Olympus UK E-System User Group > Cameras, lenses and system accessories > Lens focus > Telephoto > I have a new Toy!
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I have been dreaming about this lens for ages, I never thought I could ever afford one. Specially with the little one on the way.
Does this now mean that my 35mm Macro is obsolete?
Plus does anyone have any advice on using this lens? camera set ups and so and so?
The 105 is probably a more versatile lens and it's faster. It also means you don't have to be right on top of your subject for macro shots.
I'm looking forward the greater distance. I have seen some excellent shots in the forum and on Flickr. Amateur Photographer also rated this lens really highly.
I have been looking at the Sigma Macro lens as well ever since it became clear Oly had abandoned their 105mm macro that had been on the Zuiko road map for so long.
I believe that lens requires you to turn off "lens return to home" in the camera menu & setting the camera to MF (when needed) as well as the lens to avoid motor damage & also moving the focus ring to engage/disengage. Others with that lens would be best to advise on that, otherwise you will enjoy the great photos you can achieve with it.
Thanks Ross that's really helpful.
Fn button on my 520 is set to manual focus, I use a few OM lenses and use it to change when they're attached. is this the same method incamera as you have explained?
I'm glad that I could offer you something. I believe it does function quite well in AF but sometimes that can be counter productive for macro shots. There are some people that swear by using CA-F as they get more keepers (that came from a Sigma 150 macro lens user but should be the same for this lens too if focus speed can keep up with the movement).
It is the "lens reset" that I think needs to be turned off (it is usually on a note with a new lens). On the E520, it is in Menu spanner A list.
I would suggest starting a new thread asking for hints on using that lens & that way you should get plenty of help (hopefully). That's what I did when I got the 150 macro lens & got some helpful hints from experienced users.
Your right AF is pretty good though I have noticed that in low light it seems to search for ages, and most of the time I have found it easier in Manual mode. Its a huge step up for me Macro wise. I have been using an OM 50mm reversed on to another 50mm with a set of extension tubes. I did get some decent shots but light or lack of it became a huge problem.
I will take a look at the camera settings, thanks again for telling me where it is located.
Yes, I have done that too, including bellows or just on fixed extension tubes. The lighting & aperture on the reversed lens (when only using it) became a problem stopped down as focus became very difficult when chasing a larger DoF. Since buying my Sigma lens (150mm) I have arranged 2 X FL36R flashes & also for night shooting of macro things, a LED ring light on the front works well as a focus aid (not strong enough light for that length of lens to use by itself) & gives me some good results.
I modified a cheap twin flash bracket to achieve this.
PS Don't forget, if you have an EX25 extension tube, it will get you closer when you need it & may give about 50% more magnification on that lens (adds 35% on 150mm macro lens).
That's one hell of a set up mate and the Macro shots are so clear what sort of spider is that?!
I have thought about making an LED light ring for my 35mm macro and now the sigma, you can get some very bright LEDs that run on minimal battery power. i have one FL36r flash so i could set that up remotely to add some more light. but i like the brackets you have got, its given me some ideas of my own.
With the EX25 extension tube, does it effect the AF and metering at all?
I don't know if these LEDs can be replaced with anything brighter as they aren't too bad, but to get a good exposure you need good daylight or equivalent artificial light (or if stopping down to f16 or more, then brighter). The shorter length lens benefits from the lighting being closer (& stronger) & that is why it gets a bit weak for the distance I want it for (when stopped down).
Here is the twin flash bracket that I modified. It is a bit hard to tighten the mount to the camera & the assembly has a tendency to move a bit, but I have it good now (with shoe sole rubber & a larger screw knob). You could try replacing the rubber for better nonslip.
Here is another idea but I wouldn't trust it to hold much weight.
The EX25 allows auto focus within limited distances for each lens, check the compatability charts for Oly lenses ( http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/compati/di004042e.cfm )& metering etc is all compatable & also works with Sigma 4/3 lenses. One thing to remember with the Sigma 105 lens is when focusing close, the lens extends & effectively reduces the aperture & I'm not sure if it is indicated on the camera or not. In other words, maximum aperture is only achieved at maximum distance (infinity), but wouldn't normally matter, as you would probably want to close down the aperture to try & get enough DoF in macro use. Another note: the EX25 will show up in the EXIF data (in Oly Viewer & Kuso EXIF reader).
Hope that helps you Chris.
Hope you stay warm too.
HaHa Yeah, the heating bill this month is going to be through the roof. So fed up with the snow now its just becoming a nuisance.
I have seen a few EX25 going second hand so it might be worth an investment, as soon as i pay off the rest of the lens. thanks for the 2 links, the 1st looks really good, specially when you see the price of the Olympus branded kit for Macro flash. the second looks like the blower from the fret saw we have at work so your probably right in thinking that it wouldn't hold much weight.
He was in Practical Photography magazine a while back. He uses an E3 with the 50mm macro and 105 macro, all natural light. it was one of the reasons i got the lens because of the quality of the results he had got.
Sometimes it is worthwhile making your own stuff & sometimes it's quicker, cheaper & tidier to buy somethings. When I bought my LED ring light, I got the one with the extra ring for 72mm (for the Sigma 150 lens), although I had to trim the opening back of the LED ring housing to allow it to slip over the 72mm filter. I didn't realise they were actually the same as the Cokin filter rings (I just compared them), that means I can use my Cokin copy filter kit on any of my lenses now I have all those ring sizes (I had 58 & 67mm previously).
Getting back to making things, I would recommend getting this kit with all its rings & you will find the LEDs are pretty bright, you might find something even brighter, maybe & if it was worth it, replace each LED (as the housing is a nicely finished unit) with brighter ones, if you can find any (check luminance specs on available LEDs first). I think there is a much more expensive LED ring light on the market (USA I think) that uses 2 rows of LEDs which would probably be quite good.
Those photos are really great from that guy, like works of art. He is using wide open apertures on a number of them (thankfully the EXIF is there to check) & up to about f4 for some which is why he can use natural light, plus he has kept his ISO at a max of 400. He wouldn't be able to if he was using f16 or higher. He has really used the narrow DoF to great advantage in his photos & his artistic eye with these are something to be wished for by the rest of us.
I will be continuing to experiment with my flash set up, but if there is background that can be lit (without the black surround), it will look more natural but with greater DoF, I hope.
Maybe you could use one of those reflectors to bounce the light behind the subject? have you ever used a soft box as well, i have seen those on Ebay and other places. Cheap and they can fold up, roughly £50 with different backdrops.
I think i may be swayed into your thinking, regarding the LED light ring. Some more research into brightness, design and finish might be needed.
Yes I forgot about reflectors, even though I've bought some for that use. I guess I just get carried away with chasing the bug at hand. I have to get off now because a storm is brewing around us & I don't want our gear fryed.