Closeup, not macro tips, for outdoor flowers: Have a Nikon d7500, lenses: 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom, 80-200 2.8 zoom, 85 1.8, and a couple of kit lenses. Love to do closeup photos of...

Taz1

Have a Nikon d7500, lenses: 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom, 80-200 2.8 zoom, 85 1.8, and a couple of kit lenses. Love to do closeup photos of flowers. Got great results with a pocket Canon, but would like to take up this hobby with my Nikon for better results. Any tips on which lens in my bag would be good for closeup flower pics and settings to use? Would like to get more practice before looking into a macro lens. Help would be appreciated.

CO

The 80-200mm f/2.8 has a macro mode. This is from the owner's manual.

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via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

If you belong to the Nikonians website I have an article there on photographing flowers. The lens you choose depends on the vision you have for the end result and the variables taking place that day. Each shoot is different. Get a vision, choose the correct lens, and practice. There is no one lens that is perfect.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

A "smart" lens extension tube can be useful for close-ups. I just got a small set for Sony E and with a 30 mm lens the change is dramatic. The shorter the lens the more the effect of a given length extension.

I got Vello from B&H and it is good on quality. But see the on line reviews. Caveat emptor.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Taz1 wrote:

Have a Nikon d7500, lenses: 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom, 80-200 2.8 zoom, 85 1.8, and a couple of kit lenses. Love to do closeup photos of flowers. Got great results with a pocket Canon, but would like to take up this hobby with my Nikon for better results. Any tips on which lens in my bag would be good for closeup flower pics and settings to use? Would like to get more practice before looking into a macro lens. Help would be appreciated.

I shoot flowers with an 18-200 lens so your 80-200 is far more than acceptable. A coupla hints. Get as close as is possible, use a tripod. Shoot as high an ISO as is necessary to use high shutter speeds. Flowers move, even in a slight breeze thst the reason for higher speeds. Watch for "petal clipping" it can happen. Pic included. Those blue flowers annoy the hell out of me

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shagbat Loc: London

Taz1 wrote:

Have a Nikon d7500, lenses: 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom, 80-200 2.8 zoom, 85 1.8, and a couple of kit lenses. Love to do closeup photos of flowers. Got great results with a pocket Canon, but would like to take up this hobby with my Nikon for better results. Any tips on which lens in my bag would be good for closeup flower pics and settings to use? Would like to get more practice before looking into a macro lens. Help would be appreciated.

Assuming you have the 18-55 kit lens, and with your 85mm you have all you need unless you get to the point where you NEED a macro lens. A decent +3 dioptre close up lens is cheap and fun, I suggest you play around with what you have before spending a fortune. Enjoy!

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

boberic wrote:

I shoot flowers with an 18-200 lens so your 80-200 is far more than acceptable. A coupla hints. Get as close as is possible, use a tripod. Shoot as high an ISO as is necessary to use high shutter speeds. Flowers move, even in a slight breeze thst the reason for higher speeds. Watch for "petal clipping" it can happen. Pic included. Those blue flowers annoy the hell out of me

A slightly different angle might have excluded those annoying blue flowers.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Taz1 wrote:

Have a Nikon d7500, lenses: 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom, 80-200 2.8 zoom, 85 1.8, and a couple of kit lenses. Love to do closeup photos of flowers. Got great results with a pocket Canon, but would like to take up this hobby with my Nikon for better results. Any tips on which lens in my bag would be good for closeup flower pics and settings to use? Would like to get more practice before looking into a macro lens. Help would be appreciated.

My personal tips are two: do not be afraid to use large apertures and try to shoot against the light, or at least with something other than flat light with the sun at your back. I use old vintage lenses for the bokeh, but this applies also to modern lenses. Here are a few examples

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NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

I take some great shots with the 70-300. You can control dof and it has great bokeh.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

CO wrote:

The 80-200mm f/2.8 has a macro mode. This is from the owner's manual.

At a maximum ratio of 1:5.9 it hardly fits into the widely accepted "macro range" of 1:2 or larger, regardless of how loosely Nikon interprets their lenses.

True "macro" Nikkor lenses have not existed since the 70s when they were made as part of the Multiphot Photomacrographic System. They were 19mm, 35mm, 60mm and 120mm and had a image circle that could cover 4x5 None of those lenses focused to infinity, but if you had the entire set, you could focus from 1:1 down to 40:1 (the image on the film/sensor is 40x larger than real life.

This makes every other lens made by Nikon technically a Micro-Nikkor, but they do make a distinction in that all of their lenses with the Micro designation do focus to infinity all the way down to 1:1 ratio.

http://www.savazzi.net/photography/macronikkors.htm

https://nikonrumors.com/2010/12/14/guest-post-nikkor-19mm-f2-8-macro-lens-review.aspx/

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Taz1 wrote:

Have a Nikon d7500, lenses: 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom, 80-200 2.8 zoom, 85 1.8, and a couple of kit lenses. Love to do closeup photos of flowers. Got great results with a pocket Canon, but would like to take up this hobby with my Nikon for better results. Any tips on which lens in my bag would be good for closeup flower pics and settings to use? Would like to get more practice before looking into a macro lens. Help would be appreciated.

You have a couple of choices. You an use extension tubes, preferably with auto-aperture control, to get closer, or you can get a cheap reversing ring - and use your shorter focal length lenses in reverse.

Each has it's strong and weak points, but you can get excellent results with really high magnification with either.

Here is a nice write up on using a reversed lens:

https://petapixel.com/2015/05/01/shooting-insect-macros-on-the-cheap-with-a-reversed-lens/

shagbat Loc: London

Very, very good. I too play about with 'vintage' lenses, but never as well as that! Great fun!

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

kymarto wrote:

My personal tips are two: do not be afraid to use large apertures and try to shoot against the light, or at least with something other than flat light with the sun at your back. I use old vintage lenses for the bokeh, but this applies also to modern lenses. Here are a few examples

It REALLY is a shame that I can't post "WOW!!!" in 16 pt. letters
to tell you how wonderful your posted flowers are.

Smile,
Jimmy T Sends
Bravo Zulu

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Look up Mike Moats. He teaches what you want to do. A lot of good information.

khorinek

I would use the 80-200 f/2.8. Shoot as close as the lens will allow and crop the photo in post editing.