This is my first post on the forum. I am looking for a recommended macro set-up for a Canon 5D with a Subal housing. All advice appreciated. Thanks.

James

welcome James

SOme popular macro lenses for Canon are the 60mm and the 100mm. They both do 1:1 ratio so are great lenses for small stuff. The 60mm you have to be closer to your subject to get that. 60mm seems to be a more popular length as you have a little more flexibility for larger subjects like groupers etc. Also, if you are diving in dirty water people tend to like the 60 as you don't have to be as far away from things as you would be with the 100mm. Eventually most people will end up with both.

well the 60mm EF-s won't be useable on the 5D as is, because it's a cropped sensor lens
on the 5D you can get the canon 50mm but it won't do 1:1, the sigma 50mm which will do 1:1, to use the 60m EF-S you need to use the canon extension tubes (a wetpixel member, pgk, has done some testing on this and likes it), if not there's the canon ef 100mm macro, or if you really want to push it you could go for the sigma 150mm macro which James, one of the mods here, has used quite successfully.

i use the 100mm quite often, and also add to it a 500D close up lens to reduce minimum focus distance to just about in front of the port on my setup.

as mike says you typically end up with the 50 and the 100, but i use the 100 more than the 50...

however the 50 is probably easier to start with than the 100...

hth

/paul

edit: oops forgot to add: Welcome to the pond!!!

i was going to mention the Sigma 50, but i thought that was for cropped sensor only... hahaha

Canon confuses me as i thought the 60 was for full frame...

Right, i am sticking to Nikon questions from now on!

For the 5D I recommend starting with the 100mm lens. Then get the Sigma 50mm, and finally get the Sigma 150mm or Sigma/Canon/Tamron 180mm.

I also totally recommend looking at getting a Nexus wet lens - aka woody's diopter.

Cheers
James

My favorite setup with this camera is Canon 100USM + Kenko 1.4x TC + Nexus Wet Lens.

Take a look at the Sigma 70mm. Its a nice medium between the 50 and 100mm macro lens, and it goes to 1:1. Paul Humann and Ned Deloach are using them with their 5D's and find them extremely sharp. Looking to pick one up myself, now that I sold my Canon 100 macro.

Hi James,
I am using the Canon 100mm Macro with the 20D. This is the only macro lens I have used in a housed camera. Using this lens is not that difficult. 1:1 and being able to manually focus when set to auto-focus is nice. When using this lens, I put the auto-focus on the on the rear button and use my thumb to focus. If I have a problem focusing, I switch to manual or a combination of manual and bumping with the thumb. Then it is just a matter of looking in the viewfinder and getting the shot when everything is lined up and in focus.