photo:sonyfe_macro
Table of Contents
Sony FE macrophotography lenses
Introduction
- most lenses have close focus capability to 0.1-0.35x macro depending upon design but for macro work one usually needs at least 0.5x (1:2) or preferably, 1:1 and some of these may have tilt-shift capability.
- your choice of focal length will determine your working distance from the subject and how wide the background is - most nature photographers tend to go for a short telephoto focal length to allow a longer working distance to avoid scaring live insects
- More specialized lenses allow “ultra macro” from 1x to perhaps even 5x but these generally require special studio type set ups with micrometer stages and focus stacking (diffraction causes softening at apertures smaller than f/5.6 at this magnification and single images are thus extremely shallow in depth of field (DOF))
- Beyond 5x enters the realm of photomicrography
AF macro lenses
native FE mount 1:1 macro AF lenses
- Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 macro
- $AU800
- Sigma FE 70mm f/2.8 DG macro ART
- 9 rounded blades; dust and splash-proof construction
- 1:1 macro; close focus 25.8cm; focus by wire; 49mm filter; 13 elements in 10 groups;
- 570g
- Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 macro G OSS:
- released late 2015 and was voted lens of the year 2015-2016 at EISA
- $US1100
- internal focus
- Nano AR coating
- close focus 11“ or 28cm giving 1:1 macro
- Direct Drive Super Sonic Wave AF motor
- 9 circular aperture blades
- focus hold button
- 3 range focus limiter: Full, infinity to 19.7” and 11“ to 19.7”
- focus ring slides back to activate MF only
- optical image stabiliser
- weathersealed
- 600g; 62mm filter; 131mm long;
- Tokina Firin 100mm f/2.8 macro
- 55mm filter; not weathersealed; no AF/MF switch; no internal focus; MF by wire with an enormous focus throw; significant focus breathing as image zooms with focus; AF slow and noisy; some CA wide open but better at f/4; sharp wide open in centre and reasonably sharp in corners;
- Sigma 105mm F2.8 DG DN MACRO Art
- announced Sept 2020
- clickable/clickless aperture ring
- focus limiter 0.5m - infinity; close focus 0.295m;
- 9 diaphragm blades
- 62mm filter
- 17 elements in 12 group
- 710g / 25 oz / 1.56 pounds
- $US799
native FE mount 1:2 macro AF lenses
- Tamron 20mm Di III OSD M1:2 lens
- $US349
- Tamron 24mm Di III OSD M1:2 lens
- $US349
- Tamron 35mm Di III OSD M1:2 lens
- $US349
dSLR 1:1 AF lenses requiring adapter
- see macrophotography
- Sigma MACRO 105mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM in Canon EF or Nikon F mount
- Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens - Sony (A-Mount) now discontinued
Manual focus lenses
native FE mount MF lenses
- Yasuhara Nanoha f/11 Macro Lens 5:1
- built-in, removable, USB-powered 3x LED lighting
- focusing range 11-19mm giving 4:1 to 5:1 macro
- f/11 - 32
- $US399
- Venus Optics Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe Lens
- long probe style lens with 0.2“ diam front part waterproof to allow it to be placed underwater
- close focus to 1.5' giving working distance of 0.8” for 2:1 macro
- f/14-40 via 7 blade diaphragm
- built-in LED ring light to aid in focusing at close distances
- $US1499
- Voigtländer 65mm f/2 macro APO-Lanthar
- Voigtländer's “best ever lens”, announced July 2017
- 1:2 macro at close focus of 31cm when lens is extended to 125mm
- 625g; ten-bladed rounded diaphragm smallest aperture is f/22;
- manual aperture design, but also features electrical contacts that enable the lens settings at image capture to be included in the Exif information plus the lens is installed with a distance encoder to enable support for 5-axis image stabilization on bodies with this feature, by providing distance to subject information used to compensate for camera shake.
