How do I set aperture size with my D60 and new Tamron 90mm

[ladysue]

I have got my new macro lens at last. I bought the Tamron 90mm AF 2.8 macro lens. I have been playing with it on my D60 but I cant work out how to get the camera to give me 2.8 aperture. I have it on aperture priority but it will only go to 4. Please can anyone advise me.
Thanks
Sue

 

[Montymint]

Have you tried it on full manual?

 

[ladysue]

Have you tried it on full manual?

Yes. I just did but still only 4

 

[Davec223]

My Nikon 105vr changes apperture as it gets close to 1:1 iirc it drops to f4 from f2.8. this is normal but I can not remember why.

 

[Montymint]

hmm give me 2 mins and i'll stick mine in the old d90 and i'll let you know what happens

 

[Montymint]

put the lens in manual and pull it back. If it extends down the barrel it will change aperture

 

[ladysue]

Hmm. Very puzzling. It suddenly decided it would go down to 2.8. I took one shot then it went back to 4 and I cant work out how to get it to go down again.

 

[ladysue]

put the lens in manual and pull it back. If it extends down the barrel it will change aperture

Sorry it may be me being thick. I put the lens in manual and move the focus ring so that the barrel moves. It will go to a bigger number as I do so- 5.6 etc but not down below 4. It can obviously do it cause it did it once. I am obviously doing something wrong

 

[Chaz Photos]

why would you want 2.8 when in macro ?

 

[Montymint]

so when the barrel is furthest back it is 4?

 

[Chaz Photos]

read this it might tell you something

 

[ladysue]

so when the barrel is furthest back it is 4?

Yes

 

[ladysue]

why would you want 2.8 when in macro ?

I just want to see that it will do 2.8 because I want to use it as a portrait lens too. It is supposed to be good at that as well as macro. That is why I bought it.

 

[Davec223]

Taken out of the tamron manual

When the lens is moved outwards to increase the magnifications ratio for shooting closeups,
the actual brightness on the film decreases, and the effective F number changes. For
auto exposure photographing, using an external exposure meter, or when using and external
light-adjusting flash however, the exposure must be corrected for this decrease in
brightness according to the magnification ratio

 

[TriggerHappy]

Set the focus to infinity and then try and select f2.8.

Chaz's link also says:

Aperture f/2.8 (Actually reads f/3 in use)

 

[Davec223]

I just want to see that it will do 2.8 because I want to use it as a portrait lens too. It is supposed to be good at that as well as macro. That is why I bought it.

It will do 2.8 at or near infinity and will not as the reproduction ratio increses, se above post.

 

[ladysue]

read this it might tell you something

It didnt say why I cant get less than f4. It says it reads f3 on their review but for a brief moment it did read f2.8 on mine but I cant get that back.It must be me

 

[ladysue]

Set the focus to infinity and then try and select f2.8.

Chaz's link also says:

I cant rotate the focus ring to get to the infinity sign. It stops just before that at a point marked L. I have not got the limiter switch set at limit. It is set at full

 

[ladysue]

Hooray. I just got it to 2.8 shooting something a long way away. Thankyou gentlemen for your help. It has to be on or near infinity to give me 2.8. I will try it for portraits but if I have to have it a long way away maybe I will have to save up for a nifty 50. I had hoped to get 2.8 close enough for portraits but I'll play around with it and hopefully, as people told me, be able to get reasonable portraits of my grandkids with it,
Thanks again
Sue