Short Macro Lenses: There have been many in the past. Sigma had a couple in their aspherical line - a 24? and a 28 - both apparently gone, now. Tokina's 35

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

There have been many in the past. Sigma had a couple in their aspherical line - a 24? and a 28 - both apparently gone, now. Tokina's 35 - also seems to have departed. Nikon has its 40. Canon never went lower than 60. Now, it seems - most have 50s and then jump to 100. Here's the argument - many have said you are better off with a 100. Why? ... it allows for more distance, I gather - to apply special lighting. But, in available light situations - you really want to get as close to the subject, as possible - no? ... Assuming it isn't something which will fly away. So why is there now a dearth of short macros? ... What am I missing here?

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

ChrisT wrote:

There have been many in the past. Sigma had a coup... (show quote)

Many times with shorter macros, the lense itself starts to cut off the available light. And the available light that is cut off first in these situations is the light on the front of the subject, not the sides. This actually makes it harder to photograph the subject.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Longer lenses afford you greater working distances. And, this also helps with the lighting problem.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

wdross - it seems to me, the further away from the subject you are forced to work, the lesser detail you will be allowed to capture. As far as cutting off the light, when used on a tripod, that rarely enters the picture ....

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Yes, I know, Sony A580 ... I did mention that in the premise. But, as I have also noted since, the further away the camera is from the subject, the less detail it will be allowed to cover ....

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

ChrisT wrote:

Yes, I know, Sony A580 ... I did mention that in the premise. But, as I have also noted since, the further away the camera is from the subject, the less detail it will be allowed to cover ....

The longer lens should give you the same field of view as the shorter lens but from a greater (better working, more light) distance.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Sony A580 ... same field of view - yes ... I agree ... but, the farther away ... the less detail you will capture ...

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

ChrisT wrote:

Sony A580 ... same field of view - yes ... I agree ... but, the farther away ... the less detail you will capture ...

I respectfully disagree. You are getting more magnification with a 100mm lens versus a 50mm lens. The only difference is the lens to subject distance.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Alright ... but, now ... on an APS-C / DX camera - when working with a 60mm Macro - you are just about at the 100mm mark, anyway ... and the 100/105 is going to push you back as much as two feet ... it seems to me, at that kind of distance from the subject, you are going to lose some detail, somewhere, Sony A580 ....

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

ChrisT wrote:

Alright ... but, now ... on an APS-C / DX camera - when working with a 60mm Macro - you are just about at the 100mm mark, anyway ... and the 100/105 is going to push you back as much as two feet ... it seems to me, at that kind of distance from the subject, you are going to lose some detail, somewhere, Sony A580 ....

A macro lens puts a 1:1 image on the sensor, no matter the working distance. Life size is still life size and as repeatedly stated the short lenses have such a close working distance that in "natural light" you get the shadow of the lens and camera on the subject. Lighting, flash, reflector whatever also becomes harder. If it is a decent lens it should not lose IQ, at least not enough to see without extreme magnification of the image.
My favorite macro lens is 180 mm, I also have 100 and 70 mm macros available to use. The 180 also serves as a telephoto, esp when on my 7DII and I use it for bees, butterflies and humming birds in the yard.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

ChrisT wrote:

There have been many in the past. Sigma had a coup... (show quote)

You're mistaken, Canon has a 30mm macro! And they always had a 50, a 60, and longer ones!

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Robert ... 180, huh? ... that would be a Canon, or a Tamron? ...

Seems a little on the long side to me. Of course, I do have the Sigma 70-300 Macro - which covers that, although - certainly not at 1:1 ... been thinking about the Sigma 150 Macro ... seems plenty long enough for my uses ....

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Speters ... could well be ... I've been mistaken about a lot of things, lately. Must be because I'm getting old. Canon has a 30mm Macro, do they? ... I knew about the 60 (mentioned it in my initial premise) but, now - did you know Canon has TWO 60mm macros ... the original, and a "compact" version ... now - what's THAT all about?

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

AND, whilst I'm on the fact Canon offers TWO 60mm Macros, they also offer TWO 100mm Macros - with the non-L version some few hundred dollars LESS than the L ... anyone here have any experience with the cheapie?

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

ChrisT wrote:

Robert ... 180, huh? ... that would be a Canon, or a Tamron? ...

Seems a little on the long side to me. Of course, I do have the Sigma 70-300 Macro - which covers that, although - certainly not at 1:1 ... been thinking about the Sigma 150 Macro ... seems plenty long enough for my uses ....

Tamron model B01, slightly older design due for an upgrade (no stabilization older AF motor) and for FF bodies, I use it on both a 6D and a 7DII. One the 7DII is works great with a Kenko Pro 300 1.4X extender for an angle of view of 403 mm. Still produces very high IQ images and allows me to be further away. When I pre-focus on the feeder or perch it works great for small birds in my yard. The hummers are OK with me sitting inside 10 feet in a lawn chair or while I am watering my plants.

As the the True Believers in Macro will tell you, only 1:1 or greater is macro. Lenses with macro in the name that don't go 1:1 are just marketing tricks for lenses that focus closer than other models of the type.