rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I'm not sure I even understand what that means. What should I switch to? As I said, I have the EF 100 f/2.8L IS macro lens so obviously I own at least 1 camera it will fit on. I do own Nikon DSLR'S and even a Nikkor micro lens, but when doing macro, I prefer the Canon; usually my EF 100 f/2.8L on my 5DSr. So, I ask again, switch to what?!

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

He was "just sayin' "...!?

chinners

AS you can tell everyone has a favourite, everyone has an opinion however the majority of Nikon, sigma, tamron etc. lenses will give you the results you desire, but you may not enjoy using all those lenses, take your body to a camera store try the lenses out and make your choice. I may have the sharpest lens in the world but if it is unwieldy and difficult to use the chances are it will remain in the house. Get something that is comfortable and easy to use, you will be happy with anything from the major lens manufacturers and its results will more than please you

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Results are more based on proper techniques than the name of the brand... All of those MTF results are based on bench testing, which is a lot different than real world shooting. If all you can get is 30 Lines in real world shooting, the fact that the lens is capable of a lot better is meaningless. It would make no difference how good the lens is if your abilities are lacking and no one can duplicate bench results in the field.

Deanie1113

Thank you. I am looking at that one now. I am hesitant because it no VR -- do you think that would be a problem on my D5500? Also does not have AF. But the price is great. What do you think? Thank you!

ialvarez50

Superfly, strikes again! Why stay away from short focal length lenses? because the short focal length that you have is bad or because you don't know how to use it? Oh wait, your suggestions are perfect so no one should question your knowledge. Just for you from now on I am adding photos to every post, hopefully you do the same and show us all how good you are.

All these photos were taken with the EF 50mm f/2.5 lens Very short!

Now, this is for the person that asked the question about lenses. Seriously, use any lens that you can afford and keep trying everything until you get photos the way you want them. Most of the photos I take are with hand held camera but not 100%, for some of them I use a tripod to I can use a small aperture and extend the depth of field. I hope this helps.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

For high magnification work shot by available light you are going to want to reconsider using a tripod or at least a monopod. Image stabilization (VR, VC, OS or whatever) is of little use at high magnification and some sort of support is often necessary, even with the stabilization. The VC or VR can be nice to have for shots being done at less extreme magnifications.

Something that can help to use macro flash. That can make hand-held shots more practical, since the flash will act to freeze camera shake or subject movement... plus it can allow you to use a faster shutter speed. There are two primary types of macro flash: ring lights and twin lights. Personally, for up to around 1:1 or a little higher magnification, I prefer and use a twin light flash. I usually only use a ring light for higher than 2:1 (twice life size). This is because the lighting from ring lights tend to be rather flat at lower magnifications (even though my ring light has two separate flash tubes that can be set to as much as an 8:1 lighting ratio). It is also possible to use a standard flash for macro work, though most will need to be diffused to prevent too strong flash overpowering a close-up image.

The Tamron 90mm VC is a fine lens and would be a good choice. The Nikkor 105mm VR is also quite good. I would not recommend longer focal lengths (150, 180, 200mm) as they make for shallower depth of field - which is always a struggle at higher magnifications - as well as making it harder to get a steady shot. Shorter focal lengths (70mm, 60mm, 50mm) can make for a bit more depth of field, a more compact lens, and easier handheld shooting... but also isn't something I'd recommend for higher magnification work as it puts you awfully close to the subject.

The Tamron will autofocus fine on your camera (as would the Nikkor 105mm in it's latest AF-S version).

Some macro lenses that won't autofocus on a D5000-series camera include the Nikkor 200mm "AF" and the Tokina AT-X Pro 100mm "D". Those lenses (as well as some others) rely upon a focusing motor built into the camera body itself, which the D5000-series don't have (only D7000-series and higher Nikons have that).

You mention "manual focus is fine" and that's often the easiest way to do high magnification work anyway. With modern lenses that maintain an open aperture until the instant of exposure, it's pretty easy. Older lenses or any with manual apertures are another matter, because when they are stopped down your viewfinder dims down along with them (for example, this happens with a vintage 1980s era Tamron 90mm I've got... but that lens is an ancient ancestor to the Tamron 90mm VC USD you're considering).

As mentioned above, shallow depth of field is often an issue at high magnifications. With digital photography one way to deal with shallow DoF is a "focus stacking" technique, which involves taking a series of shots at slightly different focus settings. This almost certainly will need to be done using tripod (and, quite possibly, add'l devices such as a precision "focusing rail").

Some nice features of the Tamron 90mm VC USD ($649) include that it's an "IF" or "internal focusing" lens. This means it stays the same length when focused closer. Some macro lenses are not IF and virtually double in length when focused to their highest magnification... which reduces working distance between the subject and the front of the lens a great deal. For example, the somewhat cheaper Tamron 90mm "non VC/USD" ($499) and the Tokina AT-X 100mm ($349) are both non-IF lenses.

The approx. 12" minimum focus distance (MFD) of the Tamron 90mm is fairly typical of lenses around the 90 to 105mm focal length range. Keep in mind that MFD is measured from the sensor/film plane of the camera... so part of the camera itself (approx. 1.75"), the lens itself 4.84" with the Tamron 90 VC/USD and any attachments to the front of the lens (hood, filter, flash) will occupy part of MFD... what remains is the "working distance" between the front of the lens and the subject... in this case just over 5" when the lens is set to full 1:1 magnification.

The Tamron 90mm VC USD also has a smartly designed, 3-stage focus limiter. This can be used to speed up autofocus. It can be set to allow AF across the full range (0.3m to infinity), limit it to macro range only (0.3m to 0.5m) or limit it to non-macro range only (0.5m to infinity).

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Most of these shots look to be about half life size or larger.

Deanie1113

I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who replied! I have learned so much and will ponder all this over the weekend.

boydcrochet

Handheld Tokina 100mm. Manually focused. Nikon D800, SOOC (unedited)
The Tokina 100mm has excellent optics. Focus ring gets a B, AF speed a C. It's a challenging lens.

You might be better off getting the Tamron 90mm.


I'm not sure VC is very useful for flowers. Tamron VC is also a little slower than Nikon's VR in my experience, that doesn't include either of these lenses. For optics, I think DXOMark rates the lenses 1,2,3 respectively.

RobMelone

You might look into the Nikon 60mm f2.8D lens. For a crop sensor camera, it's a great macro lens as well as a great portrait lens. They're well made (metal body - made in Japan) and you can get them on eBay for around $300...

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

You are correct. He was, just sayin, I have a Nikon D5500.

Dennis

Kuzano

The 90MM Tamron in many of it's variations was highly regarded for dental photography using a Lester Dine Ring Flash. Pretty high requirements for Macro there. I liked my Tamron(s), but Tokina's ran them a close second for sharpness.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

Your images are nice however your 50mm f/2.5 is not actually considered a Macro lens, it will not reproduce 1:1 it will get to 1:2 which can be really pleasing for a lot of things especially floral. Your 50 is a great walk around that can do a lot of things from street, to landscape, portraiture, and great closeup photography but it can't do macro. It can't take the shot below that was taken with a Canon 100mm macro.

(Download)

Raz Theo Loc: Music City

AMEN