March 26, 2016
Desert Larkspur, Alabama Hills, California, USA, and Using the Canon TS-E 90mm f2.8 for Macros

The sky was clear late yesterday afternoon so I turned my attention to more intimate scenes that didn't include the sky. I found a protected area with lots of wildflowers and spotted my first ever Desert Larkspur (Delphinium parishii) that I proceeded to photograph until after sunset. It took a long time to get the images I wanted because I was using my 90 TS with extension tubes instead of my regular 180 Macro.

Canon TS-E 90mm f2.8 For Macros

After my gear was stolen last year, I considered using a Canon TS-E 90mm f2.8 with extension tubes for macros because the lens itself has a rather respectable magnification of 0.29x. (1.0x provides an image size on a full frame sensor that is the same size as the subject.) I had hoped that by using a Kenko DG Teleplus Extension Tube Set, that includes 12mm, 20mm, and 36mm tubes, I would be able to get by without purchasing a replacement Canon EF 180mm f3.5L Macro lens and Canon 12mm and 25mm extension tubes. Right after the Kenko extension tubes arrived, I explored the macro capability of the TS-E 90mm, and thought it would be OK for near-macro work but I still planned to purchase a replacement EF 180mm in time for flower season this summer so I could shoot true macros.

For the image above, I was using all three Kenko extension tubes and could just barely get close enough to frame this single blossom. The stack of three extension tubes had quite a bit of flex and the 90 TS moved up and down significantly while I was focusing. Another difficulty is that the 90 TS doesn't have a tripod collar, so I had to change the camera orientation using the Kirk L-Bracket. The lens moves up and down slightly when rotating the body, but the biggest problem is that the lens moves forward and back quite a bit because the vertical plate is shifted forward compared to the horizontal plate to clear the electronic connections on the left side of the body. Based on the difficulties I had shooting last night, I can't wait to get another 180 Macro!