The Lenses Pt.4
Now i was going to discuss today the 135mm L series lens, but before i do that i wanted to look at my 100mm macro lens which i actually got before my 135mm.
The L Series 100mm Macro F2.8
This lens has become one of my favorite lenses and was actually not too bady priced at under £600. Now this lens is very specialist and i did a lot of research on it before getting it but it was well worth it. Now this lens is not for everyone, it is slow to focus and is a fixed focal length so you have to work for your shot but the results when you get it right are amazing and it will focus up to literally 1 inch from the front of the lens!!
Bee on flower. Taken at the Hampton court flower show at F2.8
As you can see from the photo above you can get in really close on a subject and really get into another world that i always wanted to photograph but never could. It gives you the most creamy Bokeh and mental shallow depth of field which i love. I do tend to shoot wide open when i can with this lens and the results are really good.
Bumble bee on Flowers. Again shot at F2.8 without a tripod. Taken only cm away from subject
This image above is one of my favorite images and was done on a nice sunny, summers day without the use of a tripod. The image came out perfectly and really captures every detail of the bee. This was a shot i took after having the lens for a very shot period of time and from this image it blew my mind to the possibilities of macro photography and using this lens
Baby Squirrel again at F2.8 in bushy park.
Now this lens does have a very slow auto focus speed, but when you get it right it can give you great results for a subject that is not moving several feet away like this squirrel at the base of a tree.
These picture above again show off how good this lens can be at showcasing things like flowers, which it gets results like the above all the time in good lighting conditions.
Now i come to the draw backs of this lens. First of all It is very specialist, it is a fixed focal length which i have come to love but its focus speed can be an issue. I got this lens mainly to use for weddings to get the small details of the rings etc, but once working i found that i simply did not have time or sometimes the light to mess around for just a couple of shots and i could get more out of other lenses. I do still take it with me on shoots but it rarely comes out of the bag. I use this lens for my own wildlife macro shots mainly in the spring and summer and i love it!!
Bumblebee on flower pt.2
A small Seed head. Just look at how close you can get and the clarity of the image. This first image is from a few inches away.
and this one is the same seed head but even closer. It is amazing the clarity in the image, even showing the tiny spider strands spun around its individual spurs.
I will try and use this lens more as i do feel it can be a waste to have if not used, and i really do not use it that much. I have looked at getting a macro light ring for it as well which means i can get more macro images in poor light when out and about.
YONGNUO Macro Flash YN-14EX TTL LED Macro Ring Flash Light
Using one of these in conjunction with the lens may produce some amazing results so hopefully i will be able to do this and field test it in the new year.
FIN
