Nikon 85mm VR Micro

gad-westy

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Graham
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Before I order, can I just get a TP opinion on this?

My mother has a Nikon D5xxx (I forget which model but either way, it's DX without motor in body). She'd like a macro lens and has asked my advice on one but I'm thinking of surprising her by just buying her one. Her main use will be flowers, maybe insects etc. She wants something as light as practical but doesn't want it to be too short in terms of focal length. She won't use a tripod so I think VR might be useful. And although I realise a lot of macro shooters will use MF, I think AF is a must here.

I made a list last night of all the contenders I could identify and looked up their weights and prices etc. I more or less ruled out the Sigma 105mm OS and Nikon 105mm VR on basis of weight and/or cost. The 40mm is nice and light but too short I think. The Tamron 90mm VC would be nice but quite expensive still. Tokina 100mm looks good but no VR.

I think I narrowed it down to the Nikon 85mm 3.5 VR. It's quite light at 355g and priced okay. Length is pretty good on DX I would say. Before I order, have I missed anything?
 
Tamron 90mm is well worth a look too even with older versions there is a version with a built in motor. It’s an incredibly sharp lens, I couldn’t tell a difference between it and the Nikon 105mm.

VR doesn’t works so well with actual macro work. So isn’t really advantage unless it’s going to be used for portraits too.
 
Cheers gents. Tamron 90mm is an option too thanks.
 
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