which lens ??

[ashgale]

I am thinking of getting a Canon eos 40d as an upgrade from a fuji s1000fd,

as i hope to be mainly taking shots of fungi at close range, what lens would be most suitable for this type of work ?

thanks,
j.

[Lancashire Lad]

It depends on your budget really, and unless you are a dedicated Canon lens user, any good 1:1 macro lens in the focal length region of 100/150mm will be excellent for fungi photography.

The Sigma 150mm always gets excellent reviews and you will find it very hard to beat with regards to image quality.

I personally like the slightly larger working distance that the Sigma 180mm gives, and it is equally good in terms of image quality.
(Most of my fungi shots on WAB http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/pi...0&ppuser=23245 are taken with that lens, and many of the photos have exposure details shown).

You will definitely notice a great difference in weight etc., when using a DSLR and macro lens, compared with your S1000fd.

Note that exposures times for fungi, (which always seem to grow in the darkst possible spot ), are frequently in the multi-second range, so you will need to use a good solid tripod. (I use a Velbon Sherpa 600R, which is very good for low/ground level shots). I always use aperture priority, and trigger the shutter via the camera's 2-second timer delay.

Good luck with your choice.

Regards,
Mike.

[AndyD]

Solid advice from Lancashire Lad. I'm also a Sigma 180mm user and love the lens but it can be a bit on the hefty side.

My wife uses the Sigma 105mm, which is nice and managable from a weight perspective. She gets some excellent results with it.

I'd say that if you're going to concentrate on fungi, the extra focal length of the 150mm and 180mm may not be so important. They really come into their own when you try to shoot insects that are going to flit if you get too close. Taking this to the extreme you can use the Sigma 1.4x and 2x converters with the 150 and 180mm lenses. The Sigma 105mm and below won't accept the Sigma converters, but it's a lot cheaper.

Hope this helps a little.

[squishy]

I know people recommend the 105mm for fungi, as the slightly shorter working distance can be more manageable than the 150.

Ask Nick Cantle about the 105, he uses it with truly excellent results for fungi. (and a lot of the time he uses it with a 40D as well )

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a sig 150 though. The only bad thing I've ever heard said about it is that the AF is (comparatively) a bit slow, but this is common with proper macro lenses anyway!

[ashgale]

Many thanks for the excellent advice,
the Sigma 105 was one of the lenses i had been considering, but the 150 and 180 do not seem to be too much more expensive, so a bit more research will be necessary before deciding which of the three to go for ,

thanks,
j.

[FungiJohn]

I would highly recommend the Sigma 105 if your main subject is fungi.

I wouldn’t hesitate in replacing it with the same lens if anything happened to mine. It’s perfect!

See:

FungiJohn Gallery - Wildlife Photography

IMO the price difference between the 105 and the 150/180 would be better put towards a good solid tripod and head.

Hope this helps

John

[ashgale]

Originally Posted by FungiJohn

I would highly recommend the Sigma 105 if your main subject is fungi.

I wouldn’t hesitate in replacing it with the same lens if anything happened to mine. It’s perfect!

See:

FungiJohn Gallery - Wildlife Photography

IMO the price difference between the 105 and the 150/180 would be better put towards a good solid tripod and head.

Hope this helps






John

It certainly does help,
if, by using that lens, i can get anywhere near the quality of your pics, i would be more than happy with the results,

many thanks,
j.

[squishy]

that is a very good point John.

I would now never attempt fungi photography without a tripod. You have to use small apertures (large F/ numbers) to get the necessary depth of field, and that means slower shutter speeds.

I don't think there would be any noticeable difference between the three lenses in terms of image quality, they are all good sharp lenses, what you would want the extra reach for would be more skittish insects (dragonflies etc.).

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by ashgale

It certainly does help,
if, by using that lens, i can get anywhere near the quality of your pics, i would be more than happy with the results,

many thanks,
j.

Thanks J.

One other very important advantage I missed in my earlier post was the close working distance using the 105. Because you are so close to the subject you will often find other smaller and often more interesting species in the same area.

A good example of this was when Nettle Runner Les and I found the rare Melanospora lagenaria whilst photographing another relatively common species.

John

[ashgale]

Well, im now the owner of a 40d with a sigma 105 lens, and after the simplicity of the fuji it's quite a technical leap !
having been a "stick it on auto, point it and press the button" user, its going to take quite some getting used to, so far just had a play around with it on full auto and even at that setting its quite a steep learning curve,
still, give it a couple of years and lots of practice, and i may get the hang of it