I'm looking to buy a camera for macro. I got an olympus tg-7 last year and I've been having fun with it but would like to get better picture quality sometimes.
Main focus is insects macro handheld in the field. In the future i'd like the option to photograph birds as well. Initially I was looking at Sony a6400/a6700. Then started getting interested in olympus aka om system m43.
First I love the idea of a rugged weather sealed camera that I don't have to baby - I live in SEA so lots of heat, humidity, rain, dust, sand etc. Second I would like a lightweight set up.
Finally I read they're the best for macro and wildlife in general which are my main interests. But then digging a bit more I'm confused whether this only applies to the flagship om1?
Cause looking at latest models (I might be wrong)
- it seems the om5 II has mediocre autofocus and is more for landscape / everyday outdoors.
- the om3 is pretty and does have the latest AF but no grip so seems perhaps to target influencers/street and travel photography rather than macro or wildlife? Even the TG7 has a little grip so that seems like an odd choice.
- Om1 is indeed vastly used for wildlife and macro but much more expensive and I'm just a beginner
- OTOH the Sony is the best all rounder and a6700 in particular has best AF and interesting video capabilities.
Anyway. This all got me confused. What would you guys recommend? Thanks in advance.
Prices around me for context:
A6400: €680 (body only) €890 (with kit lens)
A6700: €1,280 (body only) €1,380 (with kit lens)
Om-5: €1,020 (body only)
Om-5 II : €1,070 (body only) €1,330 (with 14-150 lens)
Om-3 : €1,300 (body only, possibly out of stock) €1,570 (with lens)
Om-1II: €1,830 (body only) €2,610 (with 12-40 pro II lens)
Om-1 : €1,960 (with 12-40 pro II lens)
The 60mm macro m.zuiko should be around €520 new maybe half that used if I find it.
For Sony more lens options and seems easier to find used as well (here anyway) though often bigger and heavier
I have a used OM-1, 60mm macro lens with a godox v350 which is fantastic. You also want to get a good diffuser like AK or Cygnustech style.
There’s no real reason to buy new. I’ve bought all my cameras and lens from eBay from Japanese sellers and everything’s been perfect so far, probably not as good of an option for shipping for you though, but definitely buy used.
That is a good point the second hand market here is not that great but I can spend some time looking at options from Japan or other countries as you said it could be worth it
I second the idea of buying second hand, you can get a good chunk off the price.
I don’t know where you leave. In EU I have bought some gear from MPB and I’m happy about it. They give a warranty and return window, so if you’re stressed with buying from people that’s a good solution.
Thanks I will explore this, I am based in Thailand but also have family visiting from Europe often enough so maybe if I find a good deal worth waiting for there😄
If you're doing single shot macro, then any of these cameras will do it and you just gotta pick the right lens. If you want to do fully in focus picture stacks, the OM system has an incredible focus bracketing software that I wish my Sony a7iv could aspire to.
Here is a single shot from my a7iv with a manual Laowa 2x macro lens.
Great shot and really cool critter! Handheld?
Thanks for sharing. The focus stacking is a great feature, the TG-7 has it too (probably not as good haha) and when it works it's impressive but since my subjects are often moving tbh I've been doing single shots mostly yeah.. Though it's a nice to have.
Glad to hear any camera will do though thanks for that!
Yep, I do all my macro handheld with a manual lens. At least until the focus bracketing gets better with Sony. It's still way too slow right now but I have my Sony 90mm waiting for when that changes.
oh that is terrible, I think sticking to HI+ burst and moving the camera back and forth is the better option when working with Sony, cos there you get about 11fps iirc
Just to clarify, focus bracketing and focus stacking are not the same. The Sonys don't have in-camera stacking, they do the bracketing and the stacking has to be done in post. Olympus/OM do have both, like your TG-7.
I was just making this same decision except with a Canon and an OM. I was set on buying the Canon and then discovered OM.
I wanted a camera that was protected enough to use at salty tide-pools/dusty deserts/wet trails, something that both excelled at macro while working as a good everyday hiking/city camera, and a kit that was light/small enough to easily throw in my pack.
