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Macro lens for tree frogs

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CarrieCH

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Hello everyone

I hope this is not a too basic question for this Forum....

I'm heading to Costa Rica in a few months. The question of the 'normal' lenses was already answered in the Open Talk forum (17-35mm and 70-200/4). Now I'm looking for a dedicated macro lens to photograph the frogs and reptiles and the additional cool fungus.

I don't have much macro experience or a macro lens so far. Just some close-up shots of plants mostly, but I want to spend more time with macro in the future. Close up adapters and so on aren't really an option for me.

I'll be using a Nikon D800E and probably some kind of flash unit with a diffuser, since that seems to be mandatory for macro and rainforest photography. The focal length is what's troubling me. Generally I'd say something in the range of the Sigma 150mm so I can keep my distance to the critters would be useful, but the DOF gets really shallow with this lens if I'm at teh same distance as with the 105mm which would mean a smaler aperture to compensate which results in a severe loss of light, which isn't optimal in the rainforest if you don't want to use a lot of flash (I'don't have much experience with flash and am not so fond of the look, if one uses more than a touch of fill flash). So....

- get the 150mm and work around the shallow DOF with the use of more flash

- get the 105mm, enjoy the larger DOF, keep my distance anyway and crop my way to glory

(Of course the 105mm would also be nicer to take with on the hiking trips than the 150mm)

What is your experience with these set ups (frogs+rainforest)? I'd be really glad for your opinion.

Carrie

PS: Sorry for my english. I'm not a native speaker.
 
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In a dense forest with heavy tree cover, it's almost impossible to get by without flash.

The flash helps avoid camera shake and motion blur hand-held, so it tends to be the lesser of the evils. It's like a substitute for a tripod. The working distances and positions for macro/close-up won't be as critical either.

You might only need a good +2 or +4 diopter to do what you want, and if you aren't familiar with the conditions that you have to deal with outdoors, you might want to pack down to the bare minimum.

I'd put a good TTL speedlite at the top of the list for nature photography. It can be darker than most people would ever expect in tree cover or overcast.
 
CarrieCH said:
I'll be using a Nikon D800E and probably some kind of flash unit with a diffuser, since that seems to be mandatory for macro and rainforest photography. The focal length is what's troubling me. Generally I'd say something in the range of the Sigma 150mm so I can keep my distance to the critters would be useful, but the DOF gets really shallow with this lens if I'm at teh same distance as with the 105mm which would mean a smaler aperture to compensate which results in a severe loss of light, which isn't optimal in the rainforest if you don't want to use a lot of flash (I'don't have much experience with flash and am not so fond of the look, if one uses more than a touch of fill flash). So....
Click to expand...
Actually, what is significant for depth of field is the image magnification. No matter what focal length lens you use you will get the same depth of field if the subject is the same size on the sensor assuming the same f:number. A life size image is magnification 1:1 regardless of whether you get it with a 100mm or 150mm and adjust shooting distance accordingly.
 
For me it would be without doubt the sigma 105, have had it for many years now on my olympus cameras, image quality great , good working distance.

Other than that the tamron 90 would be my other choice.
 
Ah stupid me, of course you're right. I guess I phrased the question wrong.

Do I even need the added working distance of the 150mm since apparently I'll have to shoot at f8+ anyway to get enough DOF, if I'm only after herps? I've never tried to photograph frogs before so I'm a bit out of my field of experience here. If I wouldn't need the added length of the 150mm I'd be quite glad but I'm really after frame filling framing of the subject and I'm afraid that 105 won't be enough.
 
CarrieCH said:
Ah stupid me, of course you're right. I guess I phrased the question wrong.

Do I even need the added working distance of the 150mm since apparently I'll have to shoot at f8+ anyway to get enough DOF, if I'm only after herps?
Click to expand...
How big are the herps in question?

One of these?



hqdefault.jpg


Or one of these



forg.jpg


Or somewhere in between?

The second little guy would need a lens capable of 100% (1:1) magnification. For typical European frogs (about palm of hand size) you could only need something like 10-20%.

I shot this dragonfly with my kit zoom lens. Should have used a smaller aperture but it was a grab shot during a completely different shoot.



c92d3993a2a04d4bbdd47ec29a066f67.jpg

CarrieCH said:
I've never tried to photograph frogs before so I'm a bit out of my field of experience here. If I wouldn't need the added length of the 150mm I'd be quite glad but I'm really after frame filling framing of the subject and I'm afraid that 105 won't be enough.
Click to expand...
The advantage of a longer macro lens is keeping further from the subject (working distance) for a given magnification. For static subjects this is generally unimportant beyond about 100mm -- enough to be able to light things properly.

Depending on the critters the extra distance from a 150mm or even a 200mm can be useful, but you need to know how jumpy your subjects are.

Working distance has nothing to do with DoF. A macro lens capable of 1:1 (100% magnification) will deliver that regardless of the focal length. Depending on the magnification you do need you may have to go far beyond f:8 to get the DoF you need. Of course, this is where learning how to use macro flash can get important.

--
Albert
Having fun with my cameras
 
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