Nedd help on macro lens selection

[Fred H. 0]

I have a Nikon D5000 and want to up grade my lens with one for macro. I wish to photo insects captured or dead and tied flies. I was looking at a Nikon-Micro_Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G . It's a bit pricey , is this the right lense for what I'm looking to do? Thanks in advance, Fred

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I have a Nikon D5000 and want to up grade my lens with one for macro. I wish to photo insects captured or dead and tied flies. I was looking at a Nikon-Micro_Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G . It's a bit pricey , is this the right lense for what I'm looking to do? Thanks in advance, Fred

Fred, I have that lens and love it. It is a great portrait lens as well. If you can find any of my pictures of step by step and most of my fly shots, I use that lens. The smaller stuff you get, the more you will want a tripod and cable/infrared shutter release. Any thing you want me to take a pic of for you to demonstrate?

Also, if you have a good prime lens like Nikon's 50mm, you can get a set of macro rings that fit between the lens and body. The cheapest ones do not read exposure or focus those go for about $20. I think you can find a more expensive set, under $200 that will transmit the exposure readings and focus - just an alternative.

I even use my 105 in stadiums, with that quality glass, you can usually crop after shooting and still have excellent quality.

I know of people that have the 85 macro and like it too, not sure of the cost on that one.

 

Kirk

 

Taken with my Nikon 105 macro f2.8. Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar, the largest in North America and totally harmless but fantastically wicked!

 

Taken with extension tube and Nikon 50mm f1.8. An Io Moth caterpillar, one of only four stinging caterpillars in Louisiana.

[Fred H. 0]

I have a Nikon D5000 and want to up grade my lens with one for macro. I wish to photo insects captured or dead and tied flies. I was looking at a Nikon-Micro_Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G . It's a bit pricey , is this the right lense for what I'm looking to do? Thanks in advance, Fred

Fred, I have that lens and love it. It is a great portrait lens as well. If you can find any of my pictures of step by step and most of my fly shots, I use that lens. The smaller stuff you get, the more you will want a tripod and cable/infrared shutter release. Any thing you want me to take a pic of for you to demonstrate?

Also, if you have a good prime lens like Nikon's 50mm, you can get a set of macro rings that fit between the lens and body. The cheapest ones do not read exposure or focus those go for about $20. I think you can find a more expensive set, under $200 that will transmit the exposure readings and focus - just an alternative.

I even use my 105 in stadiums, with that quality glass, you can usually crop after shooting and still have excellent quality.

I know of people that have the 85 macro and like it too, not sure of the cost on that one.

 

Kirk

 

Taken with my Nikon 105 macro f2.8. Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar, the largest in North America and totally harmless but fantastically wicked!

 

Taken with extension tube and Nikon 50mm f1.8. An Io Moth caterpillar, one of only four stinging caterpillars in Louisiana.

First let me say that both of those photos are awesome. And that is the detail I would like to capture.

as for the extension tubes, will they work well with a 18-55mm 1:3.55-56 that came on my camera. Or am I better off buying the 105mm ?

Thanks , Fred

[AlexC 0]

If the price of the Nikkor 105mm is more than you want to pay, you might also want to check out the Sigma 105mm macro lens. Its a hell of a lens for the money.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

FRED, thanks. You know, Alex brings an excellent option to the table. You should be able to find a side by side review of different brand lenses for the same mm and f-stop.

You can use the tubes for the 18-55 but I'm not sure about the quality of the glass is as good as a prime lens. The extension tubes take a little getting used to. Not so much with the focus as I find my self manually focusing on close up stuff even with my 105 macro but the exposure takes a little tweaking to get right so if your subject isn't going to stay still for very long, you will miss more shots with having to check your lcd and make exposure adjustments with either shutter speed or aperture, or both. That being said, at least with digital, you do have an lcd screen to check exposure in the field and not have to wait for the film to be developed.

 

Kirk

[Threshershark 0]

The Nikon 105 is a great lens, but there are other top notch options out there for less money. Keep in mind that VR is a completely useless technology at macro distances, so you are paying a nice chunk of change for the stabilization module with the current 105. As a side note, lots of people use these for portrait lenses too because they have great bokeh, and VR would be useful for that purpose. At 1:1 ratios where DoF is already very shallow, all VR does is add a bunch of dollars to the price tag.

 

I don't think the D5000 has a mechanical focus screw, so lots of non-AFS alternatives won't autofocus on that body. Personally, I always manually focus macro lenses anyway, so that shouldn't be much of an issue for you.

 

Options:

 

● Definitely consider trying to find a used Nikon 105mm AF Micro. They are outstanding and often sell for half the cost of the new VR version.

 

● The Tokina 100mm macro is second to none in terms of optical quality. It retails for $399 and can be found cheaper used. They can be hard to find because they are so incredibly good. Here's a hand-held shot off the Tokina:

 

 

● The Tamron 180mm macro is a gem. It goes for about $650, and gives you a lot more working distance for bugs.

