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Which macro equipment option for "bugs" and flowers.

Started Feb 25, 2022 | Questions thread
gardenersassistant Veteran Member • Posts: 9,656
Re: Which macro equipment option for "bugs" and flowers.

GinAZ wrote:

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Another alternative might be a legacy macro lens used with a converter on your A77. Can the A77 use legacy lenses? I don't know. If you can this may be cheaper than using achromats, of which you would need at least two, a low power one for flowers and a higher power one for insects, spiders etc. With a 1:1 macro lens you would get from infinity focus down to 1:1 without adding/removing anything such as a close-up lens or extension tube, and you would presumably be able to use your extension tubes to get more magnification beyond 1:1.

I am very curious as to what this 10X macro lens is for $80. I would not think that a 10X lens would be suitable at this stage. 10X is a lot of magnification, more than is sensible for a beginner to be using.

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Thank you very much. By legacy lens did you mean an existing A-Mount lens?

No, I'm thinking of old lenses from film or early dSLR days which are fully manual, such as lenses for mounts such as Canon FD, Minolta etc.  Something like this (at eBay) for example (not a macro lens in this case, but there are lots of legacy macro lenses available. Be aware that just because a lens is described as "macro" doesn't mean it goes to 1:1. Quite often it will only be half that, 1:2, or sometimes even less magnification).

You need to use an adaptor of the right type for any legacy lens you want to mount on your camera.

B&H has a Venus Optics Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra-Macro Lens for Sony A-Mount that is $399. I'm not sure I want to invest that much at this point. E bay as Sony 100mm lens but they a even a little more.

I would do low cost experiments to begin with. You have extension tubes and you could get an inexpensive four filter close-up filter set. With these, and the kit you already have, you will be able to experiment with various magnifications and see how you get on. You won't get great image quality from the close-up filters but that wouldn't be the point at this stage. You would benefit from a bit of experience so  you are better placed to make a sensible decision as to what else, if anything, you could best spend some more money on to pursue close-up/macro.

The 10x is on Ama zon and is a 10x High Definition 2 Element Close-Up (Macro) Lens for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Pentax & Olympus DSLR's (72mm).

That isn't what is normally regarded as a macro lens, which is a lens that fits on to your camera. That 10X is a close-up lens which fits on to a camera lens. Being "2 element" probably means that it is an achromat.

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