Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Got my Tamron 70~300 mm f4/5.6 LD Macro 1:2

After a lot of dilemma, I finally got my Tamron 70~300 mm f4/5.6 LD Macro 1:2 lense. No , I didn't opt for a Canon consumer grade lense. If I ever change to Canon optics, it's got to be a 'L' series lense. But with the kind of prices prevailing in the marketplace for Canon 'L' series lenses, perhaps at present I got to be happy with third party optics. These third party lenses deliver reasonably goood quality images. I recently tried out 15" X12" prints from my Tamron AF 19~35 mm f3.5/4.5 and they are flawless. Shooting Macros demand use of a sturdy tripod apart from using higher Aperture (>f8) and for that matter one needs a slow shutter. Hence a sturdy tripod becomes an essential tool. Best results for Macro are derived from Prime Macro lenses and there is no doubt about it. Focussing is better done manually instead of AF. As is Prime Macro Lenses are slow in AF. These lenses are expensive but most certainly worth every paise you spend on it. Then again it depends if you are after very tiny flowers or bugs or not. Otherwise, for fairly large flowers and insects (like butterflies) a macro focussing Zoom with 1:2 magnification capability is sufficient. And above all, only persons with a lot of patience excel in Macro photography. An even non-distractive background is a must for a successful technically sound macro image. Sharpness is of prime importance in this field of work. Shallow depth of field therefore plays a great role in macro work.