As I am moving into macro photography I am keen to acquire a dedicated true macro lens. I am a canon shooter so my first inclination is to purchase the canon 100 mm L lens, but I have seen great reviews suggesting that the new 017 tamron 90 mm lens is ecellent. Any recommendation woul be very much welcome. Thanks.
IGW
whitehall wrote:
As I am moving into macro photography I am keen to acquire a dedicated true macro lens. I am a canon shooter so my first inclination is to purchase the canon 100 mm L lens, but I have seen great reviews suggesting that the new 017 tamron 90 mm lens is ecellent. Any recommendation woul be very much welcome. Thanks.
IGW
Your best bet to have an informed answer is to ask this in the macro section of this board. The answer there hopefully will give you what you need, not what some folks think what is needed.
Rongnongno wrote:
Your best bet to have an informed answer is to ask this in the macro section .
In case you haven't been there yet, here is a shortcut:
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-102-1.htmlI am subscribed to this section, these guys and gals are very good and helpfull.
Have fun!
Check out the Tokina 100mm f/2 macro. A worthy lens to add to your list of options.
whitehall wrote:
As I am moving into macro photography I am keen to acquire a dedicated true macro lens. I am a canon shooter so my first inclination is to purchase the canon 100 mm L lens, but I have seen great reviews suggesting that the new 017 tamron 90 mm lens is ecellent. Any recommendation woul be very much welcome. Thanks.
IGW
Optically they are all about the same. Some are a little sharper at wider stops and some at smaller stops. For me, sharper at smaller stops wins - that would be the Tokina. Although, I really like the tripod collar option on the Canons and the fact they are internal focus and have IS.
How about going to a dealer and putting different lenses on your own camera and seeing how they do? Shoot something you have on you, maybe a penny or a ring. Do the same shot with different cameras and see what you think. Best thing I can suggest.
I have owned both the Tokina 100mm macro as well as the new Tamron 90mm macro. I had the Tokina first. Then I bought the Tamron. I recently sold the Tokina, because it was clearly redundant, and inferior in performance (but not in image quality -- see below).
Both of these lenses are capable of taking very nice looking macro shots. I do a lot of "bees on flowers" shots so, for me, it was important to also be able to shoot handheld and to work with available light, and capture moving objects.
Here are the differences I have seen:
Tokina is pretty slow to focus, and it is loud. if you manual focus, this is a non-issue, but that may not be what you want to do. Depending on the circumstances, it can also "hunt" when it's trying to focus, which can be frustrating. To switch between manual and autofocus, you have the push/pull ring, which some people don't like but it was no big deal. The Tokina also extends the front element when focusing, which can make it a bit awkward. But, as I said, image quality is very good.
Tamron is quite fast to focus, seems quite accurate and reliable, and it's silent. Manual focus is toggled via the typical small switches on the side of the body like Nikon lenses have. The build quality of the lens is very solid, and it has a larger front element (larger filter diameter than Tokina -- I believe it's 62mm versus 55mm, if I recall correctly). The lens has internal focus, so it does not change length when you focus up close. It has vibration control, which the Tokina lacks, which theoretically means you have a few stops leeway in handheld shooting.
Both of the lenses were good for portrait work, too. And both are f/2.8. And both work on FX and DX (full and crop) sensors. The Tamron costs more.
I am extremely happy with the Tamron -- we have a few Tamron lenses now (35mm 1.8, 90mm 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 70-300 4.0).
That would be my choice.
whitehall wrote:
As I am moving into macro photography I am keen to acquire a dedicated true macro lens. I am a canon shooter so my first inclination is to purchase the canon 100 mm L lens, but I have seen great reviews suggesting that the new 017 tamron 90 mm lens is ecellent. Any recommendation woul be very much welcome. Thanks.
IGW
Whatever you get, make sure it's a true 1:1 macro. The term "macro" is often used inaccurately.
Check out this downloaded shot of a wheelbug I took with the Canon 100MM 2.8L. click on the DL version to see more detail.
I am not familiar with Canon because I am a Nikon shooter but if you ask me I am going to say that the 100mm lens could be exactly what you need.
If a non original equipment lens is no objection you could look into the Tamron 90mm f2.8. This particular lens is very sharp and it doubles as an excellent portrait lens.
Of course it would help to know what body you are using.
Thanks. I have a 5D Mkiv and the 80D
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