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Nikon 105mm 2.8 Micro vs Tamron 90mm Di Macro

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El_Gimpster

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I've found myself taking lots of closeups of flowers with my humble 50mm 1.8 lately and have decided to invest in a dedicated 1:1 macro lens.

The Nikon 60mm Micro is too close in focus length to my existing 50mm 1.8, and since I don't already have a 'portrait' lens in the 85-135mm range I figured I might as well buy something that I can use for both macros and portraits.

Since I'm not a fan of MF only lenses that brings me to either the Tamron 90mm Macro or the Nikon 105mm Micro - both the latest versions.

I can buy the Tamron direct from Hong Kong for approximately AU$450 and the Nikon for roughly AU$750.

My question is how do these two great lenses compare in sharpness, bokeh, build quality and "hand-holdability" ?

My thinking was originally to just buy the Tamron and not worry about it, but I don't want any regrets down the track like "...why didn't I spent a few bucks more and get the Nikon?".

I'd love to hear from some experienced Macro shooters on the subject.

Oh, and for reference I'll be using whichever lens I buy with my trusty Nikon D1H, primarily hand-held.

Cheers, thanks for reading.
 
Hi Gimp,

I have the Nikkor 60 micro and the Tamron 90mm SP Di. The Tamron has much better boakah, the Nikkor is ever so slightly sharper wide open. If I had to let one go, and I don't want to do that, it would be the Nikkor. I don't think you can go wrong with the Tamron 90mm.
Regards,
Sol
 
The Tamron 90mm lens is an outstanding product, and you won't regret getting one.

I don't do too much macro work, but I bought this lens after my cat destroyed my old Nikon 105mm f1.8AIs manual focus lens... Which is one of those cult status Nikkors.

I found the Tamron's optical performance to stand favorable comparison even with the exalted 105 f1.8

Anyhow, isn't the current Micro Nikkor 105mm f2.8 being replaced with the forthcoming VR version?

Kev
 
The tamron is better!!
The lens are sharper! I believe from f3.5, is the best in its class!!
At f2.8, i think the lens are to creamy!
Ill leave the link to my gallery, you can see what the tamron is capable of!!!

http://www.pbase.com/crave/macros

Hope this helps!!!

D70 RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
uva0224 said:
The new coming VR double Tamron's price or even more.
Click to expand...
Yeah, exactly. Otherwise I'd definately consider the new lens especially since I don't have the pleasure of owning a VR lens yet.

Pity the best toys are always so pricey! (I'd love a D200 too)
 
Crave said:
The tamron is better!!
The lens are sharper! I believe from f3.5, is the best in its class!!
At f2.8, i think the lens are to creamy!
Ill leave the link to my gallery, you can see what the tamron is
capable of!!!

http://www.pbase.com/crave/macros

Hope this helps!!!

D70 RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
WOW. What an amazing macro gallery you have. I can't think of a better endorsement for the Tamron 90mm, you've convinced me!
 
Before you go running off....

if you can, you might want to wait and see what the NEW Nikon 105/2.8 Macro looks like. If I were a betting man, I'd lay odds it's going to be the supreme macro lens (and by a lot) once it's out... so it depends on if you can hold off until it becomes available (which might be a bit - who knows)

-m
 
Thanks!!
This lens are are very good!!!

D70 RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
El_Gimpster said:
Crave said:
The tamron is better!!
The lens are sharper! I believe from f3.5, is the best in its class!!
At f2.8, i think the lens are to creamy!
Ill leave the link to my gallery, you can see what the tamron is
capable of!!!

http://www.pbase.com/crave/macros

Hope this helps!!!

D70 RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
WOW. What an amazing macro gallery you have. I can't think of a
better endorsement for the Tamron 90mm, you've convinced me!
Click to expand...
 
I actually love both of them.

The Tamron is a lovely portrait lens and just as fine a macro lens as its more pricey big brother the 105 Nikkor.

However, as of this morning, B&H is taking pre-orders on the 105mm Nikkor VR lens. And I got in line. Because I take a LOT of macro shots, and a tripod is just about never convenient, because most of my macros are bugs. By the time you set up a tripod, they are invariably OUTTA THERE.

I would invest another bit of money and preorder the Nikon VR if you do some serious macro.

I have a lot of Nikkor 105mm Micro samples in my galleries!

Best of luck in your decision!

Michelle
--
http://www.pbase.com/michellemahood/galleries
 
Sadly the 105 VR is too far out of my budget for me to consider. Perhaps I may be able to pick one up second hand in a year or so but right now it seems like the Tamron 90 is the most economical choice.

My main concern now is that 90mm won't be enough working distance when the time comes to shoot live subjects, as I've read that 150 or 200mm is best for this kind of thing to avoid spooking insects, bugs and such.

Thanks for the comments so far guys!
 
Crave, great photos, i have just bought a Tamron SP 90 Di. In matrix mode with the built in flash (D70), it overexposes a lot ( for portraits ), is my lense faulty or is it an issue with 3rd party lenses. is it ok with an SB600 or 800. in spot metering mode it appears ok
 
I didn't scare these insects....granted a Praying Mantis is hard to spook. :-) It's a wonderful lens at the right price. The new 105mm VR is a dream but I can't afford it right now. All the same, I don't feel like I'm missing anything having the Tamron.



 
You will probably get the very best results with a dedicated macro lens. Consider also the Sigma 150mm f2.8.

Also consider the Nikon 5T (1.5x) or 6T (2.9x) or the Canon d500, which are all two element close up filters which you can put on a variety of lenses, including soem with stabilizaton. I used the 5T on the Sigma 50-500 and also on the 80-400 os.

There are three big advantages. Cost - the 5T is only about $50. Convenience - if you are out walking, you do not have to change lenses - just screw on the 5T. Distance - the working distance is in feet rather than inches. On tlele lenses, the 5T is the one to use - the 6T is too strong.

The 5T is 62mm, and you can use setp down rings to fit it to the much larger 50-500 or 80-400 without vignetting.

There are a lot of macros taken this way in my galleries, but I have now sold the 50-500 and 80-400 when I bought the Nikon 200-400vr, which has no screw thead which would lend itself to this. However, I tomorrow have the 18-200vr, and will try the 5T and 6T on that.

This one was with the Sigma 50-500 and Nikon 5T handheld.



--
http://www.pbase.com/bertramm
pbase & dpreview supporter
 
You should really be considering a used lens. There will be Nikons, Tamrons, and Sigmas coming available on ebay etc as some of us adopt the new Nikon 105 VR
--
Ken Eis
 
Don't want to make the discision making process harder for you, but you may want to take a serious look at Tokina's new 100mm ATX-PRO macro as well. You can find them for $369 with a $30 rebate through March 31st right now.
 
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