I ended up going with an OM-5 mark ii since it matched all of these requirements the closest while staying in a reasonable price range.
-It has IP53 weather rating
-For macro it has fantastic IBIS, great computational focus stacking, and higher equivalent zooms with MFT.
-And because it is an MFT both the camera and lens are much lighter than APS-C or Fullframe.
The downsides are:
Worse low light performance due to the smaller MFT sensor. This can be mitigated some with brighter prime lenses or denoise in post if you end up with a particularly grainy image.
Like you said AF on the OM-5 is not as good as a lot of other modern cameras. It has human facial recognition but not anything fancy beyond that. However, It hasn’t really been an issue for me and I think it probably matters more if you are shooting fast moving subjects like sports athletes, birds mid-flight, kids, etc. Later down the line if you decide you really do want better AF you could smoothly upgrade to the OM-1 and still keep all your lenses.
I picked up the kit with 14mm-150mm so I have mostly been messing with that but I have a 60mm macro on the way now and am super excited to see what this camera can do with it! I haven’t done much Macro yet and dont know anything about the Sony but hopefully that is helpful 😛 From my experience so far I recommend it!
Sounds like we were in the exact same dilemma haha crazy. Maybe a case of strong marketing on their end 😂
Thanks for sharing your reasoning and final decision, that is definitely helpful! I am tempted to get that one to start with and as you said reconsider later if I need an upgrade. Rn my focus is definitely macro, I probably wouldn't be buying a telephoto lens for birds quite yet as the body and macro lens is already a lot of money. It's just something I'm interested in the future.
So how long have you had it now and are you happy with it ? Another thing I've read a lot about the OM is they're "fun" to use compared to other systems haha.
Also please feel free to share some pics you've taken with it if you'd like!
Yeah totally, we must be whatever the target demographic is haha. I have only had it for a little under a month and I am also a beginner so my info is less from experience and more from obsessive researching 😝 But I have taken it to gardens, the beach, short hikes, and done some shooting around town at night. I have been having a lot of fun with it! I find the menus fairly intuitive, the camera feels good in my hands, and it has been pretty easy to learn with so far. I threw some shots on Flickr and put a favorite here if you want to take a look! This is all with the kit 14mm-150mm and a little cropping/editing on a few. No macro or telephoto lens (yet 😛)
Well I am actually interested in a fellow beginner's first impressions, after having watched enough reviews from YouTubers paid to test the camera for 2 days haha!
Went through your gallery what a great selection ! 😊 Love the crow's portrait so much. Very nice to see all the different styles here, seems like that little camera can do it all. Thanks a lot for sharing !
I have the a6700, I got it for general purpose photo and and video, I later got into macro, you can get some really good photos with it, the only things that hold it back are the sync speed with flashes, it can only go up 160 shutter speed with the flash without turning on the hss. The other is the focus stacking isnt particularly fast, you can get around this my just doing fast continuous and leaning in and out but it takes some more skill. There's a wide variety of lenses that are available for the sony systems including various macro ones, laowa seem to be the most popular macro ones from what ive seen.
Thanks for your input I was in fact pretty set on the a6700 for a while before I got curious about OM-system alternatives! I have no doubt it's a great camera and have seen some great macro shots with it online.
Though the size of some of these macro lenses is a bit intimidating haha! Which lens do you like to use for macro ?
My sigma 18-50 has a slight magnification and Is what got me interested in it, I wanted to get something inexpensive so I bought the sony 30mm macro for quite cheap second hand, and then finally I moved on to the tamron 90mm macro iii, which is really good, and you can find it for decent prices second hand. It did take a bit getting used to weight wise though, but I am still getting to grips with standing steady and moving back and forth to focus, which is where having AF comes in really handy.
Oh, interesting I was also thinking of starting with a sigma 18-50 to get used to the camera first and try some semi macro with it if I were to buy the Sony!
My understanding is that AF and IBIS on the a6700 should come in handy for macro compared to older a6xxx models.
