Vintage Macro Lens?

I have been using a set of extension tubes with my Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 It seems to work pretty well. I picked up the set of vintage OM tubes in 7, 14, 25mm on ebay for $65. Here's the only sample I've tried them on so far.

http://youtu.be/WMRrFBavr9A

I don't know much about macro work, but I thought this was a pretty cool test and it came out better than I expected. I know that the vintage OM 50mm F/2.0 Macro lens goes for a fortune on ebay. It must be a pretty good lens. I'd love to see some tests of macro lenses vs high quality primes and an extension tube set if anyone has seen any.

Cheers,
Pete
 
Extension tubes do not work properly like a regular Macro lens, please I am looking for a real Macro lens in 85mm or less.
 
vision_filmz said:
Extension tubes do not work properly like a regular Macro lens, please I am looking for a real Macro lens in 85mm or less.
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They work a little different, but I use them for macro work all the time. Doesn't affect sharpness at all, though DOF can get pretty shallow depending on how much tube you use.
 
David W. Jones said:
Zeiss Contax 60mm macro.

View attachment 52100View attachment 52101
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Thanks for that David, but I seen that lens sells for close to $1000, for that price I would buy a modern Macro Canon lens for less. I know many users have found vintage lenses in the $200 area or less, just wondering if anyone knew of any gems out there.

Also to respond to c3hammer, I have used tubes and they require more light and provide a very shallow dof which is why I do not like them. I want a real 1:1 Macro lens hopefully that is not to expensive, which is why I asked if anyone knew of an old vintage one.
Thanks
 
85 or less?

Ok, here are some of my favorites:

- Micro-Nikkor 55/2.8 (55/3.5 is also good, slightly less sharp and slower)
- Leica R Macro-Elmarit 60
- Vivitar Series 1 28-90/2.8-3.5 Macro

Then of course there's always the option of a reversing ring on your favorite 50, optionally paired with a good zoom lens
 
If you want to push a bit more (In fl and $) the Leitz 100mm Apo-Macro-R is reconed to be about the best. Pricy though, I've seen them in the UK for £1000 or thereabouts
 
vision_filmz said:
Looking for a Vintage macro lens that is sharp

Thanks
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It depends what you are looking for when you say a vintage macro lens. If you just want a good priced macro lens I would look at a Sigma 50mm ff2.8. The reason I recommend this is that in fact this is a very sharp lens, but luckily it is not considered collectable and there are a lot of them about. Optically it is probably better than the Canon EF 50mm f2.5 compact macro lens, and possibly a bit better made. You can get them very cheaply and they are easy to find. I have an old manual focus one, although I don't use it much now as I have a lot of newer macro lenses. You can even get one in Canon EF fit for not too much. The Cosina 100mm macro lens can bet got very cheaply, its construction is a lower level than the other, but it is still good optically. A Tamron 90mm such as the old 2.5 manual focus adaptall 2 is an alternative. They are sort of middling pricewise, but there a lot about. You can even get an adaptall 2 EF adaptor now off eBay. I have an old Sigma 90mm f2.9 macro lens which is very good and compact. You can even get them in Canon EF mount, but please note they will not work on newer Canon DSLRs and may lock the camera up. So you are best with a manual focus one and an adapter.

If you want something more classy the Tokina 90mm f2.5 or Kiron 105mm f2.8 are good, but they go for silly prices as they have become collectable. For all intents and purposes the Sigma 50mm is as sharp as most macro lenses, and is actually one of the best performers. The new Sigma 70mm f2.8 is a stunning lens and one of the sharpest lenses you can get, it is really sharp wide open. Whilst it is a relatively new lens you can get them for a good price. You need to decide if 1:1 macro without attachments is important. The Sigma 50mm does it - even the older one - but many older macro lenses only go 1:2 without an attatchment. The main downside to the Sigma 50mm is the close working distance at 1:1. It's not worse than other 50mm macros, it is just a bit short, but still allows enough space for lighting. Overall you will struggle to find a macro lens that is not sharp unless it is faulty. At smaller macro apertures there is not much between the cheapest and the most expensive. Other lenses to look out for are the Nikkors, both 50mm f3.5 and f2.8 and Olympus 50mm f3.5. The Canon FD 50mm is good, but adapters for Canon EF sometimes have a glass element so they will focus to infinity.
 
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