 Mochamad F. Abdurachman |
Lense Currently I have a Nikon D70 equiped with Nikkor AF 18-70mm F/1.3.5-4.5G ED. I like taking a close up photo as well as insects and think of buying Macro lense and think to buy Nikkor 105mm F/2.8 Canm you advice or anybody have experience with this Macro lense?
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robert G. Fately |
Mochamad, I believe that the Nikkor 105 Macro lens is one of the sharpest and most respected macros out there. I don't have that one, I have instead the Nikkor 85MM PC Macro and the Sigma 180MM macro as well (and a bellows, extension tubes and just all sorts of macro stuff). Here's the deal with macro in general: First, the longer the focal length of the lens, the more working room you will have. With my Sigma I can be about 3 feet from the subject to get a 1:1 reproduction ration; with the 85MM I need to be about 20 inches away. The advantage of more working room is more space to put lighting, or perhaps more ability to actually get the shot if the subject is behind glass or bars and you simply can't get that close. Depth of field is very very shallow at macro ranges, so expect to use a small aperture if you want to get anything more than a paper-thin layer in focus. This, in turn, means you will probably need a tripod, or a flash, or both. Not that you need this stuff immediately, but you ought to know what you will start to discover. Auto focus is generally useless at macro levels as well - you are usually much better off manually focusing to ensure that the precise portion of the shot you want in focus gets that way. Again, because of that shallow DOF, the camera may focus on a pistil 2MM behind the one you like and as a result the one you wanted in focus won't be. I hope that helps
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Sharon Day |
I have the Nikon 105mm macro. It's a great lens. I use the Nikon 60mm macro occasionally and I like it fully as well for flowers and macro and it's less expensive. Bob's response was great! The DOF is awful with macro lenses even stopped all the way down to F/22 if you are shooting something really close. I do like the 105mm really well for images of people. Good luck with your decision. I think you would be happy with either lens.
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Mochamad F. Abdurachman |
Dear Sharon and Bob, Thank you very much indeed for your prompt response to my question and your points are the kind of input I really need before making the final decision. The decision has been made and I will buy AF Nikkor 105mm F/2.8. Thank you again.
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David Earls |
Bob, Great post. You nailed macro. I love macro too, and there's one other piece of equipment that's really sweet for it. That's the focusing rail. It goes between the tripod and the camera, and it lets you move the camera forward or backward about two inches in either direction. If you half press your shutter, you'll receive the focus confirmation from your camera even in manual focus mode. Then you lock the rail down and shoot. I got a used one on eBay, and I honestly don't remember the last time I took it off the tripod. One other note. I'm finding myself increasingly fond of my 50mm Canon macro lens - I think I use it more than the 100mm. Yep, you don't get the working distance, but the wider angle lets you do a little more with composition.
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