So with spring well and truly upon it’s easy to see the dramatic change in the landscape outdoors. You get a real sense of the rising temperatures when you take a closer look at some of the creepy crawlers that are emerging from their winter hide-aways. It’s at times like this that if you are into your photography at all you may want to consider a macro lens. A macro lens will open up a whole new world of photography, and even subjects which perhaps looking dull and uninteresting using a normal lens will come alive under the treatment of a true macro lens.

If you are considering a macro lens then you could do a lot worse than looking at the Sigma 105mm (this one is for the Canon mount) The 105mm zoom is particularly useful if you are interested in taking shots of bugs, especially those such as dragonflies which are easily spooked (remember when positioned on a digital SLR body this 105mm will actually become closer to 160mm). A maximum aperture of f/2.8 will allow for greater control over your close ups without having to always resort to using a tripod.

I find autofocus on a lot of macro lenses to be notoriously slow but most reviews show this one to be useable under normal circumstances and although not silent, it is not so loud as to be annoying (again useful when you are trying to get a shot without scaring your subject away) I’ve also held this lens myself and it’s lower price perhaps hides the fact that this is an extremely well put together bit of kit, feeling quite solid in ones hand.

If you are considering getting into macro photography, and I for one would recommend it, for the upcoming warmer months then this would be my lens of choice.

Posted on May 6th, 2008 by nigel