Micro Lens Suggestions for Nikon D5100?

[ClaudioG]

Adrian..personally..if ya gonna go macro,,,,go macro...i use the Tamron 90mm Di VC USD 2.8 lens..be sure its the one that focuses internally.. its ALOT less than the 28-300 ,spend that little more if you can....you'll get a SUPERB macro lens..it also makes for a great Portrait lens on the d5100 which i also have... its my Fave lens...well worth the money spent...Super sharp and upthere with the best.

Btwi'm only saying this if you go Macro and would use it for portraits...Obviously doest have wildlife reach of 28-300..but the price is definitely alot better... heres one or 2 of my own.

The great thing is you can get some kenko extension tubes at an ok price and even add that to your macro lens. gets close to 2:1 its plenty enuff... when you start getting to close you gonna have to look at focus stacking( depending on how you like your macro)





These are only with my macro lens(tamron) and flash on camera with a home made diffuser...seriously...you can see flash in its eyes!!! you wont get that with 28-300., Go dedicated Macro...you know you want too.


On a side note..if ya dont get close its no fun

[Stagecoach]

Do you NEED a macro right away, these can be cropped

Nikkor 28-300 VR

Technically correct Jeremy and it may be helpful to Adrian to see a cropped version to demonstrate the sort of result that can be achieved.

For a novice it's often difficult to envisage what can be achieved using certain options.

I was at a hill climb when nothing was happening so I took a few shots of whatever was around

I can not find them again as I have too many to look through

That's unfortunate Jeremy because it may have demonstrated to Adrian that whilst they technically could have been cropped the results would in reality only be of any use if you wanted to produce tiny images and would have been of specific relevance to Adrian's comment;

Which lens (under 1,000) should I get if I want to be able to shoot from a distance (to avoid them flying away or being stung and so on).

I'm new to this so please explain your answer in simple terms.

[Texas Dave]

fstoppers have a little review on the venus 60mm that was mentioned above. In case you're interested.


https://fstoppers.com/gear/review-ex...cro-lens-56996

[marlunn]

bit late to this thread, but for me if you want to do macro - and want some distance from the bugs then - its expensive, but you only buy 1 macro lens, and to be honest if image is the game a dedicated macro is the way to go - Sigma 150 f2.8. The down side is that the depth of field is very narrow and it takes a bit of getting used to before you start to get what you want out of it - but I think it worth it in the long run.

[JR1]

Remember the alternatives before you spend a lot

Close up filters, eg Cokin, Extension/Macro tubes eg Kenko

[Geoff F]

bit late to this thread, but for me if you want to do macro - and want some distance from the bugs then - its expensive, but you only buy 1 macro lens, and to be honest if image is the game a dedicated macro is the way to go - Sigma 150 f2.8. The down side is that the depth of field is very narrow and it takes a bit of getting used to before you start to get what you want out of it - but I think it worth it in the long run

Do Sigma still produce the 150 macro lens? I went that little bit further and updated to the new Sigma 180 mm macro lens (from the previous 180 mm). And a lot of the time, I add a 1.4x converter as well.

This allows me to work from 2 or 3 feet, depending on subject; and as close as 12 ins when that is possible. But, and there is always a but, it is heavy and well beyond your budget.

However, this does allow me to photograph many species to identification quality so I can do a photographic survey instead of netting, then killing, all specimens for identification. On average I take 150 or more photos per day and obtain identification on most of the species which I encounter.

I mean photographing every insect which comes my way, not just getting one or two excellent images now and then.

Maybe worth considering in the long view instead of spending on something which will then have to be replaced with something better. It really depends on how serious you want to get with macro.