My Ebay acquisition arrived -- I sprung for a used Quantaray branded Sigma macro lens. Several people had asked me to do miniature photography or photography of small crafts, and I haven't had a lens with any decent macro capability in years. Mind you, I've never had a specific macro lens before, so the obscene fashion in which this thing telescopes came as a surprise. I'll have some learning curve with learning composition, depth of field and lighting for something on this scale.
Regardless, this new capability ought to appease my miniature-painting friends in its ability to show off the exquisite minute detail they've managed -- or shortcomings in such.
I do have a few immediate observations. This lens is a 50 mm focal length one, about 75 mm effective on the digital camera, and that's a bit too short if you want to do 1:1 ratio work. The front of the lens virtually bumps into the object being photographed. When using 1:2 or 1:3 ratios it's much more wieldy, and luckily that's the range in which I'll be spending most of my time.
( Some samples )
Regardless, this new capability ought to appease my miniature-painting friends in its ability to show off the exquisite minute detail they've managed -- or shortcomings in such.
I do have a few immediate observations. This lens is a 50 mm focal length one, about 75 mm effective on the digital camera, and that's a bit too short if you want to do 1:1 ratio work. The front of the lens virtually bumps into the object being photographed. When using 1:2 or 1:3 ratios it's much more wieldy, and luckily that's the range in which I'll be spending most of my time.
( Some samples )