Lens box, new equipment.
After a week of absence, at last I’m back for a new upgrade of my photography equipment. This time it’s a macro lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM. Yet another upgrade for my photography equipment and also an upgrade for my figure photography world. I can expect even more beautiful and sharp photos of my figures in the figure photo session.
New lens at last!!!
After a year and more of waiting, i got this lens in hand. I’ve been wanting to get this lens for so long, and at last i bought this in NIX ‘09, the same place i bought my new Samsung 633NW monitor. Well anyway, this lens got a metal body, unlike the standard lens. It also got full manual focus and internal focus features.
Full manual focus : you can still adjust the focus even after you half-pressed the shutter button and got the object focus-locked. You can’t adjust lens focus after you focus-locked with non full manual focus lens.
Internal focus : the external part of the lens won’t rotate or move while focusing. External focus lens will have some part of it move while focusing, and it could be annoying if you use a lens filter like Circular Polarizer.
So, including this macro lens, i already have 4 lenses in my equipment. Of course with the same body: Canon 400D, and one flash: Canon SpeedLite 580EXII.
Anyway, using macro lens isn’t as easy as i thought, especially if you play with small objects and small DOF area (using small aperture value). Even a small movement can cause you losing focus on certain object. Well, need some time to get use to it. I guess that’s all the rant, and let’s move on to some sample photos i took using this lens:
That’s it for the sample photos. It’s a pretty amazing lens! If you’re a DSLR user, and you’re into figure photography, then you should get a macro lens. I’ve been using this lens for a week, so you can consider this post is late. But oh well… better late than never.
That’s it for now! Expect more random things and also, an event coverage. See you at the next post!
nice! :D
ReplyDeletebtw, I spotted some dots on the image, visible on mikuru 4 on her chest. can be the lens or ccd =\
A macro lens does take some getting used to but once you master it, the results are phenomenal. It's probably best that you get yourself a tripod to take photos with but if you're doing it outdoors it can get a little tricky.
ReplyDelete@ron~
ReplyDeleteI think it came from Mikuru herself. Can't find that dots on the other photos.
@Adun
Oh yeah, tripod! You just gave me an idea. I never use my tripod lately, because i did all my photos using wireless flash, and it's enough to get the photo bright without tripod.
Waouh ! Nice shooting O.o Macro effect is amazing O.o Congratulation for this!
ReplyDelete@Leonia
ReplyDeleteThanks! Macro lens can give amazing details on certain small objects, and it's damn sharp!
Wow those lens are awesome and congrats on finally getting it ^^ loving the quality of the pictures,especially Yuki's and Haruhi's
ReplyDeleteI expect some amazing pictures from you the next shoot :D
@blueplains
ReplyDeleteYeah, thanks! And don't worry, more shots coming right up!
uuuuu i'm soooooo jealous :P
ReplyDeletethat's one of the lenses I'm considering if i ever get around to making the dslr plunge.
will have to be more diligent in following your posts so i can see all the tasty results!
don't mean to derail the conversation, but i can't help myself when lenses come up ^^; do you think i'd be shooting myself in the foot getting the body only? was thinking of going body only + 50mm (either f/1.8 or f/1.4) and the 100mm macro you got. my shots would be of figures (obviously ^^;) and probably general indoor stuff at family events... and whatever i see the few times i'm traveling or out and about.
@meronpan
ReplyDeleteYeah you should! XD
Anyway, if this is your first DSLR, then i suggest you also bought the kit lens first. Don't get body only.
Let's assume you bought a Canon DSLR (450D would be good, or 50D if you're high on cash XD). Just get the 18-55mm IS kit lens or you'll have a hard time moving back and forth just to get the right zoom.
A macro lens is always good for figure photography, but you need to learn the basic first by using normal lens like kit lens.
And you just said you'll use your camera for event or traveling, well then you have a higher need on the zoom lens. If you need a longer range, get a 70-200mm or a medium range lens like 28-135 or 24-105L (yet a high priced item). You'll use this lens mainly for traveling or event purpose.
50mm is a bad idea if you're not doing model photo session. It's also a bad idea to get 50mm for figure photos (because of 45cm nearest distance from lens to object).
I got this in my possession (F1.8 version) but lately i never used it, it's pretty cheap though (the only lens that has price below USD 100).
So here's the conclusion:
Body: Canon 450D or 50D
Lens: 18-55mm IS kit lens OR medium ranged lens (approx. 24-100)
And for later buy, get a flash (SpeedLite 580EXII) first and then a macro lens.
Wow, pretty long, haha...
Wow, you seem to know a lot of DSLR camera and lenses.
ReplyDeleteI would like to have a DSLR camera but I like the pictures I get with my Canon 570 IS. ^^
Maybe I would buy the Rebel XS.
@phossil
ReplyDeleteYeah, i've been using this DSLR for almost 2 years. And in the first 1 year, i joined the photography club in my college.
Don't worry about the camera, good result doesn't always come from DSLR.