If there's already a section for this on the forum, my apologies for overlooking it, and maybe someone can point me to it. Getting ready to explore macro photography a little this summer...have a few Canon FD lenses with built-in macro mode, plus a number of primes to choose from that I could use with a Canon FD Extension Tube 50...not going to invest in a specialty macro lens so what I have is what I'll play with. Given the above, are there some basic lens selection rules of thumb to consider in experimenting / learning about macro photography?
Fair bit of discussion through this thread on do's/don't's and other tips... https://www.talkemount.com/showthread.php?t=6784
Thanks for that...just read through it...looks like I already have plenty of options / flexibility to at least get started exploring...and I suspect no more macro photography than I'll probably do after I've satisfied my curiosity, I should be good
You're giving up your "bird trap" for a while? ;-) Take a look at my gallery and follow me on 500px: http://500px.com/IdealuzPhotography Or on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/
Nah...just looking ahead as I'm running out of different types of birds to shoot, LOL...getting ready to split time into flowers, etc. I've really learned a lot about the NEX-7 using different features day after day to the point that they're now becoming 2nd nature...and what helped that enormously was: 1) Being retired to have the time to devote to it every day; 2) Having a constant 'environment' with the 'subjects' showing up at my 'traps' regularly;
Cool! I know what you mean, in my case I'm far from being retired but I have a little bit more spare time too lately and that helped a lot to improve my skills with my 5T. I planned to have a lessons with a professionnal photographer specialized in macro by the end of june. I love his work. His photographs are true fairytales. His flickr gallery is awesome: https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowshadow92/ Take a look at my gallery and follow me on 500px: http://500px.com/IdealuzPhotography Or on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/
Another FD lens I've been thinking about / looking for is the Canon FD 200 / 4.0 Macro. Short of finding a clean used affordable one, I have an FD 200/2.8...plus I have an FD 50 Extension Tube...anyone know if that combination would get me in the ballpark for some decent macro?
Yes, this is interesting stuff. Just experimented with the FD50 extension tube on the 85 / 135 / 200 primes, and then the 50-135 / 70-150 zooms. Right at this point...(just using a glass of flowers on the kitchen counter)...I came away liking the FD 70-150 zoom a lot. It seemed to have a good moderate working distance from the subject and the ability to tweak an overall zone of focus with the zoom rather than repositioning the tripod...plus, I already knew its IQ / color rendition was excellent from a lot of close-up flower shots at a local Arboretum last year. It's still very early on the learning curve, but I think what I have will work for some halfway decent beginner macros.