www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Zonda wrote:Hmmm!......... I remember the days when an FM2 lasted half a lifetime.

Ah yes - my Dad's old 35mm Contax lasted me years - was spoilt by the Zeiss 50mm lens, I realise now...

.....And you tell that to kids today and all they say is..."what's an FM2 "
N

Don't talk about it. I was in short trousers till i was 35, and had to use a pinhole made from a shoe box to take speedway pics, but you try telling that to the kids today. They wont believe you.

NickB wrote:

Zonda wrote:Hmmm!......... I remember the days when an FM2 lasted half a lifetime.

Ah yes - my Dad's old 35mm Contax lasted me years - was spoilt by the Zeiss 50mm lens, I realise now...

.....And you tell that to kids today and all they say is..."what's an FM2 "
N

True, I had no idea what an FM2 was until I looked it up. When I started photography when I was aout 7 I used Kodak film cameras and got good results, I mist have had about 3-4 different ones as Kodek kept giving me upgrades when their old model went out and their new one came in. My dad had a bridge camera or film equivilant and it was good, but when you didn't know alot about cameras, it was good.

I remember my first butterfly/moths photos taken with my Kodak film camera were of six spot burnet moths, and they came back to me with a sticker about poor quality, and they all blurred. Thank goodness things changed and you don't have to have a scanner now to have images on computer and you can see the quality of the image on the camera screen and if you don't like it, just delete it and start again.

Have we drifted off topic?

Hmm..yeah this IS about Canon 100mm, kinda forgot until I saw topic title

Do Canon do a long macro, or is Sigma your only option if you want a 180mm, or a 200mm? I don't think Nikon do a 180mm, and the 200mm nikkor is a bit out of date now. I would like a longer macro, a 180 or 200, so i suppose being a (whisper) 'Nikon user' Sigma is my best and cheapest choice.

Do Canon do a long macro

Oh yes......................
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product ... /index.asp

Zonda wrote:Do Canon do a long macro, or is Sigma your only option if you want a 180mm, or a 200mm? I don't think Nikon do a 180mm, and the 200mm nikkor is a bit out of date now. I would like a longer macro, a 180 or 200, so i suppose being a (whisper) 'Nikon user' Sigma is my best and cheapest choice.

Fellow Nikonite ....
Tamron is optically as good as, if not better than, Sigma - check-out the 90mm SP f2.8 macro reviews and the 180mm f3.5 macro. (These (and the Nikkor 200mm f4) are all a little old - but still outperform the sensor and you get a substantial chunk of quality glass; all will take a 1.4 TC easily too)

N
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/180mm.asp
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/90mm.asp

Jesus Roger, that's an expensive piece. If i were to buy that, i'd have to buy a glass case as well. I have bookmarked the Tamron 180 page, thanks.

This is the old 1993 f4 200 nikkor. Still highly recommended. You can get an f2 version, if you take out a mortgage.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/200mm-micro.htm
Nicks just canceled his holiday.

Fraid,,the Siggy 180 is really my only option, when i've saved up.

Zonda
Don't dismiss the Sigma 180
http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/lenses/macro/180mm.htm
I have had one for about 8 years now, and it it is never off my 30D during the season (I have a 20D for other stuff).
It is a really robust bit of kit, having ben seriously abused by me during it's lifetime, and still giving really crisp images.
The Customer Service from Sigma UK is superb as well - a very important consideration.
I sent it off for a small repair a few years bak, and it get fully serviced and came back "as new" for about £40.00 (IIRC).
It is longer and (marginally) heavier than the 150 Bugma, but gives that little extra working distance.
This is very useful as I almost never hand-hold, and the extra distance when positioning a tripod and head is really useful.

Thanks for that Roger. I've had a Sigma 105 for some years, it's ok but like you say a 180 gives you a bit more distance. A foot is a long way for a nervous insect.

There's more than one way to photograph a butterfly. Check out the 'Wrong lens' thread.