Need help on choosing macro lens for Nikon D1

I would like to take photo of gemstones which are about 3-6mm in sizes

for my website. Could anyone give me an idea of what lens to use and

do I need other tools to attach with my Nikon D1. Thank You

Probably the most straightforward approach is to use a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AFD Micro. These simply focus to 1:1 (on film), so they would image an area of 24x36mm for film and <i>I think</i> they would image an area the size of a D1 sensor in the same setup.

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This won't get you frame-filling shots of your stones, but for the web I would think post-process cropping would do the trick.

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Lighting is a whole 'nother story. Anyone?

The 60mm is very good. The 85mm f/2.8D Tilt/Shift Micro-Nikkor might be

better as you'll have greater working distance between the stone and the lens

forthe same magnification. Nikon makes two longer Micro-Nikkor lenses, the

105mm and the 200mm. The 105mm Micro-Nikkor 9and other 105mm macro

lenses) are closer to a real focal lenth of 85mm when the lens is extended to

get a 1;1 ratio.<P>Another alternative will be to get a Nikon bellows and a

high quality 105mm enlarging lens as an optic.