56 replies to this topic

[Major]

I am very new to photography. I am currently in the market for a camera. I was hoping to keep it under $600. I really need recommendations because I have no idea where to start. There's superzooms, DSLR, SLR, compact, so many choices. I need something that I could use for macro photography that has good quality and depth of field. Like, the background is all blurry. Here's my list so far

1. Nikon Coolpix P900
2. Canon Powershot SX60 HS

Are there other good cameras + lenses that you guys recommend for me? I was hoping for my camera to be a DSLR.

Thanks

Edited by Major, July 25 2018 - 11:33 AM.

[Skwiggledork]

Check out the picture thread. A lot of people have posted what their setup is and you can see what quality pictures they are getting. Some people are getting great pictures with just an iphone with a clip on macro lens. I'm getting ... ok pictures with a $2500 set up. lol

 

[CoolColJ]

I would go mirrorless system over DSLR, as the camera and lenses are smaller, and a micro four thirds, smaller sensor size gives greater depth of field and 2x magnification over a full frame sensor DSLR

 

What you want is great depth of field so more of the ant is in focus. What your asking is shallow depth of field, and at great magnifications, the background will be blurry whether you want it or not

 

Maybe an Olympus 60mm macro lens and one of the Olympus or Panasonic micro 4/3 camera bodies that allow you to change lenses and add an external flash - just get the cheapest one you can afford

[Trythis22]

just get the cheapest one you can afford

 

This. 

[Major]

I think that I am going to go with the Nikon Coolpix P900.

[Zxirl]

Check out the picture thread. A lot of people have posted what their setup is and you can see what quality pictures they are getting. Some people are getting great pictures with just an iphone with a clip on macro lens. I'm getting ... ok pictures with a $2500 set up. lol

"ok pictures".. I think the photo you posted is fantastic to be honest!

[Batspiderfish]

If you're going to spend that much on a camera, then it might as well be a DSLR. True, it's mostly lenses and lighting that make good macro, but you can achieve a lot with improvisation. You can always consider extension tubes, lens-reversing, and lens coupling to get macro images with standard lenses. A lot of my macro is done with ~50mm vintage lenses that didn't cost me more than $50.

DSLR's are more difficult to use, but they allow you to do more and better teach you how to use a camera.

Having said that, you can apply lens coupling to fixed-lens cameras as well, and the zooms on these cameras can *sometimes* be put to good use.

The other thing to keep in mind is good lighting. You will want external flashes instead of those mounted on the camera. Most cameras are backwards-compatible with flash systems designed 40+ years ago. Cheap Vivitar flashes are plentiful and will do the job so long as there is proper diffusion, which can come in the form of tissue paper draped over the flash.

[CoolColJ]

I think that I am going to go with the Nikon Coolpix P900.

 

Might need a Raynox 150 to 250 for the macro magnification

[Major]

If you're going to spend that much on a camera, then it might as well be a DSLR. True, it's mostly lenses and lighting that make good macro, but you can achieve a lot with improvisation. You can always consider extension tubes, lens-reversing, and lens coupling to get macro images with standard lenses. A lot of my macro is done with ~50mm vintage lenses that didn't cost me more than $50.
DSLR's are more difficult to use, but they allow you to do more and better teach you how to use a camera.
Having said that, you can apply lens coupling to fixed-lens cameras as well, and the zooms on these cameras can *sometimes* be put to good use.
The other thing to keep in mind is good lighting. You will want external flashes instead of those mounted on the camera. Most cameras are backwards-compatible with flash systems designed 40+ years ago. Cheap Vivitar flashes are plentiful and will do the job so long as there is proper diffusion, which can come in the form of tissue paper draped over the flash.

Ok, I will take this into consideration when buying. Do you recommend any DSLR’s + lenses?

[Skwiggledork]

 

Check out the picture thread. A lot of people have posted what their setup is and you can see what quality pictures they are getting. Some people are getting great pictures with just an iphone with a clip on macro lens. I'm getting ... ok pictures with a $2500 set up. lol

"ok pictures".. I think the photo you posted is fantastic to be honest!

 

 

The highlights bother me and the number of trash photos I took to get that one is over 1000:1. Can't buy skill. I have to get out and take more. lol

[Batspiderfish]

Ok, I will take this into consideration when buying. Do you recommend any DSLR’s + lenses?

No recommendations, since I've been out of the market for a while, but a little more advice. It will be less about the professional quality of the equipment you have and more about how you use it.

Low-light performance will be desirable, high resolution will be useful for cropping, and a friendly user-interface will bring the rest together. Look through the features of the camera body and try to decide whether most of them are useful at all. Read/watch reviews on a camera you are interested in, but keep in mind that the camera body honestly doesn't matter a whole lot. If you haven't considered it yet, Pentax is an underrated brand which provides decent features for a decent price.

