Your Questions About Canon 500d Close Up Lens

rob answers:

>> i want to know what is the combined distance in mm of my nikon
>> 70-200 f2.8 lens with the canon 500D close up lens

The combined distance of what? The Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 has a minimum focus distance of 4.6 feet, or 1402mm. With a 500D attached, you will be able to achieve near focus at 1.84 feet, or 560mm.

>> not the canon 500D camera

Yes, there’s a *LOT* of confusion over this. Say what you want about Nikon, but at least they never gave two different products the same model number.

>> the close up lens is like a screw on type….kinda like a filter
>> they sell it on b and h ….so don’t tell me there is no such thing

Correct. It’s a 77mm screw-on attachment lens, compatible with your Nikkor, or any other lens with a 77mm thread.

>> i was also wondering about how wide or small i can go with
>> my f stops before there is any distortion or focusing problems..
>> …if any

The usual caveats apply. The 500D only affects the minimum focus distance, and because of the additional glass elements, has a small effect on light transmission. The effective focal length (and the aperture) remain unchanged.

Hope this helps!

rob answers:

TRY CANON.USA.COM OR www.canogacamera.com/lenses.aspx.
THANKS!

rob answers:

I have the early 80-200mm F2.8 lens (push-pull zoom). I bought it used from France. It cost me around £300GBP, about 500USD.

It is an excellent lens for capturing butterflies… I recently tested it at an otter and owl sanctuary where to my surprise there was also a very good butterfly house. I managed to capture some great shots from a distance…

These days I only consider fast glass… I’ve also a 300mm F2.8, 50mm F1.4 and a wide angle 14mm F2.8 they all work well on my D70s and D3 and are all used lenses, without VR. Vibration reduction would be nice but I’ve learned to shoot without it and don’t really give it a second thought now.

So, to sum up, the 80-200 F2.8 is fine for photographing butterflies and bugs…..just don’t expect it to close focus!

Good luck with whatever you get and BTW your shots are great but you’ll be able to use a faster shutter speed with the 80-200 thus reducing camera shake, and, the bokeh from this lens is superb.

rob answers:

I couldn’t afford the Canon lens, so I bought the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro, instead.

I love it! It is tack sharp, makes a nice “normal” lens, too, and the 105mm lets me stay away from the bugs a little further.
The only downside is that in macro, sometimes the auto focus does too much “hunting”, but even that isn’t an issue since I normally use manual focus for macros, anyway.
For extra close macros, I add my Kenko extension tubes.

rob answers:

It depends on what your priorities are. There are the kit zooms – the EF-s 15-85 mm IS or the EF-s 18-135 mm IS. Both this have good zoom ranges but slightly smaller maximum aperture. You can get either one and need not change lens if the zoom range is sufficient. If you want a better zoom range, then go for the 18 – 200mm. This lens is versatile although the image quality suffers a little.

If it is high quality shots you are looking for and you have a more flexible budget and you don,t mind carrying 2 lenses then go for the EF-s 17-55 mm f/2.8 IS as a walkabout lens. It has a respectable zoom range and good low light performance, something you need when shooting indoors and dimly lit conditions. You can supplement this with a budget EF-s 55 – 300 mm IS for medium to long
telephoto. This zoom is very good for the price you will be paying.