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Bought a DSLR. What Now?

2fake4u

Put Some Respect On My Name
20/9/16
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475
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last night picked up a Canon T5 for cheap on Craigslist. Thing was still sealed in the box so i feel like i got a good deal on it. Came with a EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens. Been wanting one for a long time, but never pulled the trigger. I mainly bought it to take watch pics, but told the wife it was so we can take nice pics on vacations as well instead of using our phones. Ive never done any type of photography and this is the 1st camera ive bought in a decade.

After doing a little bit of reading about getting good close up shots, I bought a cheap reverse lens mount adapter and an Auto Focus Extension Tube on Amazon for $30.


What is a good, cheap lens for Macro Shots? What is everyone using for their Macro shots?

Holding the lens backwards up to the camera seemed to work pretty good last night, but was hard to get it to focus.

Also, what other accessories are a must? I bought a small tripod to be able to take macro shots, but what else is good to have for both macro shots, and everyday shooting?
 

jbmgde

You're Saying I Can Sell?
14/11/15
38
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I personally don't do a lot of watch photography but I work in the advertising/production industry so I know my fair share of camera stuff. When looking to buy a macro lens, it is important to buy one with a large focal length, typically around 100mm. Basically, a macro lens is any lens that has a 1:1 magnification ratio. Since you are working with a T5, which is an APS-C or crop sensor camera, you will need to multiply the focal length on every lens you buy by 1.6, as this your camera's crop factor. Focal lengths on lenses are denoted for 35mm sensors which have a crop factor of 1x. So a 70mm lens will end up looking like a 70x1.6 or 112mm lens. So while you would look for a 100mm focal length on a full frame camera, 100mm equivalent on your camera would be 60mm. Canon makes a great EF-S 60mm macro lens that has a pretty wide aperture at f/2.8 too. Its only around 400 bucks, and thats gonna get you great results. Otherwise, if you are looking for a good all-round lens that you can use on vacation as well, Canon makes a 24-70 f/4 that has a macro mode as well. It is part of their L-series, so it's a little bit more expensive but has great build quality. It's aperture is not as wide as the 60mm f/2.8, so it won't let in as much light, but if you have a good lighting set up for your macro pictures that shouldn't be a problem. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.
 

jbmgde

You're Saying I Can Sell?
14/11/15
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It might be worth noting that EF (Canon's full frame lenses) are backwards compatible to EF-S sensor cameras but not vice versa. This might not even be relevant but if at any point in the future you are looking to upgrade to a Canon full frame camera, you will be able to use EF lenses on that, but not EF-S lenses.
 

2470f2.8ii

I'm Pretty Popular
16/12/16
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You can get lenses with very close focus. The 24-70 f2.8ii L is incredible. :)

I'd recommend that lens then if you grow into a full frame, youll still be covered.

Pretty much depends on your budget.

You can use dxomark to check oens sharpness etc.
 

atgm

Put Some Respect On My Name
Patron
21/11/15
3,605
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Your next step is to grab lenses -- what's your budget? If you expect/want to do some other stuff other than watches, the nifty fifty (Canon 50mm 1.8) is around $100 and a must-have for your kit since it's a cheap, good quality prime. Primes are generally higher quality than any lens containing that focal length with a larger range since they have fewer elements. :)

Additionally, as a photography newbie, the restriction of a prime at 50mm is really helpful for forcing you to use your legs to move and compose pictures rather than just lazy zooming.

For just watch stuff, since you have the recommendations for lenses, I would actually recommend looking into getting/making a good light box with some LED lights. You'll find that the lighting and bounce will affect your macro quality a lot for show-off shots. If you REALLY want to go all in on equipment and start doing things like a pro, you can look into Speedlites, but those are a bit overkill if you just want to take shots every now and then. :)

Other random tips... collect some lint-free fabrics of different colors for backing/mounting, have microfiber cloths handy for cleaning EVERYTHING off your watches, and get some white/black posterboard. The posterboard comes in handy for various things, but one tip is to cut a hole the size of your lens and mount the posterboard on the lens so that you can hide the blackness of the camera in any reflections.
 

d.n.d.

You're Saying I Can Sell?
24/3/19
35
10
0
You can get lenses with very close focus. The 24-70 f2.8ii L is incredible. :)

I'd recommend that lens then if you grow into a full frame, youll still be covered.

