Macro or Close-up, lens alternatives - what to buy?

[Kazza]

Hi

I shoot with an A6500 and bought the Sony 90mm G macro lens but I'm just not getting the use out of it. I guess I am more of a close-up photographer than a real macro photographer maybe a dedicated macro lens is overkill. I also have the Sony 55-210 zoom lens but am not happy with it's speed or reach so want to replace it with a bigger zoom but funds are low. So, am thinking of selling the macro lens and putting the money towards either either the Sony E 70-350 or the Sony FE 70-300.

Pro for the FE70-300 is that it has the focus limiter so can be used for macro/close-up as well as a great zoom and will also be great if I move up to a full frame A7 series at some point
Con is the cost
Pro for the 70-350 is that it is cheaper but I don't know how good it would be for close-up.

Unfortunately I'm not in a position to rent or borrow the lenses to try them out myself so hoping that maybe some of the members here may have some thoughts or even suggest a third party lens that fits my needs.

thanks in anticipation

 

[Pat_M]

Hi Kazza, The first thing I see is that you will not gain any speed with the lenses you are looking at. You say that you are not happy with the speed of your 55-210 but both the lenses you are looking at are just as slow as the one you are not happy with.

Perhaps you can try to explain what you are trying to photograph close up and why your 90mm is not doing what you need.
Is it the working distance? (you need to be very close to your subject)
I'd hate to see you spend your hard earned money and not be happy again.

 

[Kazza]

Hi Pat

thanks for responding.

I’ve been trying to shoot insects on flowers and struggle to get focussed on the right spot. I don’t really have a lot of experience with macro and am not sure how close I need to get to the subject and am not coping very well with setting my focus point with the a6500. My eyesight is not great either which doesn’t help and I struggle when out in the field to review my images on the screen to see whether they are sharp, in focus or not.

Because I want a bigger zoom and because I can’t actually afford one yet, I thought I would compromise by giving up on the real macro stuff and just get a lens that gives me the reach I want but also gives me the ability for closeup work. Looking at the wonderful macro insect images on the alpha macro fb page, I know I am never going to achieve that kind of image! Am I being defeatist? Probably but I also need to be realistic with what I can do or find a friendly fellow alpha macro shooter that lives nearby who could give me some coaching for a day. Guess Iowa is just a bit too far to come

 

[Pat_M]

Ok, so when shooting macro photography your depth of field is super thin. That will account for your troubles focusing exactly where you want, especially when handholding the camera. Even if you stop all the way down to f/22 the depth of field can still be less than 1mm.

One tip I learned when shooting macro is that you manually set your lens focus and then find your working distance to bring the subject into focus. Then you can slowly rock back & forth to place the slice of focus where you want it.

If you are dead set on giving up on the 90 and want to purchace a longer lens, then make sure the one you chose has a close minimum focusing distance. Otherwise you will not be able to get very close to the subject and be dissapointed in your new purchace.

 

[Tim Mayo]

It will be hard to get nice close up shots with the E 70-350 as this lens needs a distance of 1.5m between your subject and the cameras sensor to focus. The FE is slight better as this comes down to 0.9m and if you crop in a bit you'll get some pretty close-up images.

Which focus modes have you tried on the a6500 so far? Are you using AF-C, AF-S or manual focus?

The method that Pat has mentioned above when using manual focus and focus peaking works really well for macro photography but it could test your eyesight if you struggle there. There's a great video from Sony Ambassador Mark Galer where he explains how focus peaking works.

 

[Kazza]

I've tried all the focus modes. I do use manual focus and have the focus peaking turned on. In the viewfinder, I think my flashing zebra stripes are telling me what I want in focus is in focus but invariably, when I upload them to the computer, I don't have the results I expected. I am leaning toward the E18-135 that you recommended so will probably buy this before I make a final decision about the 90mm, at least that way, I can play with both to compare results.

Thanks for your advice, this new forum has already proved its worth for me.

 

[Kazza]

Ok, so when shooting macro photography your depth of field is super thin. That will account for your troubles focusing exactly where you want, especially when handholding the camera. Even if you stop all the way down to f/22 the depth of field can still be less than 1mm.

One tip I learned when shooting macro is that you manually set your lens focus and then find your working distance to bring the subject into focus. Then you can slowly rock back & forth to place the slice of focus where you want it.

If you are dead set on giving up on the 90 and want to purchace a longer lens, then make sure the one you chose has a close minimum focusing distance. Otherwise you will not be able to get very close to the subject and be dissapointed in your new purchace.

Thanks Pat, I will practice more with manual focus as you suggest and see how I get on. I'm also going to take a look at the lens Timothy recommended to me, the E18-135 which has a short minimum focussing distance, I took a look at his gallery of photos using this lens and was impressed, his kind of close-ups are the kind I take and he gets some great results.

 

[Chris]

I find that the best way especially things like insects is to accept that autofocus is never going to be good enough. If you start off focusing took close and then push the camera forwards you will find when it goes into focus. I call this "rocking focus" as you end up rocking back and forth a bit by moving the camera forward and back to get the focus correct. I find this is much better than trying to change the focal length of the optics system.

