Which macro lens ?

_chris_

_chris_

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Hi, I am going to buy my first macro lens soon and was wondering which lens would be the best to buy ,

I would be using it for the real close ups of insects and flowers and the lens would be fitted to my nikon d7000 ,

The two lenses I've heard good things about are the,


Tokina Telephoto 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro

And the

tamron 90mm f/2.8 sp af di macro

I am very new to digital photography and I've always been interested in macro

Any advice welcome.


Thanks chris.
 
Left-field suggestion is to consider a raynox adaptor - a good cheap intro. Hace a look in the macro section -carl gets some great results with it!
 
I'd buy the Sigma 105mm rather than the Tamron or Tokina. Nothing wrong with either of them but the Sigma is regarded as being best in class.
 
I have the Sigma 105 which is very nice indeed.

Another option is also extension tubes which are cheap too!
 
I've tried macro rings a few times, and yeah you can get great results, but I would find it hard suggest them to someone new to photography, let alone macro. They're not the easiest to get to grips with, a proper macro lens is the way to go for starters. I ended up ditching the rings when I first tried, and got a Nikon 60mm macro, much easier and was cheap enough used. Look out for a 105mm sigma maybe, used, or if you can get hold of a Nikon 60mm. The tamron 90mm also a great option. As there's a new version of that out, the older non OS version can be got for pretty cheap.
 
I've had the Sigma 105 and a Tamron sp90 a few years ago. Both are excellent, I really couldn't choose which was best, but when I was looking for another Macro lens a while ago, I bought another Tamron.
Allan
 
Be careful with the Sigma 105mm. I bought a DG version second hand which worked perfectly on my D70 and D90 but would not work at all on my D7000, it just completely locked up the camera. I contacted Sigma who say that there is a compatability issue with this lens and the D7000. They offered a firmware update on the lens for £37.99 which I declined, so I cut my losses and sold it on.
 
Chris,
Don't rule out the Nikon 105mm Macro lens. There are some good 2nd hand examples around. I regrettably sold one at the beginning of the year. I'm after another one !
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Chris,
Don't rule out the Nikon 105mm Macro lens. There are some good 2nd hand examples around. I regrettably sold one at the beginning of the year. I'm after another one !
Click to expand...

Hopefully I'm not breaking any protocols but have a look at my ad in the Nikon classifieds section.

Mods - please delete if I've over stepped the mark.
 
Your only problem is being too early - I think it'll be some time before the OP has access to the classifieds.
 
Thanks for all the replies, I will let you know which lens I go for.

Thanks chris_911 but snapsh0t is right, I can't view the classified section as I haven't been a member for 60 days or have 25 posts.
 
Guys ,I have a question.

I've looked at the tamron 90mm and there seems to be two versions, one is marked as the 272e version and one looks the same but with out the 272e bit.

Can any one tell be the difference and will they work with my d7000.

Thanks

Chris.
 
Another vote for the Sigma 105. Very good lens.
Holds up against wife's Canon 100 L macro.
 
I've heard a few people say that there is a comparability issue with the sigma 105 and the nikon d7000 ,

They are saying that when they attach the lens it locks the camera up and nothing works.

Can someone shed some light on this please ? As I would love to use the sigma105 but I am worried about buying one and it not working.

Thanks

Chris.
 
Your best bet would be to try one in a shop. If it works then bingo!
 
_chris_ said:
I've heard a few people say that there is a comparability issue with the sigma 105 and the nikon d7000 ,

They are saying that when they attach the lens it locks the camera up and nothing works.

Can someone shed some light on this please ? As I would love to use the sigma105 but I am worried about buying one and it not working.

Thanks

Chris.
Click to expand...
Maybe with the mk1? The mk2 was released this year (though I don't think it's officially designated the mk2) which should be fine with everything going at present.

Certainly no issues with my Canon 6d and 50d.

Edit - the mk1 was the non OS version, the mk2 was simply called the HSM OS Macro.
 
Last edited:
_chris_ said:
I've heard a few people say that there is a comparability issue with the sigma 105 and the nikon d7000 ,

They are saying that when they attach the lens it locks the camera up and nothing works.

Can someone shed some light on this please ? As I would love to use the sigma105 but I am worried about buying one and it not working.

Thanks

Chris.
Click to expand...
There is no doubt about it that the Sigma 105mm is a great lens on compatible cameras. Unfortunately the D7000 is not one of those.
I had the second generation lens (DG version) but with no optical stabilisation, the new lens does have OS so I would assume that would be OK but do your homework first to avoid any nasty surprises.
This is the mail I received from Sigma when I contacted them about the problem:-

Thank you for your email.
If the lens you have is a DG model we have a software update available to make your lens compatible with the D7000.
If you would like to send your lens to us if it is the DG model the cost for the upgrade is £37.99 including VAT and postage back to yourself.
Please fill in our returns form online found under “support”

Kind Regards

Stacey-Anne Hodgson

SIGMA IMAGING UK LTD

And also a link to another thread on here about the same problem:-
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/help-please-my-nikon-d7000-wont-recognise-my-lens.360609/
 
Unless you plan on using it on a tripod, I would seriously consider one with VR/VC/OS. I had the Tamron 90mm non VC and whilst it was awesome and super sharp, 90mm (135mm on crop) when trying to focus on a bug that's about 0.2mm is an absolute ball ache. Mine lasted a day before I took it back. Holding it steady is really difficult.

I'd go with the new Sigma 105mm OS lens as it usually tops all the reviews and is cheaper than the Nikon.
 
minnnt said:
Unless you plan on using it on a tripod, I would seriously consider one with VR/VC/OS. I had the Tamron 90mm non VC and whilst it was awesome and super sharp, 90mm (135mm on crop) when trying to focus on a bug that's about 0.2mm is an absolute ball ache. Mine lasted a day before I took it back. Holding it steady is really difficult.

I'd go with the new Sigma 105mm OS lens as it usually tops all the reviews and is cheaper than the Nikon.
Click to expand...


The best way to focus when doing close up macro, is manually. VR can be useful when shooting only in natural light, but a lot of times for macro you'll be using off-cam flash, rendering VR a bit useless rreally. It's nice to have, but for macro, not a must.
 
I find OS very useful, I wouldn't be without it for macro.

That said, I've only ever shot with natural light.
 
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