sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I have several macro lenses including the AF Micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4D IF-ED. What's great about that lens is its working distance and oh, my gosh image quality although autofocus is a bit slow.

Even better, it may also save your life should you ever be out in the rugged area shooting wildflowers and attacked by a bear for you can use the lens as a club to beat it into submission, wipe the blood off it, and continue shooting the wildflowers. You can thank me later..!

Traveller_Jeff

Thank you. Can you post one of the macro shots you like most of all?

Nicholas J DeSciose

105 mm Nikon 2.8 macro. I’ve had every version of this lens for over 30 years. It always works. I’ve used it with extension tubes are for closer work

nealbralley Loc: Kansas

The Nikkor 105mm, f/2.8 Micro is an excellent lens for any Nikon DSLR.

User ID

Wouldve been a lot less $$ to simply forget about the lens hood ...

EJMcD

I'm not into "extreme" macro but here are some of what I do with my Nikon 105mm hand held. It's also a great focal length for portraits. I don't profess that any of them are spectacular but they are some of my favorite images.

jimbuckley Loc: Arizona

Don't forget about the very affordable (about $500) Laowa 100mm f2.8 2X macro for Nikon F mount (emphasis on 2X). This is a manual focus lens, but if just for the purpose of macro, manual is what you want. The reviews of this lens are stellar, especially the complete lack of chromatic aberration and corner to corner sharpness. https://www.adorama.com/ve10028n.html

JohnnyDW Loc: Richmond and Sunshine Valley British Columbia

I like and use the same lens, no hood. Most of my macros are handheld outdoors.
Was with my D5 but now a D850.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I like to use a hood to keep out extraneous light, and I don't know why Nikon would make a lens with a hood which can't be used at the closest focus.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

What a superlative group of shots 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are many zooms that claim macro capability, but almost none come anywhere close to delivering it.

Virtually all quality macro lenses are primes.



There are many very good macro lenses, both from Nikon and from others.

But first, if this is your first and only macro lens, I would recommend one around 100mm focal length... a little more or a little less. This is the most versatile type, so a good, general purpose focal length. There are shorter and more compact that are fine for some purposes, but put you awfully close to subjects. There are also longer focal lengths that give relatively large working distance, but are a lot harder to hold steady and render very shallow depth of field. 100mm or there-about is a good compromise for most people.

Next, do you want auto focus? A lot of macro work is more easily focused manually, but you still may prefer to have the option to AF. Or if you would like to use the lens for non-macro purposes as well, AF may be important. (Note: Typically macro lenses autofocus is not fast... due to the shallow depth of field it emphasizes precision over speed. Don't expect to be able to use a macro lens for "action photography".)

Do you want new or will you consider used? The reason I ask is Nikon has discontinued all their modern, autofocus, full frame (FX), F-mount Micro-Nikkors.

Some specific recommendations:

If you consider used (or possibly refurbished, which can be bought directly from Nikon via their website), you will be able to find a Micro-Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR. I found several used ones at B&H Photo... one in top condition is offered for $670. MPB.com has several, too, for considerably less.

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM is available both new ($569 @ B&H) and used ($349 @ MPB. It's equal to or possibly even better than the Micro-Nikkor 105mm (which is a much older lens design). If money were no object and I were looking for a lens in Nikon mount, this would be my first choice. (However, I shoot with Canon and prefer their 100mm macro because it is very good plus has the option of fitting a tripod mounting ring, which I use.)

Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 VC USD (Model F017) has been discontinued, but is very good, still sometimes (rarely) available new and can be found used ($364 @MPB). This is the last and the very best of a long line of Tamron 90mm macro lenses. This particular version is the best of them and can be recognized by its VC (image stabilization), USD (ultrasonic focus motor) and an overall black barrel with a matte silver ring right at the base, as is typical of current Tamron SP series lenses (i.e., not the version with a gold ring mid barrel). To me it would be a toss up between this lens and the Nikkor.... thought I'd probably go with the Tamron because it's considerably less expensive.

Tokina AT-X Pro or ATX-i 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens is a budget alternative with decent image quality. This lens in the Nikon F-mount version does not have a built-in focus motor. It relies upon a focusing motor in the camera body, which your D5 has (but some other Nikon DSLRs and all Nikon mirrorless do not). This makes it one of the most affordable at $349 new (B&H) or less than $250 used. The AT-X Pro is a bit older, while the ATX-i is the current version. There are some cosmetic differences between them, but don't appear to be any optical or functional differences between them. This lens would be my last choice among the four listed here. It's a very good lens for the money, but the Nikon version lacking the focus motor will make it even slower than most and will effect resale, if and when that eventually happens.

For what it's worth, all the above lenses except for the Tokiina are about the same size and all four will render full 1:1 magnification. The Nikkor, Sigma and Tamron are "internal focusing". This makes them a little larger when focused to infinity, but they don't change size when focused closer to full 1:1. The Tokina is not internal focusing. This allows it to be smaller at infinity, but, so it is close 3/4 inch longer than the other three lenses when focused to full 1:1.

btbg

This is going to sound weird, but I really like the Sigma sport 150-600 zoom with a set of extension tubes. Gives you lots of working space.

Grahame Loc: Fiji

I will highly recommend the Nikon 105 VR which I've used on D300/D800/Z6. The working distance of approx. 300mm at 1:1 I've not found a problem for any subject.

VR is extremely useful if not essential in many cases for stabilizing the view in the OVF/EVF to assist in positioning for exact focus plane where it matters when hand holding.

Here's a couple of examples;

Paper Wasp collecting collecting material for its communal nest

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One of many mosquitos I bred waking up after hatching - 36mm Extension Tube used

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Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

105mm is sort of the sweet spot for a general purpose macro.

cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

I also have the Nikkor 200mm f4, and really like it, if you are shooting live critters the extra working distance is really nice. Unless you are very steady, a tripod is required with this lens (I also have the tokina 100mm f2.8, it too is a great lens)