 

[Kazza]

I’m going to try this, thanks

 

[Ralph]

Kazza when I had my Sony A77 and then A77ii I had the Sony DT 2.8/30 Macro lens.
And I was always inside of tree'getting shots of Bee's and bugs.
I had no issue with it and got some real nice shots with it and yes in Manual mode.
This is just one of the shots for the mark 2 Sony and the macro lens.

• SLT-A77V
• DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 SAM
• 55.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/50 sec
• ISO 100

 

[Kazza]

Kazza when I had my Sony A77 and then A77ii I had the Sony DT 2.8/30 Macro lens.
And I was always inside of tree'getting shots of Bee's and bugs.
I had no issue with it and got some real nice shots with it and yes in Manual mode.
This is just one of the shots for the mark 2 Sony and the macro lens.
View attachment 296
[/QUOTE
Thanks Aussie, that is a great photo. I take it I would need some type of converter to use this with my A6500. I have been looking at the 30mm macro for the e mount but have never thought about using a mount lens. Are there advantages to doing so?

 

[Ralph]

With that set up I had the Sony a77ii so I never needed and adapter or anything.
But it was a good sharp lens for what I needed back then.
And I am totally unsure of what is out there for the camera's today .
I hope you find the right one and if you do could you post up what you got, as I would like to get a few shots again one day soon.

 

[Kazza]

With that set up I had the Sony a77ii so I never needed and adapter or anything.
But it was a good sharp lens for what I needed back then.
And I am totally unsure of what is out there for the camera's today .
I hope you find the right one and if you do could you post up what you got, as I would like to get a few shots again one day soon.

Hi Aussie

Well, I didn't go for a macro lens at all in the end, I went with Tim Mayo's recommendation for the Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens which is well suited to my Sony A6500 crop sensor camera. It has a close focussing distance of .45m and its performance was supposed to be reasonably good. I bought one second hand and have taken a few close-ups, indoors on a tripod and hand-held outside,. I was pleasantly surprised by how sharp the results were and I'm pleased to say I am getting better at manually focussing. For the type of photography I do, this will suit me just fine and even better, with a range of 18-135mm, it makes a great all-round lens for travel, a bonus if you are like me and don't like heaving a heavy camera bag around. I switched from Canon DSLR to Sony earlier this year specifically to cut down on weight.

Hope you get out and about soon and start shooting.

 

[Ralph]

Hi Aussie

Well, I didn't go for a macro lens at all in the end, I went with Tim Mayo's recommendation for the Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens which is well suited to my Sony A6500 crop sensor camera. It has a close focussing distance of .45m and its performance was supposed to be reasonably good. I bought one second hand and have taken a few close-ups, indoors on a tripod and hand-held outside,. I was pleasantly surprised by how sharp the results were and I'm pleased to say I am getting better at manually focussing. For the type of photography I do, this will suit me just fine and even better, with a range of 18-135mm, it makes a great all-round lens for travel, a bonus if you are like me and don't like heaving a heavy camera bag around. I switched from Canon DSLR to Sony earlier this year specifically to cut down on weight.

Hope you get out and about soon and start shooting.

It's good that you are back doing the arm of our hobby that you like the most in macro.
About 2 year now it was the path I was doing at about 90% then as movement started to get harder I had to leave it.
I found birding and I really love this arm of the hobby a lot but I still miss macro.
So it will be doing more set up shots on days like we have here today which is windy, cold and a little wet I can get into that again.

 

[Dlpmikki]

I am wondering if a houdeloop or similar would help with viewing the pictures in the field. It cuts out all extraneous light and can also slightly magnify the picture. It is a life saver when I am photographing in sunny conditions.

 

[seuadr]

Well, I didn't go for a macro lens at all in the end, I went with Tim Mayo's recommendation for the Sony 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens which is well suited to my Sony A6500 crop sensor camera.

I also have the A6500 and the 18-135, the only time it leaves my camera is if i am putting my 16mm 1.4 or 150-600 on it. i love that lens! excellent bang for buck!

 

[Kazza]

I also have the A6500 and the 18-135, the only time it leaves my camera is if i am putting my 16mm 1.4 or 150-600 on it. i love that lens! excellent bang for buck!

Good to know someone else gets great results with it, thanks. I’ve just bought the Sony 70-350 G OSS as well to give me some extra reach. Very pleased with that lens performance too.

 

[Mtnmvr]

Kazza when I had my Sony A77 and then A77ii I had the Sony DT 2.8/30 Macro lens.
And I was always inside of tree'getting shots of Bee's and bugs.
I had no issue with it and got some real nice shots with it and yes in Manual mode.
This is just one of the shots for the mark 2 Sony and the macro lens.
View attachment 296

Wow! Great shot.

 

[Mtnmvr]

I like to focus with the magnifier. It helps with my questionable eyesight.

 

[Kazza]

I like to focus with the magnifier. It helps with my questionable eyesight.

Ditto!

 

[Paul stuart]

I've tried all the focus modes. I do use manual focus and have the focus peaking turned on. In the viewfinder, I think my flashing zebra stripes are telling me what I want in focus is in focus but invariably, when I upload them to the computer, I don't have the results I expected. I am leaning toward the E18-135 that you recommended so will probably buy this before I make a final decision about the 90mm, at least that way, I can play with both to compare results.

Thanks for your advice, this new forum has already proved its worth for me.

Flashing zebra lights will not tell you what is in focus only what your exposure is doing ie overexposed highlights.