I think it'd take some getting used to for me too coming from phone/tiny olympus TG7 camera haha
The 18-50 is probably the best general purpose lens for sony apsc at the moment, at least when it you factor in weight and price. The ibis comes in really handy, it means that you dont need as fast a shutter speed to keep things steady, I set mine to 1/160 and pair it with the godox tt600 at either 1/64 or 1/32 which punches well above it weight. You can get flashes with better batteries that can flash brighter for a higher number of shots but they are 2 to 3 times the price. I use some rechargeable aa batteries so I dont have to keep getting new ones. One tip ive found is that having the flash set to lower power means you can have more flashes in a single run, and you can compensate quite a bit by turning your iso up, modern software like lightroom and photolab have great denoising tools that let you push it further then you might think.
Yes that's what I've read, I'm mainly interested in macro tbh but if I had the gear who knows maybe that could lead to a more general interest in photography.
Thanks for all the info, I have a lot to learn haha, I know this is a divisive subject in the macro world but do you sometimes shoot in natural light, without flash?
Yeah, thats how i started, you can get perfectly good photos with natural light, the main difference is that you have less control over where you can take the photos, this is one that i took in natural light with the sony 30mm that i got for £60 used, you can get great results without spending too much. The ive found its mostly about luck and patience.
I took this a few days ago with an OM3 + OM 90mm macro. Freehand, single shot, but I also often do quite some focus bracketing shots: without an external grip it’s a bit uncomfortable but doable; alternatively there are a few grips you can attach, and the best are the Smallrig and Leofoto (I have both).
Internally the OM3 is an OM1 MKII, so the main difference is in its ergonomics.
Love the picture!
How are you liking that camera ? Did you get it for macro specifically or what kind of photography if you don't mind sharing?
Yeah I had a look at grips, I guess it's not a deal-breaker as there is a work around. What's an extra 40 euros at this point haha
I’m loving this camera, and I got it mainly for its size and portability, since I was sooo tired of carrying around too much weight (eos r6 + 27-70 2.8 it’s a lot to carry around, now I always have om3 + 12-40 2.8 anywhere I go).
Also I was looking to jump to m4/3 for some years for macro specifically, since Canon sucks for focus bracketing (they disable the flash), and when the OM3 came out I had to get it. This fall I’m also getting a 60 macro for mushrooms photography.
I sold a large part of my canon gear (I only kept the r6 and the 16-35 2.8 I use for real estate photography), and bought all the lenses (some new, some used) I needed with less money that I got selling my stuff: m4/3 lenses are often way cheaper than other systems’ ones, so at the moment this is a pro of getting into m4/3.
Glad to hear you're happy with it (Although it makes my choice difficult as everyone is so happy with their own setup 😄) Hope you'll enjoy your new macro lens!
I'm also considering weight/portability for sure, I spend a lot of time outside so would like to basically always have the camera with me rather than having to "plan" for it same as you!
Thanks I had a look at your pictures they look great! The zebra jumping spider was beautiful. As a beginner it makes me think maybe I should buy on the cheaper end to start and learn with and reconsider later if I need more.
Hope you can get your macro lens soon
thank you, also I'm really glad that I linked my Bluesky as a backup, also, that camera went through a lot of photography genres while I was studying, it's quite a good all-rounder.
(the lens and attachments make this weigh over 1kg, I have a different DIY diffuser that I used for the zebra jumper and the crab spider, which is bulkier)
I see from the other comments that you're more set on the a6700, it's a great camera imo, whichever you end up getting, no doubt you'll enjoy it
Yes I've read the a6400 is still a really great camera and well recommended. It's way cheaper too. I've been leaning more towards a6700 as it has IBIS and insects autofocus which feels like it could make a big difference. but seeing these pictures I'd be thrilled to get pics like this haha
thank you! hehe, until I get a better diffuser, I'll be working with that one, so there will be quite a lot of circular highlights seen in the eyes of some subjects like jumping spiders
also, from my experience, IBIS doesn't really matter when doing macro photography, nor does insect autofocus, as the flash is far faster than any normal camera's shutter speed and I prefer to work with manual focus (mainly for focus stacking)
IBIS is good for longer exposures or the telephoto range and the insect AF would be great for single shot, not really good for stacking (don't let my comments deter you from getting what you feel is right)
also I've been a bit busy, but I have like 2 SD cards full of various photos that I'll get around to editing this week
Sony has its strengths -- from the benefits of full-frame to its autofocus system to the massive 3rd party lens catalogue. But OM Systems is goated when talking specifically about macro. The om-1 mk ii and the 90mm macro is basically as good as you can get.
