Macro Photography

I'm a complete beginner with no photography experience but excited to get into it.

Budget: ~$500

Needs: High quality macro of all kinds (my main purpose for getting a camera in the first place). Secondary: portraits (full body / upper body). Tertiary to those is versatility for everything else as it's going to be the only lens for the foreseeable future. I'd also love for the lens to have all the latest features like autofocus and the such (if there's anything else).

I've done some research around macro RF lenses for R50 (ASP-C cropped sensor) and among the 24mm, 35mm, and 85mm it seems 35mm stands out the most for the above needs but since I'm on a tight budget, I need quality advice to make sure I'm not making a mistake here.

I know Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM is better due to 1:1, but it wouldn't be as versatile as 35mm and thus annoying to use for anything other than macro due to the effective 160mm on the crop lense, right?

I could theoretically get used lenses but it's difficult where I live. The EF to RF adapter would have to be without the ring (too expensive otherwise), and I might have real trouble finding the suggested proper older EF (or third party) lens. Plus, most used lenses here aren't much cheaper, even the really old ones, and I really doubt they'd be in good condition either. But for a really good recommendation I might consider it.

Macro Photo of some coffee beans

A candle wick and the bud on a Christmas-tree

A meadow scorpionfly snacking on a dead caterpillar (peacock butterfly), next to (mayyyybe?) the cocoon of the parasite that killed the caterpillar.

'Blue Bristletail' by Tom's Macro and Nature Photographs

Jumping bristletails, order Archaeognatha (meaning "ancient jaw"), are an order of small, strange, vaguely shrimp-like, wingless insects. They're covered in fine scales, like butterfly or moth wings, and can indeed jump by pushing off with their tails.

They often live in damp environments, but you can spot them in the desert, usually under rocks. Most are tan or grey, sometimes with interesting patterns and a bit of subtle metallic color - but this is the most beautiful one I've ever seen. I found it on Saturday in Joshua Tree National Park.

I usually use a diffused flash when photographing insects and spiders, and shade the subject from harsh sun to prevent overexposed highlights, but in this case, the flash flattened out the gorgeous colors - so this is a full-sun, natural light image.

Like much of the blue in nature, this is structural coloration, meaning the hues come not from pigment but from micro-structures in the scales that cause only certain wavelengths to reflect back to our eyes.

This time of year there aren't a lot of insects out and about, but this little creature, maybe about three times the size of a rice grain, was a spectacular exception.

A birch catkin bug invited itself.

Canon T6 - Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6

Photo is cropped a bit as I wasn't zoomed very far.

I got myself extension tubes and it just happened to be THE season.

Tiny subject. No bigger than 1mm. 100 image focus stack. Essex, UK.

flickr

Found on flickr

One of the photos in The shortlist for the Micro category of CUPOTY 5

Found on flickr

Mitutoyo 10x NA 0.28, tube lens: ITL 200 (Nikon)

llumination: Oblique

The male have an additional chemo-sensor on their head, certainly to find distant females.

This species originates from tropical regions and can normally not survive north to the Alps (Bavaria). However, from time to time I find them in our kitchen, and I suspect that I "import" them by buying (ecologically grown) oranges or lemons.

These beautiful flies are considered to be one of the most destructive fruit pests in the world.

Found on Flickr

Small Carpenter bee

Found on flickr

Sometimes called Snow fleas, they are approx 1/6" or 2-3mm in size and are rather difficult to photograph well with standard gear. They live in the soil and decaying matter, they also seek cover under Mushroom caps.

Found on flickr

Fairy cups lichen with blue bloom on black sloes

Found on flickr

Found on flickr

Unfortunately the only jumper i saw on this day was a meal for this guy. As i walked up he was finishing up de-legging and de-heading the jumper =(

Found on flickr

Canon T7. Sigma 105mm F/2.8

Canon T7. Sigma 105mm.