Looking for your opinion re: best Micro for Nikon F75

<p>I'm buying a macro lens for my daughter's F-75 35mm film camera. She's a student, and I'm thinking that a manual lens would be the best bet for her camera. Researching a bit, it seems that a Nikon Nikkor 200mm f/4.0 IF AIS Lens would be a good bet. <br>

I'd appreciate your insight!</p>

<p>Any manual-focus AI-S lens without a built-in CPU chip will not meter with the F75/N75, although you can still take pictures with that combo.</p>

<p>You must have a good reasons to look for a 200mm macro. They do yield good working distant but do restrict usage somewhat to tripod and focus rail. They are heavy and need to be stable. If she doen't own other macro lens, I would just get an AF 100mm range macro and use it manually. Macro without TTL metering do take a while to master. </p>

<p>The metering limitation means that it would be good to have a hand held meter.<br>

For macro, a manual lens is just as good as an automatic one; only the quality of the lens itself matters. What is your budget? A 105/4 can be had in very good condition for $200. The 200/4 is OK, but are you sure that this is the focal length needed? I do a lot of macro and I gravitate towards 100 mm. If you know that the 200 mm focal length is what she needs/wants, then go for it. The best one currently is probably the Zeiss 100/2, but it will cost a whole lot more than a used Nikon.</p>

<p>With respect, I'd consider retiring the F75 for a later/better AF film body like an N90s or F100--both very affordable now used and not hard to locate. Both will deliver spot and centre-weighted metering with manual non-CPU lenses. AF is no real advantage in macro work, so a manual 105/2.8 or 105/4 Micro Nikkor is worth looking at. The 200 Micro is biggish, heavy, expensive and delivers its best on a tripod.</p>

<p>On a second though I agree with Gary; a better body would give TTL metering and a better viewfinder for macro focusing. I would probably consider an F3, but if AF is a requirement then it's out of the question. Either way, an F100 would be considerable improvement even for general photography.</p>

<p>Thank you for the advice - I'm hoping tht she can keep the camera that she has, so may look at other lenses that will work with the F-75 manually and better suited to being hand held. <br>

Would an AF 100mm range macro "work" with a F-75 camera without the need for additional metering or fussing?<br>

I have only AF cameras myself, so no experience with pairing a more manual camera (which is what she wants) with lenses.</p>

 

<p>A good one and reasonable in price is the Tamron 90/2.8. It has 1:1 macro and also manual focus smoothly when AF is turned off. This lens also yield good background and serve well for portrait.</p>

<p>Tommy,</p>

<p>Thank you for the suggestion - this looks exactly right for the situation. Her other lenses are Tamron. I know nothing about lenses - confusing!!</p>

<p> </p>

<p >Quoting Wikipedia: "The Nikon F75 (sold in <a title="North America" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America">North America</a> as the N75) was the last consumer-level <a title="Autofocus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autofocus">autofocus</a> <a title="35mm" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/35mm">35mm</a> SLR <a title="Camera" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera">camera</a> sold by the <a title="Nikon Corporation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_Corporation">Nikon Corporation</a> beginning in February 2003. The camera replaced the similarly consumer-targeted <a title="Nikon F65" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_F65">Nikon F65</a>.</p>

<p >The Nikon F75 is still sold cheaply on the used market, and is valued because it can drive Nikon's newest lens designs, including those with AF-S and VR.</p>

<p >There was a version, dubbed the F75D (N75D) that featured a date-recording back."</p>

<p > </p>

<p >If it will work on your camera, nothing beats the 105mm AF-S VR f/2.8 prime micro (say macro) lens. And I mean <em>NOTHING.</em> It is a superb lens.</p>

 

<p>The N75 (F75) won't meter with non-AF lenses, as already stated. It will however, use all of the AF-D lenses, some of which can be picked up fairly cheaply now. Check out KEH.com -- the 60mm macro AF-D is a wonderful lens in all respects. The Tamron 90mm macro is another good choice, as already stated. 1:1 macro is highly desirable, and of course, either lens is great for anything else.</p>