Going macro with Nikon

The time has come for me to go macro (i.e. 1:1). Here are my options:

 

1) I do not have any primes at the moment, so if I go extension tube

path I will probably have to get a prime, say about 100mm. This

option will be about $300 - 400 approx

 

2) Nikon macro lens. New over $1000 (i think). Used = hard to find.

 

3) Third party macro lens (1:1). Do sigma or other make do them.

Thus far can only find 1:2 and so will need a close up "filter". How

much new? how much used?

 

4) Close up "filter" on my zoom. I am led to believe quality

suffers. Bear in mind that my Nikon consumer zooms are 'okay' in

quality, so must be careful about losing further quality.

 

So what comments have you about the various options (quality/

pricing) for a Nikon user. I use AF SLR Nikon F80 (N80). Anyone

done this recently and feel they made the wrong, or right choice and

why. Thanks

 

 

oh p.s. the images are for personal use only, but want sharpness

otherwise there is no point in going closeup. How much money to

leave aside for a suitable flash getup?

Get John Shaw's <cite>Closeups in Nature</cite>. He goes over

all the options in detail, and he uses Nikon systems for most

of his examples.

<p>

The N80 won't have any metering with manual focus lenses,

bellows, or extension tubes that don't pass electronic signals.

That limits your macro choices quite a bit, if you insist on

a meter in the camera.

<p>

OTOH, I usually use flash for macro, set manually, and so I

almost never end up using the meter in my camera, even though

my F3 meter works with anything that can be attached to the camera.

<p>

As for suitable flash setups, they range all over the place,

and Shaw's book above discusses many of the alternatives.

This spider picture was taken with a Photogenic studio monolight

bounced into a 60" umbrella -- I confess it was overkill, but it

was what I had handy (the spider was in my front yard). For

field use, I like my Sunpak 383 on a small stand, bounced into

an umbrella or reflector. But there

are plenty of other good choices.

<p>

<center><img WIDTH=430 HEIGHT=321 src="http://www.lanset.com/rcochran/prettypics/spiderface2.jpg" border=10 ><br>

<cite>Spider on Yellow Rose, MF 105 f2.8 Micro Nikkor with PN-11 extension tube</cite>

</center>

The Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF- Micro-Nikkor isn't that hard to find,

have you checked the photo.net classifieds? You don't want the

manual 55mm version of this lens as it won't meter with your

camera -- and neither will extention tubes. <P>other options:

The Nikon 5T & 6T two element close diopters are very well

corrected as are the Canon 250D and 500D two elementclose

up diopters for telephoto lenses.

Older Manual Focus Ai & AIS do have full function with your body, so your best choice are probably the following Micro-Nikkor lens:

1) 60mm f2.8mm AFD- about $310 @ B&H

2) 105 f2.8 AFD - about $510 @ B&H

3) 200 f4 AFD - about $1075 @ B&H

All 3 of these are of tremendous macro quality and can double as good general purpose lenses with each having some minor drawbacks when focused at distance (as compared to close up). This has been reported by several evaluators.

Each of the above are of extremely high quality. I use the 60mm in my office almost daily and I have the 200 mm for when I go play on the weekends. The 60 mm will put you closest to your subject at 1:1 and the 200mm will give you the most working distance. The 60mm has the greatest field of view and the 200 has the narrowest. The 200 is the only lens of the group with a tripod collar. There are several other brands of macro lenses (Sigma etc). A friend has the 180 Sigma macro, while it is a very nice lens - it's nearly as expensive as the 105 Nikkor. I don't have experience with other macro lenses but I do know that if I make an exposure that I am not happy with - the Micro Nikkor lenses are not the weak link - the photographer is. Macro is a whole bunch of fun - enjoy! Rich

I meant to say older AIS lenses do NOT have full function with the N80.

Must you get a MicroNikkor? B&H has the 100/3.5 Phoenix/Vivitar in Nikon AF mount at $129.95/139.95. The two are supposed to be identical, and good enough to use. If you must have Nikon glass, their prices for grey market 60/2.8 and 105/2.8 MicroNikkors are $319.95/524.95 respectively.

 

Used MicroNikkors abound on eBay.

 

Go do your homework.

www.keh.com has a used 105/2.8 AF Nikon Micro in 'bargain' condition right now for $325. I've bought much 'bargain' gear from KEH, and I've always been satisfied. Note that this is the older 'non-D' lens (probably priced 15% less because of it) but I wouldn't sweat that difference. The 105 is a great choice for general purpose flowers / etc. You'll also gain a good portrait lens with decent speed (compared to your zooms).

If I was in any way serious about macro, I'd go with option 2. Check the prices, as Dan Fromm wrote they are nowhere near $1000 unless you want the 200mm. Both the 60 and the 105 are reviewed on this site and they're desiged to do 1:1.

