I need an afforable macro lens - Advice Please

[dsiegel5151]

I have three macro lenses currently (one is a loaner). Here's the order of sharpness I would give them compared to the rest of my kit:

1. EF 180mm f3.5L macro
2. EF 400mm f5.6L
3. EF 70-200 f2.8L IS II
T4. EF 50mm f1.4
T4. EF 50mm f2.5 compact macro
5. EF 60mm f2.8 macro
6. EF 24-70 f2.8L

...granted, this is all subjective, but these are my opinions. The 60mm may be hurt in my scoring b/c I can't use it on my 5d(I). My 50mm compact macro is typically on loan to my friend that is still in grad school, and to tell you the truth, when I need a short macro I just stick a 12mm extension tube on my 50mm f1.4 instead of using my 60mm. Of course, this is about as macro as I tend to get (5d + 50mm f1.4 with 12mm extension tube):



...but when I'm bored I will use the 60mm, and although I don't think it is as sharp as the others, it still produces nice images:


...and of course, while I have the 180mm macro on loan, I have been using it religiously. The details and color are amazing. The shots above both had to be sharpened from Raw files in post processing before conversion to jpegs. Below is a shot with the 180mm that I didn't touch besides adjusting the contrast. It is truly an amazing lens. Maybe I accidentally lost it and cannot return it

[Daniel Browning]

Affordable macro? How about a 105mm f/4, manual focus, for just $125? You can get a $25 Nikon-to-Canon adapter, and the lens is about $100 on keh.com. It's sharp as a tack. Plus, I love the 70's-era aesthetics, which make me feel at home in any discotheque.