www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Another wet boring day and was hoping to visit Lydden today as well!

I was wondering how many of you (like myself) use the Sigma 150mm lens?
And if anyone has been dissapointed with it in any way?...very fine DOF etc,or very impressed?

Regards
Steve

I use one,

Gruditch

I use one too! I haven't used any other Macros, so I can't really compare it to anything else.
I've loved it from day one, so yep, very impressed with it.

I use one too. I actually use it for a variety of subjects and find it's superb with Reptiles and Dragonflies whilst not so good for Damselflies but still good. Butterflywise I find it excellent but I just don't get as good results as I do with the aforementioned genera. All in all I'd say it;s a must have lens but I am looking to get a 105mm Canon as I think both would cover most situations.

I use one... I think it's an excellent lens

Yeah, I've got one too. Very pleased with it. Only problem is that it sometimes takes a while to focus and by the time it has the butterfly has gone.
My wife pat has the Sigma 105mm and that's also producing great results.
Robin

Hi
I don’t have the 150.
I do, however, own the 180, and love it to pieces..
Some of my acquaintances do have the 150, and I lust after one!
It is much shorter and easier handled, and that extra stop is really useful.
As for focussing – I seldom use autofocus, I focus by hand, and then move the camera back and forth to find sharp focus. – using a monopod makes this a doddle.
A good friend also uses the drive set to continuous and this enables a waving grass stem to move in and out of the zone of focus, ensuring a good selection of in-focus shots.
I haven’t tried this myself yet, but I ought to – he has scored votes in the competitions and I haven’t yet!!!
Roger Harding

Roger,

I presume that your friend who uses continuous doesn't shoot RAW. If they do then they must use large capacity cards.

I use 1GB cards and shoot RAW which means I can only get just over 100 shots per card. If I shot continuous I would soon fill them up.
Robin

I am not sure what size cards he uses, but I have 3 x 2gb cards and a 80gb downoader - so no problems there then!
HTH
Roger Harding

I have the 105 and quality wise its very good, on manual it will do whatever you want. However I have since started to use a combination of Sigma 100-300 continuous F4 and attach various extention tubes. I find the benefit of being able to stand off from the subject to a distance of 3-4 feet a real boon, the combination still gives me a frame filling shot of a butterfly. For those who havent a dedicated macro lens its a very good alternative, especially since a long telephoto lens is most folks first extra purchase.

Hi Brian,

Do you find this combination a bit weighty? Just curious since I have a 400mm zoom that I've been toying with using. In conjunction with a tripod, I would imagine you'd get fit pretty quick

Cheers,

- Pete

I saw a guy the other day using a Canon 500mm f4 IS, for butterfly photography With a 3m minimum focus, he was a bit restricted on the angles he could shot from

Gruditch

I use a Canon 100-400L IS with extesion tubes..close focus is about 2 feet

Martin.

Yep its a little heavy to lug around and you know about it by the end of the day, however we all have to suffer a little for our hobby !.
I have it fitted to tripod and use the tripod as a monopod for first shots of my subject, if it decides to stay put and play I carefully open the legs out.
As said before I find being able to fill the frame from a distance of 3 - 4 feet invaluable in that the subject tends to remain undisturbed for longer.

It would be interesting to do a poll on what people use, lens wise. I assume it would be fairly easy to set up a list of the most popular macro lenses that we could 'vote' for to indicate use.

Yes - it would be easy. If you want to get the list together then we can set the poll up! Maybe do the same with cameras too!

Cheers,

- Pete

Okay, I'll post a list of lenses tomorrow. Perhaps others can add any models that I miss. I'll have a go for camera too, although there are a lot of bodies out there...

Add me to the list of Sigma 150mm owners, a choice based largely on threads posted on this forum. I picked mine up on ebay, reconditioned from a Hong Kong dealer for £304 (including postage), which seemed a decent price. The images it produces are excellent, though in truth not a lot better than those I obtained with my old Fuji S7000 and macro converter. The main advantage is that I can now shoot from a couple of feet away (with the Fuji I often needed to be within a foot), therefore less liklihood of spooking butterflies.

Below is a list of macro type lenses that may be suitable for a poll.

It's debatable whether the older Nikon/Canon/Tamron manual focus lenses should be included - and I haven't tried to get my head around the many older designs offered by other manufacturers such as Pentax, Minolta, Olympus etc. However, many people focus for macro shots by moving the camera rather than the focus ring on the lens or AF, so these lenses may still be in widespread use.

It may not be a complete list of even current models - can anyone think of any I've missed? I also haven't listed non-specialist macro designs, but i know some of these are also used, so other people may want to add suggestions for these too.

Nikon 55mm f2.8 AIS (MF)
Nikon 60mm f2.8 AFD
Nikon 70-180mm f4.5 – f5.6 AFD
Nikon 105mm f2.8 AIS (MF)
Nikon 105mm f4.0 (MF)
Nikon 105mm f2.8 AFD
Nikon 105mm f2.8G VR AFS IF-ED
Nikon 200mm f4.0 AFD

Canon EF-S 60mm f2.8 USM
Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM
Canon FD 100 f2.8 (MF)
Canon EF 180mm f3.5L USM

Pentax SMC 50mm f2.8 D FA
Pentax SMC 100mm f2.8 D FA

Sony Alpha 100mm F2.8

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50mm 1:2.0 Macro

Tamron SP 90mm f2.5 (MF)
Tamron SP AF 90mm f2.8 Di
Tamron SP AF 180mm f3.5 Di LD

Sigma 50mm f2.8 AF EX DG
Sigma 70mm f2.8 AF EX DG
Sigma 105mm f2.8 AF EX DG
APO Sigma 150mm f2.8 AF EX DG IF HSM
APO Sigma 180mm f2.8 AF EX DG IF HSM

Tokina AT-X 100mm f2.8 PRO D AF

Hope this is helpful.

Malcolm

Hi Malcolm - I'll let you decide when you want to run the poll

To set a poll up, just create a new topic, and fill in the poll items at the bottom of the post. You'll need to add each poll item separately. If it isn't quite right when you've done, just edit the post, by clicking the "Edit" button that you'll see in the top right of the post.

Cheers,

- Pete