Looking to get into macro photography with my R7

[Colin06]

I made a similar post in the EOS R forum, but I was recommended to make a post here to get more answers. As you know by the title I'm interested in starting macro photography with my R7, but I have a few questions first. My first question is what lens would be good for me? For the RF mount, I see only 1 macro lens that is within my budget of around $500 and that was the RF 85mm f/2. That only has a 0.5x magnification which I don't think would be best for what I plan on shooing (spiders, other insects, fungi, and plants). Are there any good third-party options I could get, and use an ef to rf adapter? My last question is how does an APS-C body perform in macro photography?

 

[Person9]

There are numerous macro lenses in the Canon RF mount. Laowa has a 100mm f/2.8, a 90mm f/2.8 and an 85mm f/5.6, all at $500. All are completely manual; no autofocus (generally not important, not even helpful in very close-up work), no EXIF data to camera, no auto aperture, no built-in image stabilization. But they all have excellent reputations, which I can vouch for about their 100mm f/2.8, and and their 65mm which I use on my Fuji APS-C camera with fine results. The 65mm does not seem to be available in RF mount.

All the Laowa lenses go to 2X, unusual in a macro lens (typically only to 1X)

7 Artisans has a 60mm f/2.8, also totally manual, in an RF mount. You can probably find some reviews Online.

APS-C is FINE for macro work. Many people make great images with the even-smaller sensor of Micro-four-thirds. In fact, for a given subject that fills the frame, you will need LESS magnification with an APS-C than with a full-frame camera. With lower magnification, it's a bit easier to focus, and it has somewhat more depth-of-field.

Also, a 100mm macro lens on your R7 acts like a 160mm lens on a full-frame, so you'll have more working distance. The full-frame folks are pretty much stuck today with a maximum focal length of 105mm, with only one (quite large) 150mm lens available (by Irix).

Macor lenses for APS-C and Micro-four-thirds are generally smaller & lighter than equivalents for full-frame cameras.

Have fun with your new macro endeavors. It's addictive.

 

[Joseph S Wisniewski]

I made a similar post in the EOS R forum, but I was recommended to make a post here to get more answers. As you know by the title I'm interested in starting macro photography with my R7, but I have a few questions first. My first question is what lens would be good for me?

Can you tell us more about you? Are you meticulous and precise, or an "on the fly" shooter? Do you work on tripods or handheld?

For the RF mount, I see only 1 macro lens that is within my budget of around $500 and that was the RF 85mm f/2. That only has a 0.5x magnification which I don't think would be best for what I plan on shooing (spiders, other insects, fungi, and plants).

Well, a 0.5x on a Canon APS-C fills the frame with a subject 30x45mm. How big are the spiders and insects in your area? What sort of fungis?

If you can get by with 0.5x, the Canon gives you IBIS, which might be handy for handheld insects.

Are there any good third-party options I could get, and use an ef to rf adapter?

My favorite approach is a radical departure from Person9's suggestion. I think his and my respective approaches are both valid and each have their own strengths.

When I have time for tripods and precision work, I like working on a bellows with enlarger lenses.

You can find a Canon Auto Bellows or a Nikon PB-4 or PB-6 used in the $50-100 range. (there's also a Nikon PB-3 and PB-5 that you want to avoid. The 4 and the 6 are the versatile ones). Those use the old Canon FD or Nikon F mounts, respectively. They're basically interchangeable, you can get all the adapters you need to use either for about the same price.

• An adapter for the R mount camera is about $25.
• For "forward mounting" lenses you need a M39 adapter. Around $20.
• For "reverse mounting" lenses you need a 55mm reverse mount for around $20 and a 40.5mm-55mm step up ring for another $10.

Then you need a couple of enlarger lenses, or a specialized macro lens. I recommend starting with enlarger lenses:

• 100mm f/5.6 EL-Nikkor, about $75 used. Can focus to infinity but isn't great, and will go up to about 2x magnification.
• 50mm f/2.8 EL-Nikkor, about $50 used. Goes from about 1.5x to 5x.

There are also more exotic "short mount macro lenses" you can put on a bellows. My goto is a 50mm f/2.8 Leitz (aka "Leica") Photar. Those tend to go anywhere from $200-500 though. If you can find a nice one at the low end of the range, you're really set for 1.5x to 5x.

The Canon 20mm f/3.5 will cover from around 4x-10x on a bellows and can typically be found from $150-250.

One of the advantages of the Canon Auto Bellows or Nikon PB-4 or PB-6 is that they have three sets of gearing: one that moves the lens in relation to the camera, one that moves the camera in relation to the lens, and one that moves the whole bellows assembly (camera + bellows + lens) together as one unit. This makes fine focusing easy, and shooting "stacks" of images for use with "focus stacking" programs like Zerene or Helicon relatively painless.

