Macro for 50D

[anil_m]

<p >My brother is having 50 D with 18-200mm lens. He is interested in doing macro (flowers, dragon flies and butterflies etc.). Which cannon macro will be helpful? Is any 3^rd party lens available? Can he use any extension tubes or filters with the 18-200 lens for macro? If yes, is there any cannon product? </p>

[mbkissel]

<p>Canon has a pretty nice lineup of macro lenses that will work on the 50D...</p>

<p>50mm f/2.5<br>

60mm EF-S<br>

100mm f/2.8<br>

100mm f/2.8 L IS<br>

MP-E 65mm<br>

180mm f/2.8</p>

<p>If he is just starting out, the 60 or the 100 (non-IS) would be good choices at a reasonable price.</p>

[garymoncur]

<p>If he is doing insect shots predominantly then the 100mm and 180mm are probably the best bets. The shorter 50mm and 60mm needs to have the lens front element really close to the subject for such macro work. Although less so in the 50D with its1.6 crop (the 60mm effectively becomes a 96mm) the longer lenses will make life a lot easier without disturbing the subject. A 100mm macro lens used at approximately 50cm from the subject will have the same magnification as a 50mm lens used at only 25cm from the subject.</p>

[peter_j2]

<p>It is <strong>Canon</strong>. Not "Cannon"!</p>

<p>Get a used Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro..</p>

[alan_krantz]

<p>There are a large number of macros (both 3rd party and canon) that are reasonable. Pick the one that meets your price point and usage:<br>

canon 100mm (is and non is version)<br>

tamron 60<br>

canon 60 ef-s<br>

canon 50 2.5<br>

sigma 150<br>

tamron 90mm (an old by well respected design)<br>

--<br>

Anyways since your brother is using a rather substandard lens in the form of the 18-200; I suspect he is more concern about price than ultimate image quality. To me this would suggest the clunky (but optically fine) 50f2.5 or perhaps a used tamron 90f2.5. The canon is a nice lens (non usm version) but I suspect it is a bit more $$$ than your brother wishes to spend.</p>

[JohnMWright]

<p>You might also consider a close-up "filter" like the Canon 500D closeup lens. cheap, light, compact, high-quality (but it won't be helped by putting it on a super zoom), and easy to use... just screw it on the front of your lens like any filter.</p>