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[JohnRice]

I did some more macro of the trees at work, which are blooming up a storm. This is my favorite so far. I know it isn't news to Sam, but that 70-180 Micro Nikkor really is one of the greatest lenses ever made. I suspect if they came out with a new one, it would sell nicely, even though I bet the price would be steep.

 

[Sam Posten]

We wantses it! Terrific shot!

 

[JohnRice]

Sam, I bought that Micro as soon as it was released, so It's the only macro lens I've used for about 20 years. I remember my jaw dropped when I first read about it. I don't know why it wasn't more popular while it was available. I've forgotten how difficult macro is with a fixed focal length lens. I'm not kidding when I say it's one of the 2 or 3 greatest pieces of photographic equipment I've ever used, and I've used a lot of stuff. I sold the original AF 80-200 f/2.8D I had so I could buy it. That lens was a dog anyway. Push-pull zoom and focus (what a stupid idea) and no tripod mount. Functionally, it was a piece of junk, so it was a great trade. An updated model of the micro could really be great. I'm sure they could significantly improve the AF speed. It would probably cost $2,000-2,500 though. Probably a lot bigger and heavier, though. This one is actually pretty compact.

 

[JohnRice]

Some more macro. It's supposed to rain and snow nonstop for 7-10 days, so I got this in the back yard. Get a load of that funky bokeh.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

That is some wild bokeh, John.

I really need to get a macro lens at some point.

 

[JohnRice]

Here's another shot from the same group as the last one. I thought I'd use it for my first try with selective color. I left about 30% of the saturation in the background, then just for grins, I also applied a curve I sometimes use on B&W to the desaturated area.

 

[JohnRice]

That is some wild bokeh, John.

I really need to get a macro lens at some point.

Scott, everyone should have a macro. I suggest the longest focal length you're willing to go for. Short macros just aren't fun to work with in the real world.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Scott, everyone should have a macro. I suggest the longest focal length you're willing to go for. Short macros just aren't fun to work with in the real world.

John, I was leaning towards the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS at some point. I thought that would be a decent focal length. It just hasn't been in the cards with other expenses that have come up.

 

[JohnRice]

A little macro humor.

BTW, I know I constantly rave about my 70-180 Micro, but since I've been using it more, I've been getting nervous about carrying it around all the time. I also use it for work, where it's even more valuable, and if anything ever happened to it, it wouldn't be easy or cheap to replace. Also, I "wing it" a lot on my location macro shots by hand-holding, and the screw-drive AF of the 70-180 isn't exactly blazing. I came across a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro at KEH for crazy cheap. Smaller lens, 2 stop faster maximum aperture and HSM AF motor make it just about my ideal location macro lens, so I bit the bullet. This was while I was trying it out right after it arrived.

 

[Sam Posten]

I've got that one too. "Smaller" lol it's a heavy beast!

 

[JohnRice]

I've got that one too. "Smaller" lol it's a heavy beast!

Ha. OK, it's not exactly light, but you have to admit it's rather compact for what it is. There's a lot of glass in there. It's a lot smaller than the 180mm and 200mm macros.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

John,

I am curious how much is "crazy cheap" for that used Sigma macro lens? I had not considered that lens, but if I can find a bargain it would be worth considering. Tamron makes a 90mm macro, but it's not that much less than Canon's 100mm macro.

 

[JohnRice]

John,

I am curious how much is "crazy cheap" for that used Sigma macro lens? I had not considered that lens, but if I can find a bargain it would be worth considering. Tamron makes a 90mm macro, but it's not that much less than Canon's 100mm macro.

In this case, crazy cheap would be $379. Don't plan on easily finding one for that price that you would want to buy. If it hadn't been KEH, I would have been too suspicious and passed. Normally, a bargain on that would be at least $600. I think it was so cheap because it has a fair amount of cosmetic wear, but the optics are nearly perfect and it's been functioning great.

The focus is wicked fast. If you read reviews of any of these long macros, they almost always complain about the focus speed, but that's just because they don't have any idea what they're working with. The focus has such a long working range that the camera sometimes doesn't even know which direction to adjust the focus. Also, it's SO fast and the depth is so shallow at close distances, sometimes it actually blows right past focus without even knowing it. It helps to manually set the focus in the right area first, sometimes. That's just life with a long, fast macro lens. Also, this is with the D7100, which isn't exactly a focusing powerhouse.

It has a focus limiter, but the ranges on it are absurd. The Nikon 70-180's limit ranges make a lot more sense. It's a great lens. Using it is a technical challenge, especially hand-holding, like I usually do, but I like a technical challenge. Sometime I'll try using it on a tripod, especially now that I have a couple new ones that have great macro capabilities. It's funny, in all these decades, I've really never done much macro, other than products in the studio. It's fun. I think I'll do some more difficult stuff of flowers with studio strobes. Might as well.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

John,

Thanks. That is one heck of a deal! I would jump on that lens if I could find one for around that price.

 

[JohnRice]

I just took a bunch of pics with my Tamron 60mm macro, which I haven't used in probably 1.5 years. After using the longer macros so much, I was surprised how much easier that lens is to work with. Don't get me wrong, the long macro is great, but it's not easy to handle when you're shooting plants, where the slightest breeze is a pain and you're hand-holding the camera. The shorter focal length definitely gives the extreme close-ups a different feel. I'm glad I have both lenses. I think anyone looking for their first or only macro probably are best off getting something equivalent to that. 90-105mm on a full frame or 60mm on a crop.

 

[Sam Posten]

This macro lens is trash for 1 system but I like the idea of putting a ring light on it, wonder if it works as advertised:
http://petapixel.com/2016/05/11/canon-reveals-ef-m-28mm-macro-lens-built-ring-light/

 

[Scott Merryfield]

This macro lens is trash for 1 system but I like the idea of putting a ring light on it, wonder if it works as advertised:
http://petapixel.com/2016/05/11/canon-reveals-ef-m-28mm-macro-lens-built-ring-light/

I saw that announcement, Sam. I do have a Canon EOS M body, so I could use the lens. However, that 28mm focal length seems too wide, plus I would never buy a macro lens that would only work on my "M" body. I want something that will work on both my full frame and crop bodies -- that means an EF mount, not EF-S or EF-M. The idea of the ring light is interesting, though.

 

[DavidMiller]

Here are a couple shots of my son durning the the Kingco sub-division qualifications... This is what most of my photography activities have been lately.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

This isn't a quality shot by any means, as I took it this morning on the golf course with my phone. However, it was pretty amazing. This fawn came wandering out of the woods onto the tee box and walked right up to each of us. It couldn't have been more than a couple of days old, as it was very unsteady on its feet. We kept backing away, not wanting to touch the poor thing. It got close enough to me several times that I could have picked it up (of course, i never would do such a thing). After quite a few minutes, we were able to finally coax it back into the woods by having it follow us.

I've never had a wild deer act like this. It was obviously too young to have any fear of people yet, and mom was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully she is okay -- a doe will usually leave a newborn hidden in the woods if she goes off to eat. This little one decided not to stay put.

 

[Mike Frezon]

That's mighty cool, Scott. Pretty amazing, actually.

Just goes to show that sometimes things just happen when you're definitely not expecting them. Thank goodness for cell phone cameras!