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Archive 2020 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Scapehunter
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

I'm looking for a lens to take pictures of individual flowers, leaves and plants from 1 to 10'' across. I'm hoping for some bokeh to isolate the blooms. My camera is the Olympus EM5ii. I have a kit 40-150 lens. (It focuses very fast compared to my older Olympus E-510.)

I have the older Olympus 12-60 and 50 macro f/2, which I use with the Panasonic adapter, but I am finding focus to be slow, and the lens with the adapter is heavy and big.

I was thinking about the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm F2.8 Macro Lens. It certainly has macro capabilities and people say it is good for portraits.

I was also thinking of a 25 mm such as: 7artisans 25mm F1.8 APS-C Manual Fixed Lens for Micro Four Thirds. It's cheap ($70). I could also use this for landscape pictures. Two long youtube reviews say it's sharp in the middle, but has problems with loss of contrast and vignetting in the corners. It's manual focus, which would bring back 35mm memories!

More expensive is the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 Lens. It has a lower aperture than the 60mm macro. People say a lower f stop lens adds more bokeh, but then they say if you stop it down, it is sharper. I want the central item to be sharp. So, why get a faster lens if it's just going to have to be stopped down, I humbly ask?

I'm also thinking I would like to stay with Olympus for synergy with the Olympus body and use with high resolution feature.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

May 24, 2020 at 04:41 PM

galenapass
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Not sure I can help with the choices you present. My m43 go to lens for this type of work is the 40-150/2.8. The Oly 60mm macro has a good reputation.

[EDIT] - by the way
(1) you are confusing bokeh and depth of field in your post. f 1.8 gives a shallow depth of field, it does not give you more bokeh. Bokeh is the quality of out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens. Some lens have good bokeh and some do not - a lens with a wide aperture does not guarantee good bokeh, only more DOF.
(2) Lenses with a wide aperture are not needed for macro shooting, IMO. Typically macro shooters do not have enough depth of field and work off a tripod, so getting a wide aperture lens does not make sense in general.
(3) I think you need to figure out if you truly want a macro lens or if you just want to take close-ups. A lot of people say macro and think macro but they really just want to take close-ups and that does not require a macro lens. To date my most favorite close-up lens was the Canon 300mm F/4. The lens provided great working distance and my copy was very sharp.
(4) The Olympus hires mode only moves the sensor. To my knowledge all lenses work with hires since it is independent of the lens. There is no need to stick with Olympus if you want to use this feature.

May 24, 2020 at 07:29 PM

Scapehunter
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Thanks, I appreciate the response. In looking up the difference between depth of field and bokeh, I found the following Youtube video by Matt Granger helpful:

I have noticed people are taking pictures of flowers with superzooms and with macros.

May 25, 2020 at 07:11 AM

Chefboyarsd
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

I would suggest the new 12-45mm Olympus Pro. Not only is it a perfect pair in size for your E-M5, but it doubles as a great macro. 1:2 magnification is more than enough for flowers. I have the 60mm macro, while ok for portraits, the 45mm 1.8 costs about the same as AirPods but still works beautifully after all these years.
Don't worry about bokeh, tech nerds just wanna have excuses to have expensive gear. Any proper prime is going to be fine.

May 25, 2020 at 07:25 AM

stan2
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

The Oly 60mm is a nice little flower lens. Here are another couple options:

https://lensbaby.com/collections/collection/products/sol22mm?gclid=CjwKCAjw2a32BRBXEiwAUcugiPzRnPngSAEII-59rYjxUg1dJ1kjUhxyed8_Lmy0Q-rZ5p1CUlPu_BoCsJEQAvD_BwE

https://lensbaby.com/collections/collection/products/velvet-56

May 25, 2020 at 10:15 AM

galenapass
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Scapehunter wrote:
Thanks, I appreciate the response. In looking up the difference between depth of field and bokeh, I found the following Youtube video by Matt Granger helpful:

I have noticed people are taking pictures of flowers with superzooms and with macros.

Closeup photography with a longer lens is great for things like butterflies etc.... One of my interests is tree frogs in Costa Rica. Would rather stand back and not disturb the frog, then have to get on my knees or futz with a tripod, etc... It all depends on your needs.

Edited on May 27, 2020 at 08:44 PM · View previous versions

May 25, 2020 at 12:19 PM

Lleuallen
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

If it is flower pictures you want I suggest the Tokina 90mm 2.5 macro. It is on older full frame film camera lens. It is a manual focus lens which does not make much difference for macro flower work, in fact it is probably preferable. With the enlarged focus assist and peaking in the mirrorless cameras, manual focus is easy and accurate, just not fast. It will require an adapter to fit your camera. You will have to check out the different mount options as some mounts are cheaper and work just as well.

