Tamron 90mm Di Macro Lens

Joe Knows Reefs · Oct 15, 2011

Just got my first macro lens the other day and started playing with it. Im pretty good with the stock lens but can't seem to figure out the macro... I've read through the "stickied" tutorials and that is what helped me to be successful with the stock lens.

I was hoping someone out there with the same lens might have some pointers on general use and also with top down shots. Of course I want to get some of those colorful acros

swannyson7 · Oct 15, 2011

I use the Tamron 90mm and find that I have to extend my F-stop quite a bit for good depth of field... much more so than my Canon 60mm. For top down shots, I boost the ISO up to about 400, and use shutter priority mode, while I use aperture priority with an ISO of 100 for front shots. I have a hard time with top-downs due to my unsteady hands, but as long as you can get top downs without moving your lights, you can adjust your shutter speed and get some pretty good shots. The AF on the tamron is a bit sluggish, so I always use manual focus on shots from the front, but don't really have a choice but to use AF on the top-downs. HTH

Joe Knows Reefs · Oct 15, 2011

swannyson7 said:
I use the Tamron 90mm and find that I have to extend my F-stop quite a bit for good depth of field... much more so than my Canon 60mm. For top down shots, I boost the ISO up to about 400, and use shutter priority mode, while I use aperture priority with an ISO of 100 for front shots. I have a hard time with top-downs due to my unsteady hands, but as long as you can get top downs without moving your lights, you can adjust your shutter speed and get some pretty good shots. The AF on the tamron is a bit sluggish, so I always use manual focus on shots from the front, but don't really have a choice but to use AF on the top-downs. HTH

Thank you for the tips swanny! I'll give a shot and post some results

ReefRocker · Oct 15, 2011

This is the exact lens I hope to buy soon. Swannyson7, can you post some pictures of what this lens is able to capture?

swannyson7 · Oct 15, 2011

Sure thing, here's a few shots with the Tamron 90mm:

swannyson7 · Oct 15, 2011

HighlandReef · Oct 15, 2011

nice pice swanny!
i also use the same lens with my d90, takes great pics. Alot of peep's like this lens due to the blurring affects around the edges. Heres one of my favorites that i took

Joe Knows Reefs · Oct 15, 2011

Nice shots guys....thanks for making my thread so pretty

Now, for top downs....I just can't figure it out. Are people using a tripod with a boom arm on it?

swannyson7 · Oct 15, 2011

I don't use a boom ARM, although that would really help. To get clear shots, stabilize my arms as much as possible, boost the ISO and speed up the shutter

ReefRocker · Oct 15, 2011

Wow Swanny, those pics are drool worthy!

I know what I will by myself for Christmas, thanks for sharing!

Joe Knows Reefs · Oct 16, 2011

Ok, here are my first shots with the new macro. I need some fine tuning and a few pointers. I've never taken a decent picture of a fish until now, but I know it can/should be much better. I shot in Shutter Priority mode (Tv) and sped up the shutter speed, but a lot of the images were dark. To compensate I slowed the shutter speed but got more camera shake... I'll keep playing though

KLR · Oct 16, 2011

Those look nice to me, I have the Tamron 180mm but I have not have had any time to truly sit down and focus on perfecting its use with reef pictures. Hopefully I will be able to soon,as I am becoming less busy in the week.

redemer123 · Oct 16, 2011

whoa swanny, I have the same lens but i cant get the same up close shots as you are? any tips? lol

Joe Knows Reefs · Oct 16, 2011

A few more

swannyson7 · Oct 16, 2011

Great shots Tripnbili!! If you're having a problem with underexposed shots, you can try a few things other than messing with the shutter speed. Your first option would be to actually adjust the exposure on the camera, but this will slow the shutted and increase motion blur if your hands aren't steady or if the subject is moving. Your second option is to increase the ISO which will keep the shutter relatively fast, but if you increase it too much, you'll get "noise" in your photos, especially if you're doing substantial cropping. Your third option would be to put it in Manual mode and reduce your F-stop. That will give you a smaller depth of field, but will keep the shutter pretty quick to reduce motion blur and you'll be able to capture more light with the same shutter speed. HTH

@ redemer123- Several of those shots (especially in my first post) are cropped substantially. If you're using a tripod with your flow off and a low ISO, the images will be sharp enough to crop the image down and retain a nice clear image.

Joe Knows Reefs · Oct 16, 2011

swannyson7 said:
Great shots Tripnbili!! If you're having a problem with underexposed shots, you can try a few things other than messing with the shutter speed. Your first option would be to actually adjust the exposure on the camera, but this will slow the shutted and increase motion blur if your hands aren't steady or if the subject is moving. Your second option is to increase the ISO which will keep the shutter relatively fast, but if you increase it too much, you'll get "noise" in your photos, especially if you're doing substantial cropping. Your third option would be to put it in Manual mode and reduce your F-stop. That will give you a smaller depth of field, but will keep the shutter pretty quick to reduce motion blur and you'll be able to capture more light with the same shutter speed. HTH

@ redemer123- Several of those shots (especially in my first post) are cropped substantially. If you're using a tripod with your flow off and a low ISO, the images will be sharp enough to crop the image down and retain a nice clear image.

Thanks Swanny! I think I figured those tips out right before you posted them LOL. Here comes another post with some top downs on some frags...I had to post them FS to make some money back on this car payment, I mean lens