-
- extremely sharp; minimal if any CA; mild vignetting wide open;
- EUR 999/$US1059
- Voigtlander Macro APO Lanthar 110mm f/2.5
- announced Feb 2018
- 10 blades; 1:1 macro; 165mm fov on APS-C; 14 lens elements in 12 groups; 58mm filter
- very smooth MF with a large focus throw of some 450deg which is great for macro, workable for portraiture or distant subjects but very slow for anything around the 0.5m focus distance range
- smallest aperture is f/22;
- manual aperture design, but also features electrical contacts that enable the lens settings at image capture to be included in the Exif information plus the lens is installed with a distance encoder to enable support for 5-axis image stabilization on bodies with this feature, by providing distance to subject information used to compensate for camera shake.
- length of the lens extends substantially from 100mm to just over 160mm when set to the minimum focusing distance of 35cm.
- 771g; $US1099;
-
- extremely sharp; minimal if any CA; mild vignetting wide open;
- nicer MF controls and build quality than the Sony FE 90mm macro
- TTArtisans 100mm f/2.8 tilt-shift 2x ultra macro
- introduced 2023
- allows for independent +/- shift of 6mm and a +/- tilt of eight degrees
- both the tilt and shift functions can be rotated +/- 90-degrees
- 12-bladed aperture diaphragm; minimum focusing distance of 0.25m;
- 67mm filter; four screw holes on front of lens that are designed to hold cold shoe mounts to allow for mounting external devices like LEDs
- 72mm x 149mm (about 2.8 by 5.9 inches); 836-854 depending upon mount
- $US389
- Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro APO
- great lens almost no CA
- not weathersealed; flare can be an issue; vignetting not an issue at f/8 onwards; MF ring a bit stiff; aperture ring can be moved accidentally.
- unlike Canon EF version, no electronic coupling in Sony mount so aperture ring is also manual
- 67mm filter and need a protective filter on at all times due to the design
- Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC macro
- 15 lenses in 12 groups; 9 circular aperture blades;
- $US499
dSLR MF lenses requiring adapter
- macrophotography with Olympus OM lenses including those designed for use with bellows or 35mm slide/film duplicators
- tilt shift macro lenses released in 2017
- Canon MP-E65mm f/2.8 1-5x macro
- Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 ultra macro
- designed for APS-C but only get substantial vignetting on full frame when focused to subjects further than 1m away due to the recessed front lens element at those focus points and the rectangular hood within the lens barrel.
- the only lens to offer a 2:1 life size reproduction without extension tubes and still have the ability to focus at infinity
- rounded 14-blade diaphragm; nine elements in seven groups; 62mm filter;
- close focus to 0.185m / 2.4“ giving 2:1 macro on full frame
- no electronic contacts, thus manual aperture; pincushion distortion is obvious and could be problematic for portraiture;
- as sharp as a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro L lens at f/5.6-11 in the centre; softer at edges and wide open;
- 500g; $US399;
- Irix 150mm f/2.8 1:1 macro
- Nikon F or Canon EF mount with electronic control of aperture down to f/32; 11 blades; 77mm filter;
- MF tension ring, lovely MF throw for macro work with close focus of 13.58” / 34.5 cm
- nice build; weathersealed;
- removable Arca-Swiss standard tripod foot; 128mm long; 840g;
- may have some trouble mounting on the Sigma MC-11 adapter - see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYOCtBCQFsQ
- sharper across the frame than the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro
- nice bokeh, minimal CA; some flare and ghosting into the sun;
- $US595
unusual macro lenses
-
- widest angle macro
- $US499
- Yasuhara Nanoha x5 Macro Lens (APS-C only):
- f/11-32 up to 5x macro with built-on USB-powered LED lights
- working distance 11mm
- Laowa 24mm f/14 2x macro probe lens that can go under water or inside bottles $US1499
photo/sonyfe_macro.txt · Last modified: 2023/05/16 16:22 by gary1