Lens for Macro Photography

[BoltSnap]

Searcaigh,

Do you use the +10 diopter with the 60mm lens? Don't you need to get VERY close to the subject making strobe placement and subject reaction make it difficult to take a good pic when using this strong diopter?

Why don't you use a Tele Converter instead of these diopters for the 60mm lens?

I am also a Nikon user but I choose my lens depending on what I am going to photograph if I am lucky to know that ahead of time, but you know Murphy's Law.

I do prefer the versatility of the 60, but frequently change between that and the 105 and more recently the 85, which fits in the same port as the 60.

A new tool in my kit that also works well with these lenses is a SubSee wet diopter (+5 and +10) allowing an additional magnification when you do find something tiny like that skeleton shrimp posted by klausi.

 

[bvanant]

If you use the tele all the time then fish portraits are tricky but you get extra working distance (like an 84 mm lens).
That being said, if you want to do super macro the +10 is much more magnification on the 100 over the 60, but in poor vis the extra working distance is a distinct negative.
Bill

 

[Searcaigh]

Searcaigh,

Do you use the +10 diopter with the 60mm lens? Don't you need to get VERY close to the subject making strobe placement and subject reaction make it difficult to take a good pic when using this strong diopter?

Why don't you use a Tele Converter instead of these diopters for the 60mm lens?

Hi Burhan, you are right about the +10 on the 60mm so I only use the +5 with that lens, but the +10 with the 85 will give me 1.9:1 magnification, still close though.

I do not have a SubSee holder yet for the 105 port and am still using my MacroMate, which I find not as user friendly as the SubSee.

In my opinion a teleconvertor will limit the flexibility of the lens, and you need a port extension too, whereas the wet diopters offer a better choice of range of subjects to photograph, but in the end it's all horses for courses. If you know what you want to photograph is down there then you can go down prepared with whatever gear you have. One of the reasons I miss diving in Jeddah and why I will go back to Anilao, shore diving! Critters generally don't move around much, so if you find something interesting and you have the wrong set up, it is easy to go back again on a shore dive with the right gear on a subsequent dive.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

My friend Kevin Lee uses a Nikon 60mm with a Kenko 1.4x teleconvertor. He gets some incredible macro shots as well as fish from 10+ feet away.
Latest SoCal Dives - Kevin Lee's Photos

 

[Allison Finch]

I think my Canon 60mm macro lens is one of the most versatile lenses I have. It allows you to get physically closer to the subject than the 100mm lens, which is helpful in poor vis. It is also just plain easier to use. I have a woody's diopter that gives a little boost for those really tiny subjects.