Advice Wanted For Canon Lenses Please

[Chiltern]

Hi

I am new to the forum and wanted to ask some advice.
I have recently purchased a Canon 450D Kit, this is my first DSLR camera. At the same time I got the Canon EF 75-300mm 1:4-5:6 lll lens which I am quite happy with.
I have been looking online for a macro lens as I want to take macro shots. I am not ready to spend out hundreds of £'s just yet, but found a lens that seems to fit my requirments: The Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2
So my question is, would the Tamron be a good substitute for my Canon 75-300, that way I can have a little distance plus macro in one lens?
I hope this makes sence because what I am thinking is, I can sell the Canon 75-300 and get the Tamron.
Any help would be great - thank you.

[Boddie]

The Tamron is not a true macro lens and dependant on what you wish to achieve you may be disappointed.

You be better looking for a true macro and the Sigma 105 and especially the Sigma 150mm come highly recommended on these boards

[Geoff F]

Firstly, I'm afraid that there are no high quality bargain priced lenses once you get into the serious dslr camera range.

And I'm not sure if that Tamron lens is available with a Canon mounting. I could only find a review of it on a Pentax Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 LD Di macro (Pentax K) - Review / Lab Test Report so check that out.

As Boddie said, the best lenses for macro work are dedicated macro lenses. But they aren't cheap.

To be brutally honest, I wouldn't have advised you to get the Canon 75-300 either. And don't even think about the Sigma 28-300 macro.

What I did, when I first started getting into serious macro work, was to use my Canon 70-300 IS (macro) with a Canon 25 mm extension tube. But we are talking about tripod only use now, which is added expense, and while the Canon 70-300 IS is good value for money it isn't exactly cheap. And that extension tube (which allows you to get closer to the subject) is around £100.

What is the closest focusing distance with the 75-300? Offhand I can't remember; but it needs to be 4 ft or less before you could consider using an extension tube.

So to sum up; I would suggest that you keep your Canon 75-300 for now and purchase a proper macro lens when you can afford it. Possibly secondhand.

If you can give more details of exactly what you would want to photograph we can give more advice on which might be the best macro lens for you.

[tomw]

Some good advice there from geoff. They do indeed make the tamron for canon, however its not the best lens by any means and you would most definately be dissapointed with the switch. In my opinion its not worth bothering to switch and I agree with geoff that you should probably just wait for a while till you can afford something better, once you get a dedicated macro lens it really will be worth the effort of saving. You will no doubt feel hindered by your current setup after experimenting for a while but all that practice will also pay off once you get that next lens

[Michael A]

I use the Tamron 90mm 1:1 macro lens and would reccommend it. Try Amateur Photography sales adds or ebay for reasonabe prices. 75-300mm lens works fine for larger insects but always use a tripod almost impossible to hand hold to get a sharp shot.

[Chiltern]

Thank you everyone for your excellent advice.
I have been searching online for alternatives to the EF 75-300 and I really think the salesmans advice is questionable.
I have decided to take your advice and hang on until I can afford a true macro lens.

C

[squishy]

If you want to photograph small stuff in the mean time, you could spend £30-40 on a raynox DCR close up attachment.

This lets your 75-300 focus about as close as a true macro lens. It wouldn't have the same sharpness as a true macro, and it's probably harder to use, but it would let you focus close until you can afford a proper lens.


I've been using a DCR 250 on a Fuji superzoom for a while, and as a stepping stone to a proper macro lens it works quite well.

Here's a few examples:





All of those have had to be sharpened quite a bit more than I would like, but the results are pretty good from such a cheap little lens .

[Michael A]

Originally Posted by Boddie

The Tamron is not a true macro lens and dependant on what you wish to achieve you may be disappointed.

You be better looking for a true macro and the Sigma 105 and especially the Sigma 150mm come highly recommended on these boards

I've known a few local amateur photographers who have had serious problems with sigma 105 macro lens they've all had something come loose inside the lens after little over a years medium usage.

[cokaroach]

Well,when i first started doing macro work i bought a cheap sigma 70-300 1:2 macro lens which i learnt on for a while then i broke it , so now i own a sigma 105 and i think this lens is really really good for the money i payed for it (£250) before all the prices went up, the canon 100m L series macro lens looks very well built and is said to have really good optical quality but this lens cost like £800? the sigma 105 or the tamron 90mm