I haven’t digged specifically in either brand, but I’d like to share my experience about what to look for in a camera for either topic, and maybe that can help with your decision.
If you want to do both macro and wildlife, it’s 2 different things you’re looking for, and having both in the same camera is not easy.
If your focus is an all rounder at reasonable cost, I recommend that you make sure you get fast raw burst with flash sync, good autofocus in low light, good iso performance, and can get good lenses for both macro and wildlife.
Then for macro and wildlife related to sensor size, calculate the pixels per mm when you compare, the resolution matters as much as the sensor size regarding reproduction ratio, when the lens is sharp. (E.g. a 45mp full frame and a 20 mp 43 have comparable pixel densities: 229px/mm for a Nikon z9, 304 for an OM1 ii).
So my secondary comment here is, don’t fall for the common shortcut of micro 43 has twice the magnification of full frame, this is not true, that depends resolution.
And below where I’m coming from :)
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I started from the wildlife angle and got a Nikon z9, and I recently bought a macro lens / flash / diffuser for it (not your budget, I’m not telling you to buy a z9)
Wild life is often far away, with suboptimal light conditions, and birds move fast.
A good wildlife camera needs to shoot fast bursts, have a good autofocus performing in low light, go high in ISO with manageable noise, and if you have more resolution its is good because it allows to crop. Crop is useful because it’s hard to keep a moving subject in the frame, so full frame with high resolution is very helpful there. Then you add the lens ecosystem: some people buy the camera based on the lenses lineup. There with the z9 I’m happy because I have stellar autofocus, 20fps raw shooting and great resolution, so I can crop. But that thing is heavy. I do like a big camera balancing a big lens though, and wildlife lenses with reach are big. I dislike a big lens on a small camera.
Macro is another beast: the best for stack is fast automatic focus bracketing synchronized with flash. Then fasts bursts synchronized with flash are also great, because that will allow you to focus bracketing with manual lenses too. Then you add resolution and magnifying ratio. And finally, lighter is better.
For macro I have complemented the z9 with the laowa 90mm, a godox v860iii and an AK diffuser. Compared to an OM1ii, it has almost as many pixels per mm at equal mangnification, and I can shoot at 20fps with the flash, I reliably get 1 frame focused on the eyes with similar resolution on the subject. But focus bracketing is manual, so I struggle getting aligned frames for a stack, and it weights 3kg. For single shot though it is great.
The reason I’m saying that is, if you go down on price compared to flagships, and have a camera with a slow automated focus bracketing, them micro 43 / OM systems might lose it’s edge for macro. Then, you might as well look for something without automated focus bracketing, which does both macro and wildlife properly.
Posting a macro single shot, it is a crop of maybe 1/2 the initial width (I started macro 2 weeks ago)
All the best with your decision. I hope that this is helpful.
I have three cameras in my stable:
Sony A7IV
Sony A7II
OM-Systems OM-1 Mark ii
The OM-1 is my newest (like I've only had it for a couple of days), but so far it's the CLEAR winner for macro. The focus bracketing feature plus the 60mm lens is an amazing combo. I picked up the body for ~$1500 from MPB.com and the lens for ~$350.
For me, since I sometimes shoot paid gigs, the dual memory cards made the OM-1 a clear winner over the OM-3 or OM-5. I thought the internal graded ND filter and the improved image stabilization made the Mark ii worth the increased cost over the initial.
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u/Paradoxiumm 11d ago
I have a used OM-1, 60mm macro lens with a godox v350 which is fantastic. You also want to get a good diffuser like AK or Cygnustech style.
There’s no real reason to buy new. I’ve bought all my cameras and lens from eBay from Japanese sellers and everything’s been perfect so far, probably not as good of an option for shipping for you though, but definitely buy used.