Macro lens selection

Sandman12 · Apr 20, 2019

I am trying to decide what lens to get for my cannon rebel.

Is this lens still regarded as a decent lens for macro shots?

https://ssephotovideo.com/tamron_sp_90mm_f28_di_macro_autofocus_lens_for_canon_eos__5294210.php

Fudsey · Apr 20, 2019

I'm pretty sure that is the one that works great for @Brew12....

Brew12 · Apr 21, 2019

Yup, that lens works great for me.

RandyC · Apr 21, 2019

Sandman12 said:
I am trying to decide what lens to get for my cannon rebel.

Is this lens still regarded as a decent lens for macro shots?

https://ssephotovideo.com/tamron_sp_90mm_f28_di_macro_autofocus_lens_for_canon_eos__5294210.php

It will really depends on what you’re trying to do. On a crop sensor camera, I think you may find 90mm a little long. if you’re looking to get whole (mini) colony pictures in the middle of your tank from above, you will find that you can’t. I’m shooting with a canon 7D and when I use a EF 100mm macro, I’m usually only shooting zoas or small frags on/near the sand bed, but that’s about it. For everything else, I tend to pull out my EF-S 60mm macro. I’ve even considered getting the EF-S 35mm macro for the mid to top part of my tank.

Sandman12 · Apr 21, 2019

I will be using it to take pictures of small frags , mostly zoas from the top. The same pictures vendors take. I am planning on buying a porthole as well. The current lens I have is an EF-S 18-55mm macro, maybe I should try that first?

RandyC · Apr 21, 2019

RandyC said:
It will really depends on what you’re trying to do. On a crop sensor camera, I think you may find 90mm a little long. if you’re looking to get whole (mini) colony pictures in the middle of your tank from above, you will find that you can’t. I’m shooting with a canon 7D and when I use a EF 100mm macro, I’m usually only shooting zoas or small frags on/near the sand bed, but that’s about it. For everything else, I tend to pull out my EF-S 60mm macro. I’ve even considered getting the EF-S 35mm macro for the mid to top part of my tank.

Here's a couple pictures that will give you an idea of the different lenses.

EF-S 60mm - this acro is about 2" long and about 7.5" from water line.

EF-100mm macro - 1 1/2" Sunkist Bounce shroom on sandbed around 14" from water line

RandyC · Apr 21, 2019

Sandman12 said:
I will be using it to take pictures of small frags , mostly zoas from the top. The same pictures vendors take. I am planning on buying a porthole as well. The current lens I have is an EF-S 18-55mm macro, maybe I should try that first?

Definitely try that first and get an idea of the range you have with that zoom lens. If you're planning to only take pictures of zoas and frags that are on the bottom half of the tank, 90mm will probably suit you well. I usually use my EF 100mm macro for that purpose.

Zoa frag with EF-100mm macro 13" from water line. You can see that at 100mm macro, getting a 1 1/8" frag plug in the whole frame is challenging from that distance.

Sandman12 · Apr 21, 2019

Your example is exactly what I am trying to accomplish, nice pic! I don’t have a problem putting the frags on a magnetic rack and bringing them closer to the surface as needed. All my frags are currently about 6-7” from the water anyways.

Side note, what zoa is that?

Thanks

RandyC · Apr 21, 2019

Sandman12 said:
Your example is exactly what I am trying to accomplish, nice pic! I don’t have a problem putting the frags on a magnetic rack and bringing them closer to the surface as needed. All my frags are currently about 6-7” from the water anyways.

Side note, what zoa is that?

Thanks

Space Chaos