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First macro lens question for Nikon users

Started Feb 16, 2014 | Polls thread
Hasa
Hasa Senior Member • Posts: 1,578
Re: First macro lens question for Nikon users

Hi,

I was in the same situation and bought the Nikon 105 mm F2.8 VR. However it disappointed me price/value wise. Not as crisp as I recall my Minolta XE1 35 years ago with its 135mm rear mounted-on -bellows with flash. Also I had hoped to be able to use it for landscapes - where it was also not quite as good. I was not impressed by having CA in a 105mm macro. I have later found that my 35mm Zeiss F2 performs on another level altogether with an extension tube. However it is of course not very practical for bugs. So I ended up with the 70-200m F4 VR that lets me do all these things + "almost macro" with either the 1,7xTC or just a bunch of extension tubes. Yes it is even more expensive but makes up for that with much better sharpness and much more versatility.

If I was just going to shoot bugs I would get the Sigma 150mm F2.8

Below is a Zeiss 35mmF2 shot of a sleeping fly - it was wet and cold - I managed to crop to a level of detail I simply did not see with the Nikon 105mm F2.8.

And - as somebody else noted - manual focus worked just fine - I simply swayed my body back and forth and shot 5 images with the macro flash and got one just right.

Cropped

Uncropped

340 mm!

The only sharp thing is the pollen sack The narrow DOF is an issue and since I am not a stacking guy I suppose the solution would be to do macro with a much smaller sensor size. 4/3 or even smaller, perhaps the Nikon V1.

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 Hasa's gear list:Hasa's gear list
Nikon D800 Nikon Z7 Nikon Z50 Nikon Z9 Nikon AF Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D +29 more
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