The 100mm f2.8 is also a great macro lens which also doubles up as a decent medium telephoto lens. The effective focal length becomes 160mm. On the other hand, if one uses the 180mm f3.5 macro lens, that effectively becomes 288mm!!
(I am talking about the cropped APS-C sensors of Canon's "budget" D-SLRs which have 1.6x FOVCF)

Let's see, if not the MP-E, then surely the 100mm, although the 180mm is a very good lens but it costs a LOT more than I would like to spend for a macro lens..

In addition u also need a sturdy and strong neckbone and cucumber slices to rest ur eyes ..

@Aryan- I believe u give a try to reverse ring process and check the results. u r gonna love it. And its not a clumsy kinda set up provided u get hold of proper adapters!..

At least u can use this solution till u get the new 100mm delivered..

Hmm..Now, if only no1livesforever would let me use his setup once..

You are welcome to try out the setup... Give me some advance notice and lets meet up for some macro shooting..

-- no1lives4ever

@ no1: Could you please PM me your cell number? Probably, the coming week or some day we could get together for some macro shots!

To all camera gurus: What is the best price for the 18-200mm Sigma lens (with OS)? A dealer here in Chennai is asking Rs 23k. Is it a good price? I need to get it for my friend's 400D. Thanks!

the only thing i personally find in the reverse lens technique for the tele and then attach a wide 1.8 or so will be sort of weight.and the other aspect will be the barrel will hinder with the flash.for flowers it may seem easy.but for insects bugs flies etc may be its not.thats my personal opinion.

and aryan you will have to do investment in flash if u buy the e-65 of canon.many who use it have either two flashes or one and diffusers etc.

if u want u can buy from Digital cameras, all other cameras and everything photographic from Adorama Camera

mostly your order will not come from US but from HONG-KONG.saving taxes etc.

The sigma 18-200 lens goes to f/6.3 at the long end (200mm setting) and at that aperture the autofocus system of the canon budget DSLR's is not certified to work. I would recommend against getting this lens.

Canon has announced its own 18-200mm EF-S (especially for the cropped sensor cams). It will be expensive compared to the Sigma, but will definitely sport better optics and full compatibility.

@Aryan
I am in Japan and can check the prices of the MP-E65 and other lenses here and then we can try to work something out if ya are interested.

Thanks Psycho! Thanks for the alert. But the sales man from where we bought the 400D told us that sigma 18-200 is fully compatible with 400D.

We're aware of the 18-200mm EF-S lens from Canon. But it is yet to hit the market. Will get your take to my friend. Thanks!

Hell yeah! Do it ASAP..Find out the prices of two lenses - the MP-E 65mm and the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro as well..

I "might" just get the 100mm instead of the MP-E; need a macro lens badly now! Enough of wide angle and portraiture shots..
Yeah! I know I will have to invest in flashes and diffusers, etc. if I get a macro lens.

That is one of the reasons my mind is shifting towards the 100mm instead of the MP-E because if I get the MP, I will surely be going beyond 1x (2x - 3x would be the minimum). And at that magnification, flash becomes an absolute necessity, whereas the 100mm f2.8 is a 1:1 macro lens and can, I believe, be used quite comfortably without a flash.

actually u can make cheapo flash light directors..from boxes of say axe after shave.
i had experimented with those and they pretty worked well.cut into three segments..apply aluminum foil inside the three segments all sides and adjust the three segments into an angular position so that your flash light actually falls on the subject and not on the barrel.

then there are DIY macro ring lights also..still my suggestion to u will be to buy raynox along with your tele end..they are serious macro piece equipment.and they go beyond 1:1..even the 250 goes beyond 1:1 beyond 200mm.

so do check them out.

The Sigma 18-200 is definitely compatible with the canon crop cameras, and in good light, i guess it will focus even at the smaller aperture. However, the focus will hunt for sure in low light conditions (happened to me when I was checking a friends 400D+Sigma 18-200 combo in a slightly dark room).

@Aryan
will for sure letya know the prices here as soon as I am able to check them out at a place or two. something should be possible on this Sunday I guess. (tomorrow is tokyo disneyland )

On any DSLR, when doing macro, you will need to use an external flash off camera's hotshoe. So this does not really make much of a difference. My 70-300 + 58/f2 combo is roughly as heavy as my dedicated macro lens on its extension tube. The only problem I face is that the combo becomes a bit front heavy!

Also check out http://www.bhindia.com, whic is the site of B&H's India Liason office. They will give you a full quote including shipping and customs clearence and also help with the customs clearence. This is a good option if you want to order items that are not easily available in India, but for which you need a bill, etc.

-- no1lives4ever

Gr8 find buddy. Should be really useful. By the way, when did they start the India operations?. Have u purchased anything from them?

Got it from an indian photography forum. At least one person reported purchasing a Canon 500/f4 IS, if I remember correctly from them.

Over the years, I have been a member of many online photo forums and B&H as per experience of others ranks as one of the best online/mail order photo dealers. The also happen to be one of the world's largest photo goods dealers. If any of you are ever going to visit NY, then check out their super store. They have a huge store with all sorts of exotic photography items on display.

The ability to get their india liason office to handle all the ordering and shipping as a local partner makes this a great effort on their part.

On the topic of online shopping, I have in past I have ordered from amazon with my indian credit card and had the same delivered to a US address. The delivery was mostly done to a friend/relative who were on their way to india. Amazon is another retailer that does a good job and even their returns system is quite good. If you have any friend/relative coming from the US, you can try this route out. Mostly you can get free shipping from Amazon and their prices are also good. Just give around 2 weeks for delivery if you are using the cheap/free shipping on amazon.

-- no1lives4ever