Canon 100mm Macro Questions

Hello everyone. I have a canon 100mm macro lens and I am wanting more magnification out of it, so I

have a few questions. I recently bought the canon 500D, but all of this about extension tubes and tele

converters is getting me sort of confused. Which extension tubes would you suggest and which tele

converter would you suggest? Would I need a combination of both? Also, with this loss of light would I

need a better flash? Basically what the idea is a 2x tele converter would make my lens a 200mm,

extension tubes would provide my with more magnification and so does the 500D, I just dont know

which ones are right for my lens, what size to get, and whether to get a 1.4x or 2x and what brand.

 

Thanks for reading, any help is really appreciated!

Which camera do you use? If it's 1,6x camera then the best option would be extension tubes (e.g. kenko). I used to use reversed 50mm + 100mm macro lens on full frame camera but now it seems too much on 1,6x camera. Basically shallow depth of field is really pain in the neck on big magnifications. It's also really hard to take a picture without tripod on magnifications bigger than 1:1. I would reconsider buying all the accessories unless you need bigger magnification to use in studio. For outside pictures extension tubes are the best (I've tried almost everything and that's the best option).

Try the cheapest solution first, i.e.extension tubes, with 12 and/or 25 mm tubes. If you just have to get more magnification, get the Canon MP-E 65 mm lens (1-5x magnification) but that lens is for really specialist use whereas the 100 macro is wonderful general use lens (probably Canon's best non-L lens.)

Be aware that you cannot directly mount Canon extenders (either 1.4X or 2X) on the 100/2.8

macro. I'm not sure about third-party extenders (or teleconverters if you prefer). You can use

the Canon extenders with this lens but you have to put an extension tube between lens and

converter, and that will eliminate effective autofocus.<P>

 

Go to <A HREF="http://eosdoc.com/jlcalc/">Julian Loke's lens calculator</a> to figure out

what magnifications you can get with various combinations of lens, tubes, converters, etc..

>> I used to use reversed 50mm + 100mm macro lens on full frame camera

 

Michael, How did you do that?

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have the Rebel XT body, it is really becoming a pain though. I am trying to get a 40d this summer.

For magnification the MP-E 65 is amazing, if difficult to use. Canon bodies are not meant for manual focus, and you need some tricks to use this lens to it's potential.

"Canon bodies are not meant for manual focus". The FF digital Canon bodies are no worse for manual focus than their film predecessors, perhaps a bit better as screen technology continues to move forward. The 40D is much better for MF than any preceding Canon 1.6-factor body that I have handled, but I would agree that even its immediate predecessors are not easy to use for MF.

Get a set of Kenko Extension tubes for about $160 US.

 

There are three in the set, which gives you 7 different possible amounts of extension.

 

In my Canon kit I have and use both the Canon 100 and 180mm macro lenses, both the Canon and the Kenko extension tubes, both the Canon teleconverters and one of the 500D diopter lenses.

 

In other camera systems, over the years I've shot macro with equivalents to all the above and a wide variety of macro lenses from various manufacturers, plus bellows, helicoids, reversed lenses and reversed/stacked lenses.

 

IMHO, for use with the Canon system, value for the money and in terms of flexibility, ease of use and image quality, the Kenko set is hard to beat... It's a good deal and can handle a lot of different macro situations.

 

Stay clear of the really cheap extension tubes you might see on eBay and elsewhere. There is a reason they are cheap. They lack the electronic connections for auto focus (no biggie, AF is of limited use with macro anyway), and more importantly aperture control. That kind of "dumb and simple" extension tube was fine in the day of manual apertures, but doesn't work with electronically controlled apertures.

 

Manual focus couldn't be simpler, but Steven's point is a good one... That the crop sensor cameras' smaller image in the viewfinder and plain matte screen make it difficult to use for manual focus. So, forget about that. Set the camera to One Shot, select the focus point you wish and turn off AF on the lens. Then rock back and forth closer too and further from your subject until you get the green LED focus confirmation to light. You can enable the "beep" too, if you wish.

 

This focusing technique works well. For higher magnification and smaller apertures, you may need a monopod or a tripod, perhaps with a focusing stage. (Or an extra long lens plate - aka "poor man's focusing stage" - if using Arca-Swiss style quick releases.)

 

At high macro magnifications, the focusing ring actually acts more like a zoom ring, changing the subject's relative size in the viewfinder and within the image.

Ok, sounds like Ill be getting a set of the kenko extension tubes, thanks for all of the info everyone, I have learned a lot. So what about a teleconverter, would that still be a good idea to get, because I have already realized how close up to the subject I have to get with the 500D on my lens.

 

I am a little concerened though, because the wieght on my camera is already very akward due to the tiny Rebel XT body and it is going to get even more difficult to hold steady with those extesion tubes on there, Im getting a 40d body ASAP though.

Zafar Kazmi - you just need a reversing ring. You mount reversed 50mm lens on 100mm macro just like filter. When the lens is reversed it behaves just like magnifying glass. You get about 2:1 magnification which is quite a lot even on full frame camera.