T7i - Beginner macro photography challenges

[ravinat]

I bought a T7i recently and I wanted to try macro photography (I am a landscape photographer). I bought a macro extender tube in Amazon and also a Yongnua 50 mm prime lens. 

The prime lens attached tot he T7i is great and works fine at different aperture settings from 1.8 to 22. 

When I attach the extender tube, and the prime lens to it, I am unable to change the aperture as there seems to be no way to do that on a Yongnua. I saw some recommendation that you can lock the aperture by doing a DoF preview. I did that and then when I remove the lens and attach the extender+lens,, the camera now allows me to manually focus, but not change the aperture.

Any suggestions?

[Waddizzle]

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@ravinat wrote:

No, it does not have the electrical contact. Manual focus is not the issue. Setting the right aperture is. This is the case with the prime lens as well as the 18-55mm kit lens of Canon.

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If your extension tubes have no electrical contacts, then you went just a little too low ball.  Those would be useful with a fully manual lens.

Most AF, Auto Focusing, lenses have electronic aperture control.  Without the electrical contacts, there is no way you will get aperture control with an AF lens.  

Macro lenses can also double as very good prime lenses.  In addition, because of their flatter focus plane, they can be useful where standard lenses are not.  For example, I recently too photos of a fairly wide wall mural.  The left and right ends of the mural were falling out of focus due to DOF.  My 100mm Macro was able to capture all of it in focus.

[ravinat]

Thanks for all your valuable suggestions. I think the best way for me to test this is to rent the lens for a day or two and try out if the macro lens works for me.

[ebiggs1]

Now you'er talking.  Even if you got the cobbled off brand stuff to work the results would likely not be high quality.  So then the question becomes why do it at all.

[Waddizzle]

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@ravinat wrote:

Thanks for all your valuable suggestions. I think the best way for me to test this is to rent the lens for a day or two and try out if the macro lens works for me.

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Another lens choice that has not gotten any mention, probably because of the focal length, is the EF-S 35mm f/2.8 IS STM Macro lens.  It has 1:1 magnification, and an MFD around 5 inches.  It would probably also be a pretty good “normal” lens on an AOS-C sensor body, too.

[jrhoffman75]

And has built in macro light.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/lenses/ef/macro/ef-s-35mm-f-2-8-m...

[kvbarkley]

I have always felt that that lens has too small a working distance for 1:1.

[ebiggs1]

The EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM is an interesting lens but I would still go for the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM instead.

[Waddizzle]

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@kvbarkley wrote:

I have always felt that that lens has too small a working distance for 1:1.

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I agree, but ...

If you are shooting static subjects, the distance should not be an issue most of the time.  If you need to back up, the camera has enough resolution to where a modest crop should not make much difference.  Also, the shorter focal length should give you more DOF.