 

Lens/camera systems with a shorter flange-distance (the distance between the sensor/film and rear-element of the lens) are compatible with a wider variety of glassless lens adapters. This is not necessary, but it will give you a little more flexibility when taking advantage of vintage glass. The point of all this is that modern camera lenses are often prohibitively expensive, especially after dishing out money for everything else you need.
https://www.bhphotov...d-lens-adapters

For macro, you will usually want the aperture of your lenses to be ~mostly~ closed to retain as much depth of field as possible. When it's closed all the way, however, you will lose detail to the diffraction of light. The loss is not terrible, but it's something to consider on your path to macro perfection.  CoolColJ is right to point out that mirrorless DSLR's are good for macro. There is no mirror, so the flange distance is shorter (more lens variety) and there is no vibration from a mirror flipping up (although many DSLR's have options which flip the mirror well before opening the shutter). However, unless your primary lens is connected electronically to your camera, the digital live-view will look very choppy and grainy as it struggles to show you what the lens is pointed at with a narrow aperture/high f-stop and without the bright light of the flash. If you are controlling your lenses manually (i.e. with vintage lenses) then having the mirror at least lets you view your subjects directly. With electrically connected lenses, the aperture will be wide open until you take your shots, and there will be little difficulty.

For lenses, it will depend on which methods you like to use. With lens-reversing you just need a reversing ring for your camera. Any lens with the filter/hood thread diameter of that reversing ring will fit onto your camera and give you decent macro. There's unlikely to be any electronic connection, so you will have to use a lens which can be controlled manually.

Coupling will require one lens which fits or adapts to your camera (preferably electronically connected), a "double-male" coupling ring, and another appropriate lens to reverse over the primary lens. Like lens-reversing, the thread diameter for the lenses must match the coupling ring, although the two lenses don't necessarily need to match if the ring accompanies both diameters. I've been using a 49mm diameter lens as a primary, with a 55mm secondary coupled over it. It's good to have a wider-diameter lens as your secondary to prevent vignetting, although the secondary lens should always be of a shorter or similar focal length compared to the primary lens. It takes a lot of experimenting to find a combination that you prefer, so maybe consider this after you already have a few lenses to play with.

Last but not least are camera bellows and extension tubes. These will simply add distance between lens and camera to provide magnification. You can use a reversing ring as well to improve the quality of these images. I like this option because it's pretty easy to understand and gives you a range of magnifications with a single lens.

There are also macro adapters which simply fasten over a given lens (e.g. Raynox), but I haven't used these.

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 27 2018 - 12:16 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Even with a macro lens, you will have to use an extension tube or Raynox 150/250 I find, to get better working distance, and more magnification.

 Although the Raynox addons decrease the depth of field and working distance by a lot

[Major]

Ok. I have finally found the perfect camera. The Nikon D3400. Now all I need to find is a good bundle under $700. Any recommendations? I also don't want to by used or refurbished. Are kit lenses good?

[CoolColJ]

Kit lenses are a good way to get an all round general purpose lens for cheaper, you will need at least one of these, unless you plan to use your macro lens for everything

[Major]

I found a kit lens that has an 18-55 mm and a 70-300 mm for a really good price, should I get that or the one with 18-55 mm and 500mm?

Edit: What about this? https://tristatecame...s=&sti=27703856

Edited by Major, August 4 2018 - 8:13 AM.

[CoolColJ]

I found a kit lens that has an 18-55 mm and a 70-300 mm for a really good price, should I get that or the one with 18-55 mm and 500mm?

Edit: What about this? https://tristatecame...s=&sti=27703856

The first one would be better, as you can use the 70-300mm with a Raynox 150 and get good magnification for cheap, without having to buy a macro lens.
The other lens with the VR, has optical image stabilization, which you will need for hand held stuff. Not sure if the 70-300mm has it though.
That's why I went with the G85 as both my lenses and the camera body have stabilization.

Unlike regular macro of flower and what not, it's hard to use a tripod on ants as they are moving around a lot, and your forward/backward distance determines your magnification in most cases, unless your using a Raynox with a zoom lens that does not telescope as you zoom (like my 45-200mm lens)
I recently got a Velbon vs-443d tripod that has moveable boom with a hand crank that can move the camera back and forwards
Or you add the Velbon v4 boom arm to another tripod

Edited by CoolColJ, August 4 2018 - 3:20 PM.

[CampoKing]

I'll just throw in my two cents because I'm also new to photography but wanted to get good macro photos of my colonies later.

I'm personally thinking of the Nikon D3400 with the NIKKOR AF-S DX Micro 85mm lens and the AF-S DX Micro 40mm lens.
I believe that's a decent setup for a beginner, and lighting is the only thing left to figure out.

[Zeiss]

Alright, I know nothing about photography, except that I am unable to get the quality of photos I desire.  I'll list my camera and lenses I have below.  Any tips of settings or how to use them to their full extent would be appreciated.  I usually just use my phone camera and one of two macro clip-on lenses.  I am not a huge fan of the SIGMA lens, as I have to be very far away to focus on a macro shot.

 

Camera: Nikon D5100

Lenses: Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G & SIGMA 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG MACRO 

[Major]

Check out the picture thread. A lot of people have posted what their setup is and you can see what quality pictures they are getting. Some people are getting great pictures with just an iphone with a clip on macro lens. I'm getting ... ok pictures with a $2500 set up. lol
 

What is your setup?

[CoolColJ]

You need to jump in and get your feet wet, hence why I suggested get the cheapest camera you can afford and go from there, practise the skills, and figure out if it's for you

these guide should help

http://www.bmpt1.com/

https://beingmark.co...ro-illustrated/

Well I find these setups used are great out in the field but don't work well with test tubes and formicariums due to the glass angles and reflections
Too much overhang over the lens causes the mass white reflections of the objects into the lens

Personally I like lens that have better working distance, because having to get within 1cm for max magnification is a pain.
I'd rather be 30cm away, especially when outdoors