Pretty much depends on your budget.

You can use dxomark to check oens sharpness etc.

So I am new to this forum, please do not take this as a direct shot at you. But the OP just bought a T5 for cheap, somehow I doubt he is going to spend that kind of money on a 24-70 f2.8 L lens. The best is for him to get used to the 18-55 then go from there. If he plans to do street shooting, then like atgm said a prime lens would work well to train him to frame shots properly, in addition to being light and compact for carrying around all day.

2fake4u Canon makes specialized macro lenses, you will have to save up or buy one used since they all appear to be pricey. Check out the DIY photobox posted by benjaminbutton, you are going to want consistent and good lighting plus nothing in the background to distract viewers from product photos (watches).

If Canon lenses are too expensive even used, you can look into 3rd party brands like Tamron, Sigma or Tokina for a macro lens. Make sure you do your research and read reviews, but I am pretty sure the 3rd party brands have stepped up their game now. They make very capable lenses for a portion of what a Canon lens costs.

As for walking around shooting everyday, I would suggest a camera strap from blackrapid. They make quality shoulder straps, which uses a spring loaded clip like a carabiner that clips to a mount that screws into your tripod mount at the bottom of your camera. If you are going to be walking around all day, it is best to have that weight on your shoulder instead of your neck. This is even more important if you upgrade down the line and get a larger/heavier lens.
 

2470f2.8ii

I'm Pretty Popular
16/12/16
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So I am new to this forum, please do not take this as a direct shot at you. But the OP just bought a T5 for cheap, somehow I doubt he is going to spend that kind of money on a 24-70 f2.8 L lens. The best is for him to get used to the 18-55 then go from there. If he plans to do street shooting, then like atgm said a prime lens would work well to train him to frame shots properly, in addition to being light and compact for carrying around all day.

2fake4u Canon makes specialized macro lenses, you will have to save up or buy one used since they all appear to be pricey. Check out the DIY photobox posted by benjaminbutton, you are going to want consistent and good lighting plus nothing in the background to distract viewers from product photos (watches).

If Canon lenses are too expensive even used, you can look into 3rd party brands like Tamron, Sigma or Tokina for a macro lens. Make sure you do your research and read reviews, but I am pretty sure the 3rd party brands have stepped up their game now. They make very capable lenses for a portion of what a Canon lens costs.

As for walking around shooting everyday, I would suggest a camera strap from blackrapid. They make quality shoulder straps, which uses a spring loaded clip like a carabiner that clips to a mount that screws into your tripod mount at the bottom of your camera. If you are going to be walking around all day, it is best to have that weight on your shoulder instead of your neck. This is even more important if you upgrade down the line and get a larger/heavier lens.


Yeah the 2470 is expensive but almost every entry level lens is garbage and a general waste of money. I've burned through 3 nifty fifties and although they're great for the money, they aren't good lenses. sure 1.8 sounds nice, but if you have to stop down to f4-5.6 to get proper sharpness overall what's the point? the 2470 is corner to corner sharp wide open.

https://youtu.be/5FpHa7CIuYo?t=294

I havent used a strap on a camera in years. they always seem to only get in my way. currently shooting with a 1dx mark ii and a ricoh griii

but 2fake did ask for a good cheap macro, i shouldve mentioned the 100mm f2.8

it def depends on your budget. what's cheap to some isn't cheap to others.

however, this post is a few years old. What did you end up doing? 2fake4u
 

d.n.d.

You're Saying I Can Sell?
24/3/19
35
10
0
Yeah the 2470 is expensive but almost every entry level lens is garbage and a general waste of money. I've burned through 3 nifty fifties and although they're great for the money, they aren't good lenses. sure 1.8 sounds nice, but if you have to stop down to f4-5.6 to get proper sharpness overall what's the point? the 2470 is corner to corner sharp wide open.

https://youtu.be/5FpHa7CIuYo?t=294

I havent used a strap on a camera in years. they always seem to only get in my way. currently shooting with a 1dx mark ii and a ricoh griii

but 2fake did ask for a good cheap macro, i shouldve mentioned the 100mm f2.8

it def depends on your budget. what's cheap to some isn't cheap to others.

however, this post is a few years old. What did you end up doing? 2fake4u

Fair enough, seems like you get what you paid for with Canon lenses. How did you go through 3 prime lenses loll

Yeah I read either the 60mm or the 100mm macro lenses are fairly good, the 60mm was a manual focus.
 

