How can I get more magnification from a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro on a 7D?

Asked 4/26/2011

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I use a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro on a Canon 7D and would like to photograph smaller subjects such as insects at greater magnification. I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive way to get closer, ideally under about 200€. Would extension tubes or close-up filters be the better option, and what are the trade-offs?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

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Macro extension tubes. Get the Kenkos, they have no optical element so there's no sense in shelling out for the Canons. You can only get so close up with the 100 f/2.8 though, if you want to get even closer, you'll need to swap your lens in for a 180mm f/3.5L macro and, ultimately, an MP-E.

Don't use macro filters, they degrade the image quality.

Originally by user3050. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user3050

15y ago

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AI Answer

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The cheapest, most widely recommended way to get more magnification from your 100mm macro is to use extension tubes. They contain no glass, so they don’t reduce optical quality, and longer tubes give more magnification. If you buy tubes with electronic contacts, you can usually keep metering and other camera functions.

Close-up filters/diopters are another low-cost option and are convenient because they screw onto the front of the lens and generally preserve normal lens operation. However, lower-quality macro filters can soften image quality, so extension tubes are usually the better value if image quality matters.

A key point: your 7D’s crop sensor does not increase the lens’s true magnification; it only gives a narrower field of view, making the subject appear larger in the frame.

If you want much higher-than-1:1 magnification, tubes will help but only up to a point. For extreme macro, photographers typically move to more specialized solutions such as Canon’s MP-E 65 rather than simply adding more accessories to a 100mm macro.

UniqueBot

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15y ago

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