Bought myself a home studio kit with two flash guns. I assembled it and was like "oh, theres two wires and only 1 plug on the camera" (there were no instructions)

Then I turned it all on, and when I turned the camera the two lights beeped. Infra red link LOL. I got my f*** off big flash gun out and stuck that on the camera, and that also was infra red.

My other purchase was a Sigma 105mm Macro lens - never done macro photography before but here are some pics:









Better pics to follow when I get the hang of it!

Mike

cool pics.

Macro is awesome Mike!!

I desperately want to buy a large telephoto lens. 300 or 400???

But before that, I really want a macro lens too! I guess a primary lens would be the best option, but not sure what FL to go for. I was thinking about 100 too.

How much was the macro lens?

I'd also be really interested to see some more shots, as I will definately be buying one very soon!

How come the focus is not a circle but more of a line?

Simo,

Get the 400mm telephoto, and get the 2x teleconverter - they rule!

My macro is a Sigma 105mm 2.8 appeture, and was £295 - it is brilliant!

When I do some, I will put them up for you

Mike (Under Steves name!)

If you look in the multi pound coin photo, the in focus bit is curved...

Mike

Macro pics rock.

I got this delivered last week:



A Canon EF 28-105/3.5-4.5 USM II. It's got ring USM (the same type as the white "L" lenses and it's the fastest focussing lens I've ever seen! Perfect as a 'walkaround'.

Simo: Telephoto lenses. The best ones are the white Canon "L" lenses, for example the 70-200 F4 L. One problem.. you can't use an F4 (or higher) lens with a 2x converter on an EOS DSLR as you'll loose autofocus. So you'd have to go for an 70-200 F2.8 L. An incredible lens, but... very expensive. So the secret tip is... Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX APO HSM Canon DG. Great lens and also very sharp. And David Galpin has got one
If 300mm is enough, then this is a very good option: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. Great lens and... image stabeliser!

As for a macro lens... I gave you some options a while ago

Thanks Fred - I will check them out!

The new one that Dave has.. is that the 70-200?? I thought he had a 300 or 400 before that? (hes just sold it hasnt he?)

Ive still not read up on this photography lark yet Im guessing a lower F number on a lens is better? Whats the reason? less light required??

Simo

Frevo

Love this one:



I see they still haven't done anything on the Euro coins about Norway loing like a big prick lol

Yes that's the 70-200. He had a 300 before that, but even with an extender the new one is better. Plus it's F2.8 all the way. Nice lens, though it doesn't focus as fast as a Canon lens with ring USM.
The Canon lens with IS has also advantages as it has IS so you get 2-3 stops more light.
They both get rated very high on www.fredmiranda.com (Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX APO IF HSM 9.1 and the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM a 9.2). The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM get a 9.5 btw and you can't beat L lenses for picture quality.

If you take a picture you will notice that you can set the shutter speed higher if you set the 'f number' lower. I have a 50mm/f1.8 lens and if you set that to 1.8 you need very little light. You also get an awesome DOF (depth of field, a very small piece that's sharp).

They're not wrong lol! (no offence to all norwegian members ).

I personally love this one:



Was a very difficult pic to take. As the muskito is so small (about 4 millimeters) I had to use a lot of zoom. The hard thing about that is that you get a very little bit that's sharp... and to get that in the right place...

I'm looking forward to the summer when there are more insects

Yeah this is true - the 2nd picture of mine with the two pound coins shows that - there is a curved line of sharpness!

Mike