Ever since taking up mantis breeding seriously, i have been taking lot of insect photos. By the end of 2008, after many years of using the "point and shoot" digital camera (Canon PowerShot SD500), i have decided to take photographing into another level. Yep, the wonderful macro photos! So the process of looking for one starts right away.
Shopping for a reliable SLR camera was not as easy as I thought. There are so many type of cameras in the market good for macro photos. So i begin to narrow down the option by picking up a good and reliable brand I am familiar with, which would be Canon! probably the easiest part of my entire process of getting the camera ha! Now there are still a good dozen of SLR to chose from. I was checking the high end Mark series and realized it was way out of my budget (Mark III is more than $4,000 while Mark II is about $2,500) although it has a sophisticated full-frame sensor feature where the camera will automatically pick up the four corner within the viewing path. The next option I had was the newest release of Rebel series. The Rebel SLR cameras are "affordable", ranging from $500-$900, but it does not have the solid build, less interesting features, and poor camera grip so I gave it a pass and move on to the EOS 20-50D option. After some dicussion with friends, I was told to take either 40D or 50D for its superior build, solid operation, quality images, and very easy to use. With the type of camera in mind, I started to shop around. I went to several camera stores, even looking for any used one but finally found the camera I like in Ritz Camera in West Houston. There was a deal for Canon EOS camera. For $1,399 the package would include a new EOS 50D, a lens (EF 28-135 mm IS), 10-class photographing course, portable Canon photo printer, printing packages, etc. It was right before my birthday trip to California so i bought the bundle.
After getting the "body", the next thing is to look for a macro lens. It is amazing how expensive some lenses get, but i am all interested in macro lens and starting to check out few Canon macro lenses. There were macro EF 50 mm, 60 mm, 100 mm, and 180 mm lenses, and also A unique manual-focus lens designed exclusively for macro shooting call MP-E 65 mm. I couldn't decide which one but a camera "guru" of mine (Thanks Chris!) suggested Sigma 100 mm macro lens which cost about $600, so I took the advice. But Chris was also kind enough to let me know a tripod is almost compulsary as the lens is heavy. Well he was right!! The Sigma lens was abour half a kilogram heavier than the 100 m Canon macro lens. But I like the Sigma lens because it gives me a longer shooting range which allow me to shoot a macro photo of a wild insect from a distance.
After getting the Tripod and the head. i proceed to get a Kenko extension tube too for the purpose of adding my macro capability. So next is the flash light (yeah i know when it is going to end!), i was pretty much burn up by now and decided to get a used Speedlite 580-EX, but the result was not very satisfying. Later I was told that the best flash for macro shot would be Macro Twin or Macro Ring flashlight that cost a bomd (they are around $700-$1000). I am currently looking for camera bracket or other cheaper type of ring flash (such as Orbis Ring Flash) for a better result.
There are always more to learn in camera. Diffuser, focus point, focal length, shutter speed, etc these are the terms i will get familiarize with pretty soon. The worst part is probably the class. It starts at 8:00 Am every Saturday!!! Nevertheless, i love photographing.
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