Macro lens advise

Hi, just looking for some advice.
Having just bought me brand spanking new camera, the one lens I am still looking to have to my collection (for now) is a good macro lens.
I initially bought a "Bridge" just to see if this whole thing was not a fluke, which unfortunately it does not look like .
The one thing I picked up from that is that I quite like Floral photography, but with the current set of lenses that does not allow me to get almost into the blooming things.
Any advice on an older (read cheaper) model (cheaper than £389 that is) or a different (compatible) make would be much appreciated.
The alternative being that I start saving again, and use the Bridge in the meantime

Your help much appreciated

A 35mm or 50mm macro lens is sufficient for flowers. Something a bit longer might be needed for live subjects to leave a bit of distance between your lens and subject to avoid scaring it away.

I'd suggest 90mm to be the minimum focal length for live subjects.

Apart from Pentax which I believe is outside your budget, Tamron and Sigma make good Macro lenses. I have a Sigma 180mm macro lens and it produces superb results.

Pentax currently do three macro lenses: 35mm, 50mm and 100mm. Second-hand examples of the first two crop up on this forum from time to time for around 200-250, perhaps 300-350 for the 100mm. My experience is that the 35mm is OK for flowers, though I suspect the 50mm would be better (the Pentax 50mm macro is said to be an outstanding lens). You do have to get very close indeed with the 35mm. The 100mm is a wonderful lens but the much longer focal length might not be so suitable for flowers; at this focal length, there will also be issues with depth of field and camera shake, unless you are very careful. I use a 100mm for things I can't get very close to such as butterflies.

Tamron and Sigma also do Pentax-fit macro lenses. They cost a little less but seem to be equally well regarded.

Other alternatives: older, manual-focus Pentax macro lenses (but these can be surprisingly expensive); zoom lenses with "pseudo macro", i.e. close-up abilities, from Sigma, like their 17-70mm lens, for example; or slip-on macro filters, a cheap 'n' cheerful option. Then there are also extension tubes and bellows, but I have no experience of these.

Finally, I can take pretty good close-ups of flowers using my Pentax manual A series 50mm lens, bought for £50. Of course this is not macro, and it is not going to show tiny seed heads or stamens, but for "flower portraits" it is a jolly nice lens, very sharp and with excellent creative potential through depth of field. So, anyway, you have plenty of choices from 40-50 to 500+.

The Sigma 70mm f2.8 macro is a good compromise .. I find it excellent.

Saying that I have never seen a bad macro lens (and have used quite a few), you can't go wrong with Sigma, Tamron or Pentax (you should get a used mint D-FA 100mm for around £300)

I'd echo Mannestys thoughts. If you're not interested in bugs, then look at the Sigma 50mm f2.8 as an option. They can be had new for £239 or look for a used one that's significantly cheaper.

You can of course go an even cheaper route & get some extension tubes and/or a Raynox filter to enable closer focus with the lenses you already have. The best quality will be from a dedicated macro lens though.

edit: geez, I must have taken my time, as 2 more replies appeared. Looks like we're all on the same page though.

There is the old Pentax-M 100mm macro, they seem to go for around the £100 mark. All manual but this isn't likely to be a problem with flowers as they're not prone to flying/running away!

Your cheapest option would be extension tubes and an old manual 50mm prime, you'll get decent results with that for not a lot of spending. You can also use the lens alone to make your DSLR into a very compact package, the Pentax-M (or -A) 50mm f1.7 is seriously sharp and handles nicely too.

Note: Pentax-A lenses have the contacts to allow your camera to set and read the aperture, so they work with all modes albeit with manual focus. The earlier -M lenses don't have this so you'll be using stop-down metering in M mode. For obvious reasons the A series lenses are usually more expensive, but if you can afford the extra then it's worth buying one as it does make life easier when using it as a normal lens.

The only macro lens I've had before was the Cosina 100mm - the plastic fantastic. Mine was manual focus (had the A setting though) and only cost £35... I liked it a lot. Shame it got nicked. The AF version seems to go for about £100, although I don't think AF is really that important.
link

I just got round to replacing it with a Tamron adaptall SP90, again a very cheap option.

One very inexpensive solution is to use a close up lens with your 50-200mm lens. This screws into the front of the lens just like a filter and enables you to focus closer. Stopped down to f11 you will get excellent results.

Use a tripod to ensure correct focus and no camera shake.

John, Do you have any suggestions re were to get a close up lens and what the expected cost would be.

Les

eBay would be a good choice, cost might be less than £10.

Other than that any photographic supplier will stock close up lenses in a variety of strengths. They will be marked +1, +2, etc. up to probably +10. Sets are often +1, +2 and +4 which gives a combination of options when they are used together up to +7. I have such a set on eBay at the moment, Vivitar branded in 49mm.

Start with a set or maybe a +1 and +2 and that will give you the option of a +3 when used together. Always put the strongest nearest the lens.

Thanks for the info John.

Les

Fantastic, this must be one of the busiest forums??
Not having a bank-holiday are we??
Thank you very much for the advice

The Raynox devices are exactly that, a close-up lens which clips on to the front of your preferred lens.

The DCR150 & DCR250 gives a magnification of 4.8 & 8 dioptre respectively.

These are high quality lenses and come with a clip on mount to suit 52mm-67mm filter threads. The lens itself has a 49mm thread.

You can actually focus quite close with the 18-55 kit lens, around 1:2,9 I at least found it close enough.