I bought a grey market Nikon 60 micro from B&H, it's an excellent lens and the correct focal length for my main subject (orchids). If your main use will be to shoot bugs, and/or you will mainly shoot close to or at 1:1, a longer focal length will give you a little more working room. In researching micro (macro) lenses I came to believe most anyone makes a good macro lens optically, but with increased price comes increased build quality. I bought a Nikon camera (N70) so I could use Nikon glass and for me there was no question but to go with a Nikkor.

 

One nice feature Nikon AF cameras have is they display effective aperture when used with Nikon lenses. I don't know if they do with third party lenses as I don't own any. Knowing the effective aperture makes using manual flash a little easier because you don't need to look at a chart to see what exposure compensation you need based on the magnification ratio. When using flash I use one or two Vivitar 285 HV's off camera, with and without homemade softboxes. I use a PC cord to fire one and a Wein peanut slave on the other. For the price of one SB-28 you can have a whole fleet of Vivitar 285�s. Who needs TTL. You can easily get by with one flash and a reflector but since I bought the second Vivitar I prefer using two. I haven�t tried a ring light but from what I�ve seen the results look a little flat to me.

 

Get John Shaw�s book.

Great responses. Will be checking out some of the suggestions. Your responses really help.. I know the information is out there but it really helps to have this help to help me get started.

FWIW, I bought the Nikon 4T ($28 new, online) to use with my 50mm and 75-150 (E) lenses. I use it most often with the 75-150, a combination that takes very sharp macro photos. Just last night, I used them and my Nikon N6006 to shoot an arrangement of crayons. I've also shot a lot of flower blossoms, indoors and out. In my experience, the results have been excellent, with no image quality problems.

 

<p>I was also inspired originally by John Shaw's <i>Closeups in Nature.</i> Macro photography is a lot of fun. Good luck!

Another vote for John Shaw's books, as well as Larry West's HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH INSECTS AND SPIDERS (especially for help with flash in macro work) and I also highly recommend Paul Harcourt Davies' THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CLOSE UP AND MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY. Davies shoots with Nikon gear and his book is a user's guide to macro with the Nikon system. He covers using reversing rings, extension tubes, bellows, and all the other ways of focusing close.

 

As far as getting into macro, I prefer using close-up diopters to using extension tubes. I highly recommend using the 3T, 4T, 5T or 6T Nikon close-up diopters to start, depending on which size filer your longest lens takes. the 3T & 4T diopters have 52 mm threads and the 5T & 6T have 62 mm threads. The old 75-300 zoom is a great macro lens with the 5T and 6T diopters. I understand that the new 70-300 also works well optically, although it lacks the tripod mount on the 75-300 which is extremely handy when doing macro (because, for example, you can go from horizontal to vertical format without moving the tripod head).

 

If you have the 80-200 f/2.8 Nikkor, it works well as a macro lens with the Canon 500D diopter.

 

Obviously, the macro lens is the ideal way to go, and there are alternatives to Nikkors. The Tamron 90mm macro is a great macro lens; you will NOT be disappointed with the results from this lens. Davies raves about it in his book and my experience ocnfirms his comments. I also understand that Sigma and Tokina have well regarded macro lenses in their line. From Nikon, the Nikkor 105 macro is the happiest combination of macro ability and focal length.

 

Macro work is fun to do because it teaches you new techniques, poses a challenge (especially in regard to depth-of-field), and gives you the opportunity to discover bunches of new gear that is fun to have.

I now have John Shaws on order .. are you guys getting commission from him ;-)

 

Okay like the look of nikkor 105mm, but amn looking at others and will wait till i have Shaws advice.

 

B&H is approx 525 dollars grey (plus shipping), I live in UK and jessops is approx 1000 dollars (809 pounds)... werid huh? UK Alternative to Jessops (with a url so I can browse?)

 

Thanks for everything :-)

Looks like you've done a bit of research before asking. I, too, had been wanting a macro lens for a long while and ended up purchasing the Nikon 105mm, which I am very happy with. I got it used for 50,000 yen, which is about $400 U.S. The reason I decided to put out the cash for a macro lens was because 1. it is more convenient to shoot with then extension tubes and bellows, especially when you are chasing around insects or small animals, and 2. it doubles as a short telephoto and portrait lens. I'd like to buy a soft filter to put on the end of this.

 

I am happy with the lens because I find it to be very sharp and the pictures I have taken with it so far have been very colorful. The lens is also not very big or heavy. Having 1:1 magnification is unbelievable! I put the lens on a tripod and shoot slide film.

 

The one thing I don't like about the lens (and I found this to be true of the 3 lenses I tried out) is that the aperture ring is a little bit loose -- it doesn't click into place as my other lenses do.

 

BTW, I have no flash, but haven't had any troubles yet. I shoot in the morning or evening.

 

Happy hunting,

 

Nick

Jon,

 

I bought a Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens and have been quite happy with it. B&H has the lens for $439 + a 20.00 rebate. The lens is not as stout as the Nikon but the image quality is there.

 

Good hunting,

Neal

I've been shooting with a Sigma 105mm f2.8 for a couple years now. Build quality

is solid, and the results have been excellent. I have not compared it with the

Nikon or Tamron lenses, but I have been very happy with its performance.