Thoughts on this camera & macro lens please

[Deleted]

Well, the macro lens have arrived, delivered by DPD on a Sunday. Why Amazon couldn't have given them the camera to deliver at the same time I have no idea, I guess the two items were in different warehouses.

So, one macro lens and no camera >_<

The lens is quite heavy and looks very nice.

[Jenny]

When is the camera coming? 
I am hoping the lens with the camera won't be over heavy like my slr before, having difficult grip on my hands from work.

[Deleted]

Amazon say expect delivery tomorrow

[Deleted]

Aug 16, 2014 11:18:07 GMT @myrm said:

Sony Alpha A58

Sony Sigma macro lens

The camera and lens have arrived, and to be honest I am very disappointed.  The camera itself seems fine but the macro lens is awful!  I think I have ordered the wrong thing.  I expected to be able to attach this lens (which is huge), point it closely at an ant and get some brilliant close ups of ants, but I am getting far from that.

Believe it or not I have to stand about 4ft from the ants before the lens will focus on it. Yes, that's 4 feet!!!  Then the images are awful, like I have taken it on my phone.

Here's what I mean:

The camera automatically chooses macro, you don't seem to be able to manually select it, and there is a switch on the lens itself for macro. 

Perhaps I am doing something very wrong here but I might as well not bothered with the lens.

I tried taking a macro picture with the camera's default lens but the results were not much better.

[Jenny]

I would try the camera on manual setting, as I think the lens doesn't have an AF on the specs? But Amazon are not giving enough info on it. I use manual mostly for taking ants as the auto just searches to much, even with my existing close up lens.It doesn't bode well for me then, as I have the same make coming but different slr fitting. You should be able to get within 2cm of a small subject. This lens also comes under a long zoom lens too, so covers both functions, but with no anti shake so they recommend a tripod or a steady hand. Mine is due Thursday or maybe Wednesday if I'm lucky.
Your MF mode is a switch on the side

[Deleted]

Hi Jenant

I tried all sorts of different methods but it would seem that this type of lens is for taker close ups of larger insects at a distance, where getting too close might scare your prize away, such as butterflies.

I have decided to return the lens and get this one instead which is much more the sort of thing I am after:

Sony SAL30M28 Alpha 30mm macro lens

It's twice the price of the one I am returning but if it does the job then I'll be happy.

[Wood~Ant]

After carefully reading about the first lens, it does seem that it is a telephoto zoom with macro facility. The Sony lens you are now getting is a proper macro lens which is more likely to give you the better close up shots you want to get Myrm.
With the camera being 20 mega-pixels it will give good clarity and depth of field, as Sony use Ziess lenses which are very good. Ziess Camera Lenses

[Deleted]

Aug 18, 2014 15:59:13 GMT Wood~Ant said:

After carefully reading about the first lens, it does seem that it is a telephoto zoom with macro facility. The Sony lens you are now getting is a proper macro lens which is more likely to give you the better close up shots you want to get Myrm.
With the camera being 20 mega-pixels it will give good clarity and depth of field, as Sony use Ziess lenses which are very good. Ziess Camera Lenses

Hi Wood

Many thanks for your thoughts. The new lens is expected on Wednesday. Let's hope that this is the right one.

[Wood~Ant]

Aug 18, 2014 16:23:15 GMT @myrm said:

Aug 18, 2014 15:59:13 GMT Wood~Ant said:

After carefully reading about the first lens, it does seem that it is a telephoto zoom with macro facility. The Sony lens you are now getting is a proper macro lens which is more likely to give you the better close up shots you want to get Myrm.
With the camera being 20 mega-pixels it will give good clarity and depth of field, as Sony use Ziess lenses which are very good. Ziess Camera Lenses

Hi Wood

Many thanks for your thoughts. The new lens is expected on Wednesday. Let's hope that this is the right one.

I am sure it will do the job better as it is 1x which is the strongest magnification you can get for macro lenses. 

[Deleted]

Well, the new macro lens arrived today, and I gave it a whirl.

It is better than the previous one I sent back (for which Amazon refunded me today), but it's still not as good as I expected. Perhaps I am expecting too much as the camera and lens certainly are not top of the range.

Here are some pictures I took:

I guess I just need to mess with the settings. It's a 20MP camera which I thought would have been more than adequate.

[Wood~Ant]

Sometimes auto-focus can spot focus on a certain area, and you would probably have to buy a camera at around £2, 500 or more to get Alex Wild type photos with a very expensive macro lens as well.
All in all you have done quite well, as moving subjects like ants are never easy to focus on accurately; and the umbies have come out pretty good. I am not very good at taking photos of ants, which is why I stick to my HD camcorder and make videos instead.

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2014 13:14:01 GMT Wood~Ant said:

Sometimes auto-focus can spot focus on a certain area, and you would probably have to buy a camera at around £2, 500 or more to get Alex Wild type photos with a very expensive macro lens as well..

Yeah, I guess we are spoilt when we see the beautiful pictures that Alex takes, and we want to do the same with our £300 cameras

[Deleted]

KK, trying a slightly different lens now; Sony SAL 10028M

It's two steps up from the SAL 3028M I had, and, unfortunately, more expensive

The lens allows you to take the photo from further back allowing any light from the flash to light up the picture, which the closeness of the 30 didn't allow.

The pictures are still not amazing but with practise and trial-and-error of the various camera settings I am sure I'll start having more success.  The 30 lens is being returned to Amazon.  Must say; Amazon are very good when it comes to returns; no real questions asked other than selecting from a drop down menu the reason for return. With just a few clicks everything is sorted and a courier booked to collect the return.

Dermy; look!  baby larvae!!!

Three umbratus drinking water

The umbratus worker is a dead one which was unfortunately crushed when I returned the lid of the foraging tank

These were taken indoors as well without any natural sunlight, so I am sure if it were outside the pictures might be even better.  I am going to save up for a Alex Wild standard camera and macro lens.  Should be able to afford in the next 50 years >_<

[Deleted]

[Jenny]

The one you have on order is a macro telephoto lens similar to the first one you had, does 2 jobs on one lens it has the 2 switches like on my Sigma. I took the greenbottle yesterday with one, out in the garden. They are good for wildlife if you can't go near them, but it does macro from about a foot away as well  Again AF searches, so I use the manual focus.