Using special macro lenses

All the digital SLR camera producers make a lot of typical macro lenses. Also the independent producers offer them usually with different lens mounts. There is a wide choice of such products. You can buy such lens with good parameters for a relatively small amount of money. Tamron SP AF 90mm Di Macro or Sigma 70mm EX DG Macro which have a lot of positive reviews are good examples here. If you have money for that, it is of course worth buying more complex lens such as e.g. Canon EF100mm f/2,8 L Macro IS USM that was mentioned before. Apart from having image stabilization system, it is also fitted with a fast and precise autofocus with an ultrasonic motor and is really sharp. Many photographers think that AF is unnecessary here but personally I cannot imagine macro photography without it. Apart from the fact that my sight is not that good and AF helps me focalise, it also turns out to be really useful when taking photos of moving objects such as e.g. insects. I would say it as a joke that you can shoot a fly in flight. It works as well the other way round; when we take handheld pictures, we involuntarily make slight movements and having fast and precise autofocus is really helpful then – the camera will manage to capture an image before we move.

obiektywy makro

Canon 50D , Canon 100 mm L Macro IS USM, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash

Obiektywy makro

Focus point set at the butterfly’s eye, click and the portrait is ready.

I mentioned Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro Photo lens before. It is quite untypical macro lens and the only one of its kind on the market. It is capable of 1x to 5x magnification. It has very good optical properties and uses a floating system to preserve optical quality at different focusing distances. It is compatible with Canon macro flashes. Obviously it changes the length from 10 to 23cm depending on the magnification but it is not a drawback. I am amused at the reviews, in most of which you can read opinions like these: “excellent lens ..... you need a sliding plate, macro focusing rail” or “it won’t do without a solid tripod and a rail”. Of course, in such magnifications and holding such a big set it is even difficult to catch your point of focus and needless to say take a sharp photo, but still it is not impossible. The following hand-held photos taken without a tripod are a proof of that. For me, this is a great lens, better than any combination of lenses with accessories. For these two lenses and even a third lens Canon EF 100-400 L IS USM, I switched to Canon.

Makro

Canon 50D, Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash

Makro

You can also make an attempt at shooting quite active insects

Makro

Canon 50D, Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash

Makro

Canon 50d, Canon MP-E 65 mm 1-5 x Macro Photo, lampa Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX

Makro

Canon 50D, Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash

Makro

Canon 50D, Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash

I want to make it clear that I have never immobilized insects in any way, and never killed them for the purpose of taking a photo. I took shots of them the place I found them most often and they usually did not wait for me to do that. 

The charm of macro photography is the fact that it is difficult. You often need to be extremely patient, like a hunter on a hunting trip but if it results in taking a beautiful shot the satisfaction is huge.
The choice of the lens, and more precisely of its focal length, depends on the subject we want to shoot. Short lenses are lighter and smaller and this is their advantage as it is easier to use them to take photos without a tripod and they exhibit greater DOF. The drawback is that you need to approach the subject at a short distance which especially in case of moving insects makes them useless. The longer 150-200mm lenses allow us to take photos from a longer distance, but they are big and heavy. They exhibit small DOF and in general they require using a tripod or at least a monopod or some kind of different support. When you are in the field it is usually not worth bothering about a tripod. We are often forced to take shots really fast in the inaccessible surroundings. Then any way that will let us stabilize a camera a little is good. Sometimes it is enough to crouch and rest the camera on your knee, rest your elbows on your knees, or to lean yourself or a camera against a tree. The backpack or a camera bag may also serve as a good support. Someone wrote that they carry around the bag filled with peas which is ideal when shooting from the ground. When the subjects are higher the good solution is a monopod. It allows us to set the camera fast, gives us freedom of movement and support at the same time. And joking, it can prove useful when acting in self-defence against some wild animals.
If we do not intend to bay several lenses, the best solution seems to be something in-between that is 100mm macro lens.

Makro

Canon Macro Photo MP-E 65mm 1-5x

Makro

Sigma 180mm 1:3,5 APO MACRO DG HSM EX

Makro

Canon Macro EF 100mm 1:2,8 L IS USM

Makro

Sigma 70mm Macro 1:2,8 EX HSM