claude_batmanghelidj Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hi, I am looking for a nice macro af lens for my D70, that I can use also on a35mm camera. I guess a 90mm fast lens would be good. I want one with good bokeh.Any recommendations. Cheap is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolaresLarrave Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Sigma AF 105mm F2.8 should do it. It's relatively inexpensive compared to the Nikon gear, and it allows you a 1:1 ratio. Check my thread above this one... and have fun shopping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blixey Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 The new Sigma 70mm F2.8 EX DG has won many fans and awards and many say its even sharper than the Nikkor 105mm VR at half the price! It is on my acquisition list. I have been happy with my Sigma 10-20mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screamin scott Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 AF on a 1:1 macro lens is practically useless...You say less $$ is better. I'd suggest looking at an older manual focus macro lens...You won't have metering but that's easy to work around & it will cost you peanuts in comparison while not sacrificing image quality. I use a 30+ year old Lester A Dine 105mm F2.8 Macro (Kiron made) which was marketed to Dentists for inter-oral photos (company is still in business) on my D70s with great results...Here's a link to a shot using the lens for you to judge it's quality... http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1244/1165004600_9b8c3dc487_o.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 A fine image, Scott! The focus and the light are fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_keane2 Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 The Sigma 50mm and 70mm are great macros, and I am very partial to my Sigma 150mm f2.8. Great sharpness on any of these, and I believe all are FF lenses. For cheap, well-made, and real sharp, the 50mm 2.8 is very hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich B NYC Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 There are a lot of options depending on what focal length you're in need of. I've been using a 100mm f2.8 Tokina ATX Pro for the past few months with very nice results. With the 1.5x factor, it obviously works out to 150mm on a DX body. It's also built like a truck. Had I still been shooting film, I would likely have wanted something between 150-200mm anyway, so the 100mm worked out well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_leonin Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Ordinarily, I'd recommend a lens that meters with the D70, but macro would be the exception. Just start with a small aperture, e.g., f11 or f16 to maximize DOF, add lighting, then view the histogram, and adjust as needed. <p><p> As Vivek mentioned, Scott's image is fine, but I personally would've preferred a lot more DOF. Again, that's my personal opinion, and in no way an indictment of Scott's creative vision. <p><p> Here's an example -- technically, a close-up, not a macro. Shot at a small aperture, which resulted in the dark background, then added lighting (Nikon R1C1). Again, I'm NOT saying this is better or worse than Scott's image -- I don't want to get into a pi$$ing contest; but I wanted to show another perspective. <p><p><center> <img src="http://klix.smugmug.com/photos/143666234-L.jpg"</a> </center> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_leonin Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 BTW, my point being, find a good manual focus macro. At 90-105mm, I recommend the Kiron 105mm (Lester Dine or Vivitar with SN starting with 22 are the same lens) or the Tokina 90mm/2.5. Most macro lenses in the 90-105mm range are very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claude_batmanghelidj Posted October 6, 2007 Author Share Posted October 6, 2007 Thanks for all the responses. I really want a lens though that auto focuses and meters with my d70. The D70's manual focus is useless, and I would rather not guess metering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_petty1 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 A fast macro 90 mm AF lens that is cheap and has good bokeh. You'll get recommedations but they are more biases. This lens doesn't exist. You should decide where you want to compromise (price, speed, build, focal length, etc.) Also, usually good bokeh and macro capabilities in the same lens are tough to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_arnold Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 have you considered the tamron 90mm? af wont be fast, but photozone.de reports it has no significant flaws in optical quality. that's pretty good. for best build quality, get the tokina. the sigma 105 has a lot of fans too. but if MF is that difficult with a d70, maybe it's time to upgrade your camera body to take full advantage of 1:1 ratio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_chappell Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 <I>AF on a 1:1 macro lens is practically useless...</i><P> With a static or very slow-moving subject, yes. But I've been greatly aided by AF when chasing after closeups of small, quickly (or constantly) moving insects and spiders. And if one is faced with less than ideal conditions, like a flower that is waving a little bit in the wind, a good AF system can considerably increase the number of sharp images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now