2fake4u

Put Some Respect On My Name
20/9/16
3,037
475
83
Yeah the 2470 is expensive but almost every entry level lens is garbage and a general waste of money. I've burned through 3 nifty fifties and although they're great for the money, they aren't good lenses. sure 1.8 sounds nice, but if you have to stop down to f4-5.6 to get proper sharpness overall what's the point? the 2470 is corner to corner sharp wide open.

https://youtu.be/5FpHa7CIuYo?t=294

I havent used a strap on a camera in years. they always seem to only get in my way. currently shooting with a 1dx mark ii and a ricoh griii

but 2fake did ask for a good cheap macro, i shouldve mentioned the 100mm f2.8

it def depends on your budget. what's cheap to some isn't cheap to others.

however, this post is a few years old. What did you end up doing? 2fake4u

using a cell phone like a normal person lol
 

Watchesandwinetime

Known Member
11/3/20
108
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28
Aussieland
I 2nd everybody in this tread who has suggested prime lenses. To get good macro shots you need a good lens that can stop down to lower apertures. A 35-50 would be a good option.
 

deadpan

Active Member
1/6/19
462
264
0
Over the horizon
I 2nd everybody in this tread who has suggested prime lenses. To get good macro shots you need a good lens that can stop down to lower apertures. A 35-50 would be a good option.

I agree about primes, but ‘A 35-50’ suggests you’re referencing a zoom lens. Zooms aren’t referred to as ‘prime’ lenses. Prime lenses are fixed focal length.

The focal length that someone chooses (or recommends) depends upon the sensor/ film size used. For cropped frame cameras (dslr or mirrorless) a 35mm lens gives an angle of view that is close to human eye perspective. On a cropped frame camera, this lens is often referred to as a ‘standard’ lens.

for a camera with a ‘full frame’ sensor (a sensor that is a very similar size to 35mm film, or very close to 24mm x 36mm in actual size) such as a canon 5D, a 50mm lens will be the ‘standard’ focal length, giving something g very similar to human eye perspective (roughly 46 degrees). This same lens, when mounted on a a ‘cropped frame’ camera (such as a 2000D) will give a much more magnified perspective (and tighter angle of view/ framing). The 35mm lens mentioned above (which would be ‘standard’ on a cropped frame camera), would be a subtle ‘wide angle’ on a full frame camera.

macro lenses are able to focus at closer distances than other lenses. This is somewhat unrelated to focal length and aperture. Lots of true macro lenses are ‘longer’ (in focal length) than ‘standard’ lenses for a given format (think 90mm or 120mm). They are optimised for close distance focusing, but most are ‘acceptable’ at other focusing distances.

The aperture (both min. And max) is independent of the focal length, and is called the ‘speed’ of the lens. The ‘maximum’ aperture of a lens is actually how ‘wide open’ it can be (counter intuitive I know). This is the ‘maximum’ amount of light a lens can take in, and will produce a very shallow depth of field. The ‘minimum’ aperture relates to how small you can make the aperture in the lens. (Think pinhole Camera). This is usually somewhere around f/22 or more. However, a lens that ‘stops down’ to f/45 will not necessarily produce sharp images. The glass is important. The aperture is independent of that. Stopping down beyond around f/11 produces diffraction, which results in more softness (rather than sharpness). Then it’s all gets very technical (I’ve shot at f/90 before, but it requires knowledge of a number of variables).

So so in summary;

24mm is a prime
35mm is a prime
50mm is a prime
75mm is a prime
90mm is a prime

24mm-70mm is a zoom
35mm-50mm is a zoom

macro will be named macro, but beware of zoom ‘macro’ lenses (most are shite compared to a real macro)

aperture is independent of the focal length. The size of your sensor will impact how the lens focal length ‘looks’ on your camera. But...don’t take all the above too seriously...enjoyment is the most important thing...and even zoom lenses are very sharp nowadays (and some have ‘macro’ settings, which allow them to focus closer, but will rarely match a true macro prime lens in terms of sharpness).
 
