Sigma 105mm macro OS vs. Nikon 105mm micro VR (Page 2): Yeh, that's the hard part... parting with the money. Right now Sigma's macro is less expensive. That's probably enough to nudge...

pettigkr Loc: Texas

Yeh, that's the hard part... parting with the money. Right now Sigma's macro is less expensive. That's probably enough to nudge me to order online and get it, as the $200 instant savings ends the end of the month. Thanks for your input!

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

Not that you asked, but something that may cause you to look a little further, I read a review on the Sigma 150 with image stabilization and saw some test comparisons and was very surprised that the IQ on the new 150 was not as good as the older non stabilized lens... I did not expect to find this because the Canon 100 with stabilization is supposed to be better than the non stabilized...

I shoot with a Sigma 180 and am very happy with its performance, but of course it is not stabilized.

perpoto

D800 which is the most unforgivable to poor lens,gives very good result with 105,beside 70/200,24/70,85,zf 21.
price is another criteria,but lens is a long term investment,camera comes and go.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

perpoto wrote:

nikon 105 ,they dont say macro,but it is beautiful lens,works on D800 too.

Unfortunately, Nikon labels their macro lenses as "Micro".

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nikonian72 wrote:

perpoto wrote:

nikon 105 ,they dont say macro,but it is beautiful lens,works on D800 too.

Unfortunately, Nikon labels their macro lenses as "Micro".

Therefore, "Micro" must be the correct term :D

pettigkr Loc: Texas

Thanks for the input. Reading countless reviews on macro lenses led me to conclude that test results are generally consistent, but occasionally a site has completely different results. I'm glad you're happy with your lens.

justjeff

i hope i'm not hijacking this thread by asking this question. what is the purpose of using vr when doing macro photography? i assume that one would use a tripod all of the time with mirror lock up and cable release techniques. is vr not more for handholding? how can you do macro handheld? i do mostly sports but i do have a 100 mm tamron which is also a great portrait lens. mods can move this if necessaray. thanks jeff.

zerobeat

I own the Sigma you are looking. It is probably my sharpest lens, never hunts and gives good color. In all fairness I don't do much macro and have used it for protraits. Don't think you would be unhappy. And I have probably 10 Canon and a few other brands. Four Canon "L's'.

perpoto

this is hand held vr on from 105micro nikkor.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

justjeff wrote:

what is the purpose of using vr when doing macro photography? i assume that one would use a tripod all of the time with mirror lock up and cable release techniques. is vr not more for handholding? how can you do macro handheld? i do mostly sports but i do have a 100 mm tamron which is also a great portrait lens. mods can move this if necessary.

I hand-hold all of my field macro-photography, as do most serious macro-photographers. Please take a look at many images submitted to several threads in this forum: True Macro-Photography Forum http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-102-1.html

ephraim Imperio

pettigkr wrote:

Yeh, that's the hard part... parting with the money. Right now Sigma's macro is less expensive. That's probably enough to nudge me to order online and get it, as the $200 instant savings ends the end of the month. Thanks for your input!

Yes. You are right. The sigma is less expensive but can play with the big boys. I have several NIkon, Tamron and sigma macro lenses and I will take the sigma anytime. Some of my sigma shots.

sunflower

orchid

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

This is a macro-photograph of a honeybee. The above photo is a close-up.

Approximately 4:1 magnification (4x life-size), after cropping.
Photographed at the Madrona Marsh Nature Center in Torrance, California.
Nikon D90 at ISO 400, Nikkor 105D macro lens, 1/200-sec at f/22; full sun & Nikon SB-600 Speedlight with O-Flash 3/4-circle Fresnel prism attachment.

ephraim Imperio

Nikonian72 wrote:

This is a macro-photograph of a honeybee. The above photo is a close-up.

Approximately 4:1 magnification (4x life-size), after cropping.
Photographed at the Madrona Marsh Nature Center in Torrance, California.
Nikon D90 at ISO 400, Nikkor 105D macro lens, 1/200-sec at f/22; full sun & Nikon SB-600 Speedlight with O-Flash 3/4-circle Fresnel prism attachment.

I never said my bee photo was a macro shot. I know what a close up photo is and a macro 1:1 photo is.

pettigkr Loc: Texas

All great photos by UHH members. Thanks to all for sharing examples of the two lenses!

cameraniac Loc: Huntingburg, Indiana

Here's a couple of images captured with the Sigma 105mm. Not positive about the second one though. It might have been shot with the Nikon 18-55 (Hundred dollar lens!).