Allan Walls has some great blog posts and videos on enlarger lenses for macro.

https://www.allanwallsphotography.com/blog/elnikkor50

My last question is how does an APS-C body perform in macro photography?

Very well. In many ways, even better than full frame.

--
The term "mirrorless" is totally obsolete. It's time we call out EVIL for what it is. (Or, if you can't handle "Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens" then Frenchify it and call it "LIVE" for "Lens Interchangeable, Viewfinder Electronic" or "Viseur électronique").
-----
Stanley Joseph Wisniewski 1932-2019.
Dad, so much of you is in me.
-----
Christine Fleischer 1947-2014.
My soulmate. There are no other words.
-----
Rahon Klavanian 1912-2008.
Armenian genocide survivor, amazing cook, scrabble master, and loving grandmother. You will be missed.
----
Ciao! Joseph
www.swissarmyfork.com

 

[Raanani]

We (my wife and I) have no experience with r7. I have read about it and it sounds pretty interesting, especially that it can focus bracket, which is what a macro shooter likes. The ef100 is a good lens, we use it a lot. It has a few issues with chromatic aberration on very contrasty edges, but it is very sharp and the color rendering is good. One thing I would consider is what kind of macro you are going to shoot. If critters with flash, then 100 mm on crop sensor would make a very fine combination. If you however are going to shoot macro without flash, then I'd suggest to take a closer look at R7's noise issues. In macro, in most of the cases, you miss light. We often shoot at ISOs 1600-3200 with our 5d IV without flash and it handles that well. We used to have an 80 d and the noise was a problem. Good luck!

 

[BBbuilder467]

I made a similar post in the EOS R forum, but I was recommended to make a post here to get more answers. As you know by the title I'm interested in starting macro photography with my R7, but I have a few questions first. My first question is what lens would be good for me? For the RF mount, I see only 1 macro lens that is within my budget of around $500 and that was the RF 85mm f/2. That only has a 0.5x magnification which I don't think would be best for what I plan on shooing (spiders, other insects, fungi, and plants). Are there any good third-party options I could get, and use an ef to rf adapter? My last question is how does an APS-C body perform in macro photography?

FWIW, the majority of plants, fungi, flowers and nature subjects would not be beyond 0.5x with apsc. That's the range where autofocus, image stabilization, etc, work to my advantage.

The closer I get to 1:1, the less I rely on the auto features, but insects and tiny subjects aren't my priority. I definitely don't want anything without auto stop-down.

 

[racketman]

If R7 has focus bracketing I would avoid manual-only lenses like Laowa as you won't be able to use that feature when you want to.

 

[jim mij]

I made a similar post in the EOS R forum, but I was recommended to make a post here to get more answers. As you know by the title I'm interested in starting macro photography with my R7, but I have a few questions first. My first question is what lens would be good for me? For the RF mount, I see only 1 macro lens that is within my budget of around $500 and that was the RF 85mm f/2. That only has a 0.5x magnification which I don't think would be best for what I plan on shooing (spiders, other insects, fungi, and plants). Are there any good third-party options I could get, and use an ef to rf adapter? My last question is how does an APS-C body perform in macro photography?

Hi, I use an m6ii which has a similar sensor, and I use the efs 60mm macro lens (bought used ), you can search in this forum for some of my examples

you’ll also need a flash

after a few months of using this combo my main requirement is to get closer (next spring when the bug season starts again) so that’s either via the Laowa 2:1 lens or a raynox 250. The latter means af and hence stacking still works

m6ii doesn’t allow stacking and flash, hopefully your r7 does as that would be useful

good luck

Jim

 

[john isaacs]

I made a similar post in the EOS R forum, but I was recommended to make a post here to get more answers. As you know by the title I'm interested in starting macro photography with my R7, but I have a few questions first. My first question is what lens would be good for me? For the RF mount, I see only 1 macro lens that is within my budget of around $500 and that was the RF 85mm f/2. That only has a 0.5x magnification which I don't think would be best for what I plan on shooing (spiders, other insects, fungi, and plants). Are there any good third-party options I could get, and use an ef to rf adapter? My last question is how does an APS-C body perform in macro photography?

Your lens should have autofocus for focus bracketing (automatically take shots at varying focus to stack in software to get deep depth of field), should have at least 1x magnification, and should have a good working distance (several inches).

The Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens has AF, 1x magnification, and a working distance greater than 5 inches. It conts around $500 new, but can be found used for nearly half the price.

You will need an adapter, which will add to the cost but allow use of other lenses as well.