Macro Photography

[bob.phillips]

Would like to get into macro photography ( not done much before except playing about with extension tubes ) and I am somewhat bemused by all the options. I have been looking at lenses for my Nikon D80 and the one I am considering is the Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG Macro.

Any help and/or recommendatios would be greatly appreciated.

Bob P.

[RobSutton]

The Sigma macro lenses are held in very high regard. I suspect the majority of macro work in the WAB galleries is either done with the Sigma 105mm or Sigma 150mm Macro. Personally I use the Sigma 150mm and it stays almost permanently on the camera and is superb. I like the extra distance you get between you and the subject that the longer lens allows but I'm sure the 105mm wouldn't disappoint you.

[BillyPilgrim]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Sigma range. They are excellent lenses.

All you really need to consider is the working range. The shorter the lens, the shorter this distance will be so if you are wanting to photograph nervous insects you might be better off with the 150mm or 180mm.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by BillyPilgrim

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Sigma range. They are excellent lenses.

All you really need to consider is the working range. The shorter the lens, the shorter this distance will be so if you are wanting to photograph nervous insects you might be better off with the 150mm or 180mm.

good point - although if you need to buy a shorter lens for reasons of cost as they are f2,8 lenses you can also get excellent results by using a 1.4 or even 2x teleconverter to extend you minimum working distance. (most of my macro shots on here are taken with a tamron 90mm and 2xtc)

[Lancashire Lad]

I upgraded from a bridge camera to a D80 earlier this year, primarily for better quality macro photography.

I've been using Nikons 60mm f2.8 AFS lens which is absolutely superb for wild flower & fungi macro, but you have to get extremely close to the subject to get 1:1 image size ratio.

I'm in the very fortunate position of just having been given a present of a Sigma 180mm f3.5 macro lens, which has a lens to subject distance of something like 600mm for 1:1 image ratio, which will be absolutely superb for insect photography.

The slight disadvantage of this lens, is that it is quite heavy, in comparison with the 60mm Nikon, and will undoubtedly require tripod support for stability, given it's telephoto nature. (Or fast shutter speed and high ISO settings, with attendant possible quality loss. ).

The other thing to bear in mind is that with the D80 not having a full size sensor, these lenses give true focal lengths of approx 1.5 x the stated focal length.

Regards
Mike.

[RogerTheCat]

I have the 150 Sigma and am very happy with it. My Friend has the 90mm Tamron which is very good and also worth considering as it is also a good portrait lens.

As with other comments made here the Sigma gives a little more distance between you an the subject which is very useful when photographing insects as the closer you get to them the greater the risk they may move off. When photographing mushrooms or anything else that is static the extra distance is much less of an issue. Also the 150mm comes with a tripod collar allowing you to attach the lens directly to a tripod on monopod. I like this as when attached this way it the camera and lens feels well balanced.

The down side to the 150mm is its size and weight being bigger and heavier than the smaller lenses. Also I tried have used it with a Sigma 2x Convertor and was not at all happy with the results

[Ollie]

Can't add a lot more to what has already been said. I use the Sigma 150mm and think it's a superb piece of kit.

it's a solid well built lens with excellent image quality. Never tried a 2x convertor with mine but it does take a 1.4 convertor with very little loss of image quality.

Being solidly built it's quite a heavy lens and I find a tripod or at least a monopod produces the best results.
Roger

[bob.phillips]

Thanks for all responses so far. I does seem that most of you favour the 150mm lens in order to keep a little further away from the subject. I see that the 150mm lens is somewhat more expensive than the 105mm, but I suppose 'you get what you pay for'.

Along the same lines, can someone remind me of the depth of field issues as a function of the lens size. My limited experience using a 50mm lens with extension tubes was awful in terms of depth of field. Also, what about using flash for macro phorography. Is this usually necessary to maximise light and allow increased f stop to help with depth of field. This is presumably less of an issue with the longer focal length lenses. As I'm new to all this, my assumptions may be rubbish.

Regards,

Bob P.

[Lancashire Lad]

Depending on the likelyhood of movement of whatever you're photographing, you may not need flash provided you've got a solid tripod.

I much prefer normal lighting to flash, and have recently been using exposures in the order of five seconds. (Not too much of a problem with fungi - It won't run about or fly away )

I'm told that the MARUMI DRF14 RINGFLASH FOR NIKON is very good for the price (around £110.00) - especially when compared to the cost of Nikon's equivalent.

The other good thing about digital is that reciprocity failure doesn't seem to be an issue on long exposures (Not like the old days of film).

Must admit - I hadn't considered the implications of depth of field at any given f stop as a direct function of focal length.

I'll have to dig around a bit and see what I can find, unless anyone can point in the right direction. (I haven't had chance to use the Sigma as yet so It'll be interesting to do some comparisons of DOF between the two lenses.

Regards
Mike.

[Ollie]

Hi Bob

With regard to flash in macro photography I find it a great help when photographing insects, it helps freeze any movement resulting in a sharper photograph as well as lifting the detail a bit and eliminates unwanted shadows.

I use a standard flash unit rather than a ring flash. I have this mounted on an off camera flash bracket and put a lambency diffuser on the flash to spread and obviously diffuse the flash.

I use this set up as I can use the same flash unit for my bird photography which has saved me the expense of a dedicated macro ring flash.

The thing with flash for macro or any other photography for that matter is not over doing it. If you can tell the flash has been used then you have generally overdone it plus you will blow the highlights with too much flash anyway.

I'm not saying it's the way to go for you but it has worked very well for me and I'm happy with the results I get.

DOF is always a bit of an issue with macro photography but I don't find it too troublesome or restricting with the 150mm lens.

Roger