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Mineral PhotographyCamera Lenses

16th Oct 2016 17:04 UTCPeter Tarassoff Expert

Hi all,


I recently acquired a Canon 7D Mk II camera and I'm looking for a telephoto lens for photographing miniature to cabinet specimens. I've had good results with a Canon PowerShot SX50HS but I want to take advantage of the capabilities of the Canon 7D. I do not want to resort to stacking. Any suggestions out there based on experience?


Peter

20th Jan 2017 18:37 UTCVolker Betz 🌟 Expert

Hi Peter,

a 100 mm canon macro lens ist a good choice. But refusing stacking also means you have to go to very small apertures (16-22) and you will discard the resolution which is possible with the macro lens which works best a f=8.

Volker

20th Jan 2017 23:17 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder

The EF-S 60mm f/2.8 is probably the best general purpose option for macro photography on an APS-C Canon camera such as the 7D Mark II. You may find the 100mm a little too restrictive with larger specimens.


The standard kit lens (fi you have it) the EF-S 18-55 actually has a quite respectable macro ratio for a normal lens.


For general mineral photography use the EF-S 60mm for those that you can comfortably frame, and the 18-55 for the larger pieces.


Jolyon

20th Jan 2017 23:18 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder

For small specimens, (thumbnails, etc) then the 100mm macro is a good choice. Unfortunately there's no one lens that will do everything you need.


Jolyon

22nd Jan 2017 01:41 UTCNiels Brouwer

In my experience, the 100mm F/2.8 is an excellent lens for mineral photography, though mostly for specimens up to about 10 centimetres. For larger ones, the process becomes increasingly unwieldy as you need to position the camera much further away from the specimen to keep it in frame. I think the 60mm Jolyon mentions might actually be a very decent alternative if you plan to photograph a wide range of sizes yet avoid having to switch lenses every time you switch between thumbnail and cabinet specimens.

26th Jan 2017 01:32 UTCPeter Tarassoff Expert

Thank you all for your suggestions.


Peter
 
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