Poppin' for a Macro

[DonSchap]

So, there I was ... attending the "Educator Day" at Calumet Photographic, in Chicago. It was getting rather late and the crowd was basically gone, leaving all the reps sitting pretty much alone.

I made my way over to the TAMRON Rep ... to find out what I could about the most asked about lens in the inventory, the announced SP AF 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD (IF). "Well, where is it?" I asked.

"Uh , yeah." he laughed nervously, "One of the more popular questions I've had, today. If I had just a handful of those, I could have done Hawaii, next week. It's coming, probably end of October, by the looks of things."

He then showed me the new "VC" 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) mounted on a Canon EOS 30D. Unlike the Canon in-the-lens IS ... which kind of "shimmies" until it settles down when you move it quick, the TAMRON is right there. Move ... right there ... FIRE! Move again ... right there ... FIRE. Error-free stabilization. I think these guys are on to something.

"Okay ..." I replied, "Whatcha got for the SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di LD (IF) MACRO ... student priced?"

"$571.96" he grinned, "Beat that!"

"We have a winner, folks." I laughed ... and had him write one up for which camera system?

Canon
Nikon
SONY


Here's a clue: Think ahead ... toward October. Because I am! :cool: A mere 700 hours away ... kinda.

Anyway ... I take delivery in a few days, it wasn't in stock ... but, for that price ... I can definitely wait a little bit. I have a camera body that I can toss it on, in the meantime ... while I wait for the truly improved 12.6 MP one. (Well, if that didn't give it away ... peruse my gear list.)

Anyway ... this should really round out my shooting, because I have never had a true MACRO lens in my inventory. This lens uses two LD glass elements to reduce sharpness falloff due to the usual chromatic aberrations of a short focus telephoto. Everything that I have done up till now has been kind of modification to the standard features of a regular lens. Adding extension tubes or close-up filters and I know, I know ... it's still just an image ... but, I would like to give it a run ... for the experience.

More to come ... and into a smaller world.

I then shook down the Mamiya Rep for a quick lesson with the ZD645 Medium format with the ZD Digital Back on it. It had a nifty 75-150mm Zoom mounted on it, so I gave it shot ... and ... luckily the wallet was empty. It is a rather beefy rig, rougly 16 inches long, with the lens hood on.

$8900, student priced, with a 80mm lens. The 75-150mm Zoom is $3150, student priced. If you're thinking about medium format ... this is way cool. If you're a student and have one of these, you must be going to Columbia College, not Oakton Community.

I checked in with the Hasselblad Rep, concerning the far more expensive 39MP Medium format digital and found out, like Canon's new 1D MkIII ... it's having bigtime problems, too. Imagine, $33,000 later ... and you are still limping. E-gads :eek:

Wow, bad year for the big guns, I guess. :(

Anyway ... another lens to the pile ... and it was a rather informative jaunt downtown.

[fionndruinne]

Sounds like fun, Don. Actually, my passion is not for macros; I love looking at them, but don't get pumped up thinking "oh, boy, let's look for something tiny!". But still, they can be a lot of fun even when they're not the main attraction, so to speak.

[DonSchap]

Agreed ... diving into the little world has not been a BIG priority for me, either, but I'm a student and I would like to round out my education with an experience filled effort. Admittedly, this is a superior lens for that ... but that price just could not be ignored. I've been looking at the lens for nearly a year, now ... and well ... the price finally arrived. Considering Canon wants $1239 for about the same lens (EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM) ... I'll keep the extra money ($667.04) I saved for something else, like ...

Well, I really do want a tilt-shift lens, to be sure. The unfortunate side to these rather expensive lenses ($1000) is that they are manual focus, so they are not something you mount and run out the door with. They are not very numerous, so getting someone to trade one away is also rare.

28520

One other aspect is how bad they deal with APS-C sensors ... truly reducing their capability by upping the focal length by 1.6x. You really need a Full-Frame sensor with these little beauties. The T-SE 24mm has been remarked to shooting "a little soft", and when you are shooting architecture ... a little soft is not going to get it done. On the EOS 20D, the TS-E 45mm gets pushed out to effectively 72mm, because of the dcf ... and that's a little too long for most architectural shots. So the decision becomes more than just a lens. Now, I need an entirely new body to throw it on.

How about a new EOS 5D for around $1500? Anyone seen one? Me neither! :( Maybe when the much touted "Canon EOS 3D" shows up. That should be one heck of a camera.

[coldrain]

Very nice optics for a very nice price, Don. That is the one lens in your arsenal I will be jealous of.