What macro len is the best?

Flo15

hello everybody.
I am not an expert of photography, but my boyfriend is. His birthday are coming and I wanted to make him a gift. He dreams of macro len, but I totally do not know which one to choose. There are many of them but I don't want to buy something that will break in few months. He is using Canon 750D camera if it is important. If you can help me, tell me what to choose I will be grateful.

Ugg10

There are several canon ones but the two most used are the EF100mm f2.8 macro which is the standard one and then there is the professional one EF100mm f2.8 L IS.

No idea of your budget but this is hopefully a Polish site for prices -

CANON 100 MM F/2.8 USM MACRO - Cyfrowe.pl

CANON 100 MM F/2.8L EF MACRO IS USM - Cyfrowe.pl

There are others from sigma, tamron and tokina.

Tamron SP 90 mm f/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 VC USD / Canon - Obiektywy - Foto - Sklep internetowy Cyfrowe.pl

Sigma 105 mm f/2.8 DG OS EX HSM MACRO / Canon - Obiektywy - Foto - Sklep internetowy Cyfrowe.pl

TOKINA 100 MM F/2.8 AT-X PRO D FC MAKRO / CANON - Cyfrowe.pl

Of these the tokina is cheapest and a similar specification to the can EF100mm, the sigma is a similar price but includes image stabilisation, the tamron is more expensive and the canon EF100mm L is the most expensive.

Reviews can be seen here LensTip.com - lens review, lenses reviews, lens specification - LensTip.com

12harry

It really depends on 1) Budget and 2 What he's likely to be photographing.
The suggested lenses are very expensive and may not be used very often - here are some alternatives to consider . . . .
Wide-angle adaptors ( which give a fish-eye effect, can be fun ), often have an integral 10x magnifying lens... this can be used to get really close and because it's a close-up lens there is no light-loss which would happen using extension tubes ( but these can be quite cheap, if a little inconvenient - the Auto-ones include the electrical connections so the camera-lens should still work in Auto-mode.).
I have seen some budget macro lens which include LED lighting - important as the lens can cast a shadow on the subject. Also, you need as much light as possible to keep the shutter-speed up.
As with most of these purchases you have to trust the seller.... unless you know someone with that lens, it's difficult to know what you will get and IF it will satisfy his need.
Ask him to show you some close-up pictures he's taken,  as this may enlighten...
Good Luck.

shotokan101

Interesting - I have never seen either a wide angle adapter that includes a 10x magnifying lensvthat woul be suitible for macro work and I have also never seen a cheap macro lens or any macro lens that has built in led lighting - do you have any links?  

Jim

John7

Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM - Lenses - Camera & Photo lenses - Canon UK

Can be had for around £360.00

snerkler

doug56hl

Unfortunately decent macro lenses are not cheap. Unless you want to make an expensive mistake you may just be best to ask him what he would like.

If you don't want to just ask him and instead go for a surprise, what to choose would depend on what he wants to photograph. Smaller mm size lenses, while they can do 1:1 reproduction (life size), will have to be used very close to what is being photographed. For flying insects using the small mm length lenses like the new and cheap 35mm Canon lens will likely scare off the insects. If photographing flowers obviously not an issue.

The Canon EF-S 60mm F2.8 macro lens is another option to those mentioned if he will just be using an APS-C Canon like the 750D where it will be equivalent to a 96mm lens. Won't work on the Canon full frame models which is why I replaced mine with the Canon EF IS 100MM L lens. Despite that lens costing almost twice as much the results are quite similar between a top of the line Canon one and their 60mm lens. It doesn't have image stabilisation though and would get best results mounted on a tripod.

But to cater for a change of camera type from APS-C to Full Frame in the future, a lens which could be used on both types may be better (EF lens fitting) rather than the EF-S lens fitting which can only be used on models like the 750D you mention.

A good place for reviews where lens test results photos can be compared to each other is
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Image Quality
Select a lens from the list on the left to compare to a lens from the list on the right. For your boyfriend's 750D choose the Canon 60D or 7D Mk 2 camera to compare with the chosen lenses. Move the mouse over the image to show the results from the other lens. You want to see the sharpest results.

Text reviews for the Canon macro lenses:
Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM Lens Review

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Review

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens Review

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens Review

There are also another two even more expensive macro lenses from Canon reviewed on that site but as they cost around twice as much as his camera I haven't given the links to them.

They also have reviews of many other of the other available macro lenses for Canon cameras from Tamron, Sigma etc mentioned earlier with similar comparative test photo results.

As @12harry mentions quite good results can be got using extension tubes but if your boyfriend dreams of a macro lens these may be more of a nightmare...

Ugg10

A cheap alternative is the Raynox clip on magnifiers (DCR150 or 250). Not the easiest to use but will give enough of an experience to see if you want to invest in a dedicated lens. I found it is best used with a 7-200/300 zoom lens to avoid dark edges on the photos.

DCR-150 Macro conversion lens for D-SLR cameras, 4K and HDV Camcorders