One Resolution Down Four To Go

At the beginning of the year I wrote a post about plans and things I want to get done this year (also known as resolutions). Three weeks later I can cross one off. I now have a Macro lens.

ISO250 50mm f/11 1/250 sec Using my Extension Tube set up.

Previously all my macro shots were mixed with a killer combination of a 50mm prime and a stack of extension tubes. I used this combination for two reasons; first when I started with macro I wasn’t sure how much I would get into it,  I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a lens for it to get covered in dust and sat at the bottom of my bag and I decided to buy extension tubes. Secondly a 50mm prime fitted nicely and at f/1.8 you can create some fantastic abstract shots.

I had been hunting around looking for 100mm macro lens with the two contenders being a Canon lens at a nice expensive price and a Tamron 90mm at a slightly more reasonable price. I spent a lot of time looking at reviews, not just written ones but also videos and full resolution comparisons and there seemed to be a little difference between the two lenses except in the autofocus and build. The Tamron lens has a more plastic feeling and looks less glamorous than its Canon Cousin, also the autofocus is slower but generally with macro I use manual focus and a slower autofocus wouldn’t be a deal breaker. Although the deal breaker would be the price and the difference was huge at nearly double the price between Canon and Tamron.

Saving my pennies before Christmas and some gifts over Christmas I was slowly building a sum to buy the lens. Casually checking out prices this week to see if there were any sales, I came across a link to someone selling the lens, on the Polish version of Ebay called Allegro, at nearly half the retail price. WOW, of course things are usually too good to believe online and I wouldn’t normally buy a lens second hand without testing it. I then saw the seller lived in my city and I could collect direct from them. Fantastic, if it was beat up and a dud, I wouldn’t buy.
I clicked to buy and arranged to meet them and see the lens. Taking my camera with me, I checked it out and found out that the owner had only used it a few times for portraits. Looking at the glass no scratches and taking test shots there were no other defects.

ISO400 90mm Macro f/8.0 1/100 focused with the autofocus

On my cropped sensor the 90mm lens is the 35mm equivalent of 144 mm. Yet I can also add my extension tubes onto this as well, which lets me fill the frame giving me a magnification ratio of 2.8:1. I can see myself having a lot of fun with this lens.

The gallery below are just some shots I have taken playing with the lens yesterday after buying it.

 

Macro Texture of an egg

A Great example of the shallowness of the depth of field at f 11 with a cactus needle.

1:1 Macro of a cactus F11 nice and sharp but with a shallow depth of field.

ISO400 90mm Macro f/8.0 1/100 focused with the autofocus

90mm Macro +64mm extension tubes

Using the lens for a close up test

1:1 Macro with Lego Man

Test Shot when looking at buying

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