Wide angle macro lenses

Cassiusstein

Arachnosquire
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Dec 9, 2016
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Just curious if anyone here shoots with wide angel macro lenses, like the Laowa 15mm f/4. I'd like to see photographs of tarantulas in particular using this lens or similar. It can be a bit tough to take a true macro photograph of a spider with a "scene", I'm hoping that this style of lens can help.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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Dec 8, 2006
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Have a look through my gallery, there are a few shots that were taken using this technique:
http://gilwizen.com/photography/spiders/

If you are interested in the Laowa lens, I posted a review for it a few months ago:
http://gilwizen.com/laowa-15mm-lens-review/
Incredible pictures Gil. Your pic of that Israeli ladybird spider is gorgeous. I have never seen that species, it's striking! From forest to mantis.


Gil on your lens review, it was very helpful. I particularly liked how you showed the range of what the lens can do incrementally. This is certainly a lens I may look more into for my D5500 dSLR. Would you think this lens would be a good match for this camera?

Also, given the cons of this lens, do you think there is a lens which keeps the pro's you mentioned but also addresses the cons of this lens?

I loved your pic of Cruziohyla craspedopus, one of my favorite frogs.
 
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viper69

ArachnoGod
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Just curious if anyone here shoots with wide angel macro lenses, like the Laowa 15mm f/4. I'd like to see photographs of tarantulas in particular using this lens or similar. It can be a bit tough to take a true macro photograph of a spider with a "scene", I'm hoping that this style of lens can help.
Did you get this lens?
 

wizentrop

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Thank you @viper69 .
With wide angle macro, there is no perfect lens. I wrote series of posts explaining just that. There is always some kind of compromise: manual focus/aperture, long working distance, not enough magnification, loss of sharpness or chromatic aberration etc'. The right lens for you depends on how exactly you are going to use it, and the subjects you intend to photograph.

The Laowa 15mm f/4 is very impressive, but fully manual so not the easiest to use. Another favorite is the Canon 14mm f/2.8L, but it is very expensive and doesn't give a high magnification.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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Thank you @viper69 .
With wide angle macro, there is no perfect lens. I wrote series of posts explaining just that. There is always some kind of compromise: manual focus/aperture, long working distance, not enough magnification, loss of sharpness or chromatic aberration etc'. The right lens for you depends on how exactly you are going to use it, and the subjects you intend to photograph.

The Laowa 15mm f/4 is very impressive, but fully manual so not the easiest to use. Another favorite is the Canon 14mm f/2.8L, but it is very expensive and doesn't give a high magnification.
I agree fully manual. I'm completely new to macro, so I wonder how often auto be it aperture or focus is needed?

I was also thinking of this one , what do you think https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/393446-REG/Tokina_ATXAF100PRON_100mm_f_2_8_AT_X_M100.html
 

wizentrop

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@viper69 Lack of auto focus with manual wide angle lenses is not a huge issue. The problem is more the lack of auto aperture control, because if you want to shoot with a closed aperture, it means that your viewfinder will be very dark. It is hard to get used to (but possible).
The Tokina 100mm is a decent lens. However, as a classic macro it give a more "condensed" field of view. You won't be able to get a lot of the subject's surroundings in the photo, but that's not what macro lenses are designed for.

@Ratmosphere oh, that was me... http://gilwizen.com/creativity-phoneutria-bite/
 

viper69

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@viper69 Lack of auto focus with manual wide angle lenses is not a huge issue. The problem is more the lack of auto aperture control, because if you want to shoot with a closed aperture, it means that your viewfinder will be very dark. It is hard to get used to (but possible).
The Tokina 100mm is a decent lens. However, as a classic macro it give a more "condensed" field of view. You won't be able to get a lot of the subject's surroundings in the photo, but that's not what macro lenses are designed for.

@Ratmosphere oh, that was me... http://gilwizen.com/creativity-phoneutria-bite/
True on the viewfinder. My friend used this lens, loved it, but admitted it did come with a steep learning curve.

Regarding the Tokina, any other suggestions you would recommend? This lens would go on my DSLR, APS-C chip format.
 

wizentrop

to the rescue!
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@viper69 For regular macro use anything around the 90mm-150mm range with a 1:1 magnification ratio is great. 100mm macro lenses are very popular and give excellent results, so they are a good return on the investment. If you want to take your photography to the next level I also recommend getting an external flash unit to better control the light on your subject.
 

Blind tarzan

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Jan 24, 2018
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Good evening, I'm new to macrophotography and I would like to learn more about this hobby. :) I got a camera myself (sony A6000) with a macro lens. :D
 
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