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Watchesandwinetime

Known Member
11/3/20
108
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28
Aussieland
I agree about primes, but ‘A 35-50’ suggests you’re referencing a zoom lens. Zooms aren’t referred to as ‘prime’ lenses. Prime lenses are fixed focal length.

Thanks for specifying, what I did mean is either a 35MM prime or a 50MM.

Your post has heaps of good info!

For macro shots, would you personally go with a larger focal length? (such as you suggesting the 90 or 120mm focal lengths)
 

deadpan

Active Member
1/6/19
462
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0
Over the horizon
For macro shots, would you personally go with a larger focal length? (such as you suggesting the 90 or 120mm focal lengths)

On a full frame camera (24x36mm) anything longer than 50mm is good as a base for the design of a macro. 90mm will obviously get more in the frame (at a given distance) than 120mm. I use medium format, so a 75 or 80mm is standard for me. I like 90mm on MF as it gives me more flexibility in terms of using it for other stuff, but if I’m photographing products, I’d choose the 120mm. So that would roughly correspond to 90mm for full frame 35mm.

if you can get a 90mm macro for a good price, then that would be a good focal length. If your camera is full frame (24mm x 36mm chip), then anything shorter than 50mm will be a ‘wide angle’ lens, and will distort the subject. Most good 50mm lenses can focus quite close. A good cheaper solution to ‘try out’ macro, is a lens reversing ring, or extension tubes used in conjunction with a 50mm prime.
 

Watchesandwinetime

Known Member
11/3/20
108
38
28
Aussieland
I agree about primes, but ‘A 35-50’ suggests you’re referencing a zoom lens. Zooms aren’t referred to as ‘prime’ lenses. Prime lenses are fixed focal length.

The focal length that someone chooses (or recommends) depends upon the sensor/ film size used. For cropped frame cameras (dslr or mirrorless) a 35mm lens gives an angle of view that is close to human eye perspective. On a cropped frame camera, this lens is often referred to as a ‘standard’ lens.

for a camera with a ‘full frame’ sensor (a sensor that is a very similar size to 35mm film, or very close to 24mm x 36mm in actual size) such as a canon 5D, a 50mm lens will be the ‘standard’ focal length, giving something g very similar to human eye perspective (roughly 46 degrees). This same lens, when mounted on a a ‘cropped frame’ camera (such as a 2000D) will give a much more magnified perspective (and tighter angle of view/ framing). The 35mm lens mentioned above (which would be ‘standard’ on a cropped frame camera), would be a subtle ‘wide angle’ on a full frame camera.

macro lenses are able to focus at closer distances than other lenses. This is somewhat unrelated to focal length and aperture. Lots of true macro lenses are ‘longer’ (in focal length) than ‘standard’ lenses for a given format (think 90mm or 120mm). They are optimised for close distance focusing, but most are ‘acceptable’ at other focusing distances.

The aperture (both min. And max) is independent of the focal length, and is called the ‘speed’ of the lens. The ‘maximum’ aperture of a lens is actually how ‘wide open’ it can be (counter intuitive I know). This is the ‘maximum’ amount of light a lens can take in, and will produce a very shallow depth of field. The ‘minimum’ aperture relates to how small you can make the aperture in the lens. (Think pinhole Camera). This is usually somewhere around f/22 or more. However, a lens that ‘stops down’ to f/45 will not necessarily produce sharp images. The glass is important. The aperture is independent of that. Stopping down beyond around f/11 produces diffraction, which results in more softness (rather than sharpness). Then it’s all gets very technical (I’ve shot at f/90 before, but it requires knowledge of a number of variables).

So so in summary;

24mm is a prime
35mm is a prime
50mm is a prime
75mm is a prime
90mm is a prime

24mm-70mm is a zoom
35mm-50mm is a zoom

macro will be named macro, but beware of zoom ‘macro’ lenses (most are shite compared to a real macro)

aperture is independent of the focal length. The size of your sensor will impact how the lens focal length ‘looks’ on your camera. But...don’t take all the above too seriously...enjoyment is the most important thing...and even zoom lenses are very sharp nowadays (and some have ‘macro’ settings, which allow them to focus closer, but will rarely match a true macro prime lens in terms of sharpness).

Fantastic info here. I do love me my prime lenses!