 

For the kind of things you mention specifically, the Nikon 60mm macro would be a good choice too (for things that don't spook easily). I think the 100mm zone is a very good compromise between weight, size, and working distance though.

[Fred H. 0]

Thanks Threshershark . I was trying to remember the name Tokina. That is a very high quality macro shot.

Thanks guys again for the info.

Fred

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi Fred,

 

I really like my 90mm Tamron macro. It is not VR so it is less expensive as a result. If you are shooting macro on a tripod you will want to turn off the VR function anyway so I didn't see a reason to get VR on my macro. I just use it to shoot flies and product pix. I paid $225.00 for a good used lens on eBay. You may want to check there. Good luck with your search. Take care & ...

 

Tight Lines - Gretchen & Al Beatty

www.btsflyfishing.com

[Ben Cochran 0]

Keep in mind that the truly most important thing that you want to look into is the MTF data on the lens. Not all lenses are manufactured the same and sometimes a comparable lens comes with a loss of quality and falloff in one of the primary gamut wavelengths. The tighter and longer the primary wave lengths, the better tonality of the finals, as they deliver better frequency to the awaiting sensor. Kirk's amazing shots more than demonstrate this. Even though Nikon 105 has VR functionality, the MTF data is superb and it is the quality of the tonality that really justifies the price of this amazing lens. Granted, a lot can be done in post production but upgrading later can cost a lot more in the long run. The older Nikon 105 is also an amazing lens, as well as many of the other older Nikon lenses. The MF data is tight and I, personally, would investigate the MTF data on any lens considered before making a purchase.

[bugtographer 0]

The advise you have been given is excellent, as are the photos sent in. Brilliant close up work, this said as a pro shooter.

 

The 105 Nikon macro has historically been an excellent optic from the older manual lens to the present ED glass VR version. The 100mm focal length allows for more working distance vs the 60mm/55mm macros. Their 200mm macro is also outstanding. Today many less expensive after market brands offer excellent value and boast great MTF results. The Nikons are expensive but you get what you pay for, they will have better MTF figures and a higher build quality. It comes down to what you want to spend. I own a 90mm Tamron too and it gives excellent results but it is not built to the same standard as the Nikons. Like cars photographers tend to prefer one brand over another.

 

Another thing to note is the best resolution is often around 5.6 ish with many lenses, macro or otherwise, this stop offers little depth of field. Most shooters tend to shoot at a deeper f-stop trading off resolution for DOF in macro especially- DOF and light is the constant battle in macro work. I often shoot with microscope objectives (Zeiss Luminars) on still and movie cameras working with DOF measured in mm - good fun. Check my website for clips, there are a few that will appeal to flyfisherman. here

 

Bens advise to review MTF tests is right on. The German website Photozone is the best I've found for comparing MTF results of Nikon, Canon, Zeiss, Tamron and others. The site is a bit odd - at times you'll have to refresh the page twice to see it - or maybe thats just operator error (ie: me). ;0) Photozone

 

best Phil

[Fred H. 0]

Great info Phil, thanks alot. I really enjoyed your website as well . Are there any good books that you would recomend ?

Fred

[bugtographer 0]

Cheers Fred.

 

There are a number of good books, authors like John Shaw and Heather Angel come to mind. But today the net is the ultimate information resource. Just google macro photography, you'll come up with many great sites and tips;

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url...amp;x=0&y=0

 

http://photo.net/learn/macro/

 

http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/blog/ma...ips-images.html

 

a couple of vids, one where the guy builds his own macro flash adapter from beer cans;

 

 

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Build-a-D...-Lens-159163530

 

super macro / micro showcase sites like the yearly competition sites run by camera manufacturers such as Nikon's Small World and Olympus's BioScapes;

 

http://www.olympusbioscapes.com/gallery/2009/

 

http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/

 

At the end of the day there is one heck of alot you can do with just extension tubes or a reversal ring. Its a cheap way to start out. check these;

 

http://regex.info/blog/2007-10-16/609

 

http://www.diyphotography.net/diy_reverse_macro_ring

 

http://digital-photography-school.com/reve...cro-photography

 

Macro is a fantastic world to explore Fred. Have fun and post some of your bugtography once you get comfortable with your results. As you get more into it keep the dialogue going, I'm sure many here want to see what you're up to. Myself, I'm keen to do some mayfly work; the bug eyed males are begging for some big close up portraits but whenever I get stream-side I forget my cameras and fish!

 

By the way your files on your website are astounding.

 

best, Phil

[Fred H. 0]

Thanks so much for the wealth of imformation you are willing to share. If I can take a photo a tenth as well as what you produce I should be very pleased.I'll keep in touch . But for now there is alot to assimilate.

Thanks again.

Fred