One of the main reasons for this lens is bokeh. The lens is often called the "Bokina" because of it exceptional bokeh. Another reason is that it is a longer focal length which gives nice perspective to flower pictures. I have this lens and when I am serious about flower it is the lens I grab and I have many others. It does not seem to be too expensive on ebay. I would not get it if I were doing insects, other lenses would be a better choice.

The 40-150mm 2.8 Oly is not a macro but with its long focal length and relatively close focusing it does very well with flowers. This would be your most versatile option but it is expensive.

May 25, 2020 at 03:21 PM

Scapehunter
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Thanks everyone! I found this video on the topic, and I notice they use different lenses.

May 27, 2020 at 07:54 PM

galenapass
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Scapehunter wrote:
Thanks everyone! I found this video on the topic, and I notice they use different lenses.

I can see you are doing a lot of thinking about this. Please don't over do it. Get a nice sharp lens like the Olympus 60mm macro and get out there and shoot. As with many types of photography, a good macro/flower shot is decided more by creativity and good light, rather than equipment. There is always time to get other lenses if this turns out to be your passion.

May 27, 2020 at 08:43 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Feb 08, 2021 at 12:26 AM

visualpauses
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

The Oly 60mm Macro is perfect for macros, the other option is the 12-45 which has some wide angle macro potential.
I haven’t used non Oly lenses so can’t comment on those. I haven’t used the 12-45 either but I’ve seen great flower shots made with it, online.

Scapehunter wrote:
I'm looking for a lens to take pictures of individual flowers, leaves and plants from 1 to 10'' across. I'm hoping for some bokeh to isolate the blooms. My camera is the Olympus EM5ii. I have a kit 40-150 lens. (It focuses very fast compared to my older Olympus E-510.)

I have the older Olympus 12-60 and 50 macro f/2, which I use with the Panasonic adapter, but I am finding focus to be slow, and the lens with the adapter is heavy and big.

I was thinking about the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm F2.8 Macro Lens. It certainly has...Show more →

Feb 08, 2021 at 06:52 AM

visualpauses
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

M43 is ideal for macro work due to the free DoF we get with m43 at all apertures as compared to FF
Oly IBIS helps as well.

If you are looking to pick up some tips about macros, DoF etc and see non flower macro examples you can check out this video by Hayath Mohammad

Scapehunter wrote:
Thanks, I appreciate the response. In looking up the difference between depth of field and bokeh, I found the following Youtube video by Matt Granger helpful:

I have noticed people are taking pictures of flowers with superzooms and with macros.

Feb 08, 2021 at 06:59 AM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Feb 08, 2021 at 11:13 AM

Robin Smith
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Agree with what people have said here. You do not need a macro lens to take close ups, but you need a macro lens to go 1:1, which in my experience most people do not need when they ask a question in the way the OP did. I use the 40-150mm f2.8 most of the time for my close up shots as it can provide plenty of bokeh/shallow depth of field and lots of differing perspectives. If I need to go closer still the 12-40mm f2.8 is good. Next up is the 12-100mm. A fast 25mm lens is not a very good choice as that will not provide much magnification. The Oly 25 f1.2 is an example of this. If you like the idea of the zoom 12-45 f4 then I take others' word that this is a good choice. If you really want a dedicated true macro lens the 60mm has a great reputation.

Feb 08, 2021 at 12:05 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

Have a look at the Macro series on YouTube by Joe McDonald.

The one episode shows which Oly lenses you can use with both teleconverters and extension tubes, both by themselves and in combinations.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL0kTSo7NGthtQ5XXprdCJg

Feb 08, 2021 at 01:18 PM

neilvan
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

The 60mm is an excellent macro lens, so small and light which makes it great for the awkward positions we find ourselves in when shooting at 1:1 or close to it.

The older 50mm f2 ED (1:2) can be had for a fraction of the price of the 60mm and has better IQ in my experience but you would need to use an adapter to use it...

Feb 14, 2021 at 02:01 PM

nma
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Good lens for Flowers, Leaves and for Macro for EM5ii

There is no one answer to your question. A cheap and effective solution is to buy a set of extension tubes made for the four thirds system use. They preserve autofocus capabilities. The tube will allow the camera to do closer focus. Typically, the tubes come in a set of two, a 10 mm and 16mm. This should cost about $25

Mar 04, 2021 at 08:07 PM