice shots. This being the case I woud not recommend using the 180mm and TC without a tripod. The manufacturer indicates manual focus only.

This Speckled Wood shows clearly how easy it is to let the plane of focus wander from perpendicular to the lens axis. This is due to the long "levers" as it were with the longer focal length.

These shots were fairly close to 1:1

Here I managed to get the damselfly fairly square, i.e. kept the plane of focus perpendicular to the lens axis

Inital thoughts, the increased focal length is handy, but I would not rush out to buy it just yet. Don't forget that as you go to 1:1 the actual focal length does change so it is not quite so far away from the subject as you might have guessed.. the converter gives distance. I am very disappointed the AF doesn't work with the TC. The lens itself works very well, focus sometimes hunts but not too bad. Fairly quick and not too heavy. Nice lens - like it. Will use some more and then have a look at the 150mm.

[Tormentil]

Have you tried taping the pins to get the AF to work?

[NickCantle]

I've been pondering the 150mm myself as I've noticed it's a very popular lens amongst WABers. My 105mm is great, but I need that greater working distance. I know it's not directly related to your thread, but what would happen if I was to add a 1.4x or 2x TC on the 105mm? Would I get increased working distance? Or am I thinking of extension tubes?

[matt_xyz]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

I've been pondering the 150mm myself as I've noticed it's a very popular lens amongst WABers. My 105mm is great, but I need that greater working distance. I know it's not directly related to your thread, but what would happen if I was to add a 1.4x or 2x TC on the 105mm? Would I get increased working distance? Or am I thinking of extension tubes?

adding a converter does increase the working distance. Last summer I regularly used a 1.4 and 2.0 converter with my 150 and was pleased with the results. AF worked OK as well, although it would often hunt a bit. There is a small loss of detail, particularly with the 2.0 converter, so I think the 1.4 is probably the best option. I only tend to use my 2.0 converter with insects that are very difficult to get close to.

Matt

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

I've been pondering the 150mm myself as I've noticed it's a very popular lens amongst WABers. My 105mm is great, but I need that greater working distance. I know it's not directly related to your thread, but what would happen if I was to add a 1.4x or 2x TC on the 105mm? Would I get increased working distance? Or am I thinking of extension tubes?

A TC doesn't alter the minimum focus distance. What it does do is give more magnification, for instance a 2X TC on a 150mm will give you 2:1 at maximum focus., or 1.4:1 with a 1.4XTC.
I've been using a 2X TC with my 150mm with what I consider to be excellent results. I also use the 1.4X TC, and I've even used 3 TC's. 1 2X and 2 1.4X!!. The images I got wasn't too shabby, considering!




By the way Jon, I don't worry about the lack of auto focus. I always manual focus when I'm using the 150mm, with or without TC's. The reason is simple, you often find that the centre of the image is not the area your really trying to focus in on, for instance the eyes of a damselfly.

[Jon]

I try to focus on the point that will give the hyperfocal distance so that when photographing buterflies of damsels etc I get the head and tail in focus. When this isn't always possible I use the off centre focus points - but they don't work well at all with the 180mm lens I am testing.
I find that when using fhandheld or with monopod I cannot maintain the position perfectly so this is why I was hoping to use Servo AF. Ten years ago I would not have dreamed of using AF but now I wouldn't want to be without it. On a tripod of course there is no problem with manual focus, or a focussing rack. I suppose I could re-adapt but for me the AF is very handy indeed, i.e. no need to keep rocking backwards and forwards to get fine focus - just shoot!

Nick
Regards distance a 2x converter will provide 1:1 at twice the distance the prime lens would, if you focus at 1:1 when using the 2x converter you will have a 2:1 image not a 1:1 image. Similarly you would apply the ratio to a 1.4 TC.

When I use my old canon 100mm (non USM model) the construction is such that there is not requirement for a lens hood so there is a resonable distance between the lens and the subject. There is of course a greater distance with the 180mm but there is also a large lens hood that reduces the effective distance if you see what I mean, in other words I am not nearly twice as far away as might have been initially thought.
Jon

[glsammy]

I can see your point re the focus, it's just a personal preference of mine. I simply seem to get faster and better results if I manually focus. Of course I'm not using a 180mm, it's a completely different beast to the 150mm.
I don't use the lens hood with my 150mm, I've got the Ring Flash stuck on the end of the lens instead!

[JonSadler]

Hi all,

I have used both of these lens. I initially had 180 until it had a tripod catastrophe at the hands of my son. The repair estimate was huge so I didn't repair it. Instead I bought the 150 because it was cheaper. I missed the local length of the 180 so I have a 1.4 extender (Sigma) stuck to it constantly. It focuses extremely well with this. The 180 would not focus well at all with the same extender - even with taped pins.

Both lens are capable of producing great images, as you know from the galleries here. On balance, I prefer the 150; it is faster to focus, lighter and think it is a little sharper.

Regards
Jon