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05/20/2008 10:15:15 AM · #1 |
| So... besides price, what is the difference? I haven't done macro photography and would like to get a lens. Can you just shoot from farther away w/ the 105mm? |
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05/20/2008 10:34:39 AM · #2 |
Originally posted by tpbremer:
Can you just shoot from farther away w/ the 105mm? |
Yes, the working distance increases with increased focal length. Two other considerations also come to mind:
1. Field of view... with a 60mm macro you get more "background" in the shot because you are looking out from the subject in a wider view (it will still be blurred into unrecognition, but it will be more than if you had the 105mm)
2. Macro lenses aren't just a macro lens, they work at "normal" distances as well, so you might want to think about how you might use the lens as a "double", for instance i have used my 105mm lens as a portrait lens, and i'm sure the 60mm works as a portrait lens as well... but i have also used the 105mm as a short "tele" lens and shot birds with it as well as things like outings to the zoo etc. So you need to think about the use of the focal length as well as just the macro capabilities and specifics. |
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05/20/2008 10:42:40 AM · #3 |
In the film days, the 'standard' macro focal length was 100 or 105mm. Thus the proliferation of 60mm macro lenses in the Canon and Nikon lineups; with the cropped sensors, these lenses approximate the 100mm on the FF camera.
The working distance IS greater with the 105mm vs the 60mm, but not as much as you might think. Why? Because the 'working distance' is defined as the distance from the film/sensor plane to the subject, and it doesn't take into account how long the lens is physically. Since (at least in Canon) the 60mm is a couple inches shorter than the 100mm, the differential in practical working distance (front of lens to subject) is reduced by that couple inches and they are reasonably similar.
Meanwhile (again with Canon) the 60mm is a much lighter and more compact lens, so it is easier to handhold and is, for my purposes, a better walkaround lens.
So you pays your money and you takes your choice...
R. |
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