billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

It is my pleasure to recommend the Nikon 60mm f2.8D Micro AF nikkor lens. You can get a really nice one off ebay at a very good price. Note the sellers rating and get a Mint one. You get 30 days from Ebay to make sure you like it or you can return it for a full refund.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1311.R5.TR9.TRC1.A0.H1.Xnikon+60+mm.TRS2&_nkw=nikon+60mm+2.8d&_sacat=0

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

I use a Sigma 105mm F2.8. Good, but can be difficult to focus manually (a finer thread would be useful) and sometimes overshoots on auto focus leaving it in limbo.

I've also used my neighbours CANON 'L' series macro and this performs much better so if you've got the spondoolies I'd try the NIKKOR equivalent and work down.

Before I bought mine I consulted our own macro forum on this site. Helpful people.

bobfitz Loc: Kendall-Miami, Florida

I use a Tamron 90mm f2.8 on a Nikon D7100. I have had it for a few years and find it to be tack sharp, reliable and allows a comfortable working distance. It was also affordable as well as useful as a great portrait lens at a focal length of 135mm when factoring in the 1.5 crop factor. B&H has it advertised at $449.00.

CO

Since you shoot with a DX sensor Nikon, consider the Nikon 85mm f/3.5 DX micro lens. Since it's a DX format lens it's a little smaller and lighter than full frame macro lenses. It will balance better on your D7000. It's good for general photography also. I did this shot with it on my D7000.

Nikon 85mm f/3.5 DX micro on Nikon D7000

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treadwl Loc: South Florida

I shoot Nikon and prefer a Nikon lens. Nikon makes two lenses for doing true maco (micro) work. They have a 60mm f2.8 and a 105mm f2.8. I chose the 105mm for the simple reason that I can physically be a bit further away from my subject . Say I'm trying to photograph a bee. With the 60mm lens I would have to be almost on top of the bee to get the 1:1 ratio. The probably of the subject moving is greater than if I was using the 105mm.

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

I've got two PC-E lenses - the 45mm and 85mm - that are labeled Micro.

lisasells55

I have the Nikon Micro 60mm f/2.8, 105mm f/2.8 and the excellent 200mm f/4.0. My favorite is the 200mm, which gives me more working distance with skiddish creatures. It is tack sharp and performs beautifully. I like to use the 105mm for closer shots.

spraguead Loc: Boston, MA

I own a D7000 and D750 and have used the Tokina 100 macro with good results. It's probably not as good as the Nikon offering, but at less than half the cost, it's good for my needs.

ELNikkor

The macro lenses are sharper at the corners than your average prime lenses.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I have the 100 mm Tokina Macro for my D7000 and D7200. Good quality at a decent price = good value. A 50 mm prime can’t focus down to 1:1 like the 50 mm Macro. On your D7000, the 50 mm would be like a 75 mm on a full frame sensor.

rodox

I had always wanted a lensbaby. I got one a few years back. I was pleasantly surprised by the macro capabilities of the velvet 56. Maybe check out the reviews on it? I’d recommend it

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Macro lenses are designed for 1:1 reproduction and have very little pincushion or barrel distortion and thus are essential for copy work.

As a start the focal length of a standard macro lens is about 2x the focal length of a normal lens. Longer focal lengths give more working room between the lens and the subject. Nikon makes macro (micro) lenses with focal lengths from 40mm to 200mm. The standard DX macro lens is the 85mm lens. Other lenses that could be used as standard macro lenses are the 60mm and the 105mm. The 60mm is the FF equivalent of 90mm. The 40mm lens would be great for copying larger artworks where space to set your camera would be an issue.

If you are photographing 3D subjects all sorts of lenses can be pressed into service through the use of extension tubes. Many have used a 50mm (non macro) with extension tubes. Just as in regular photography lenses of various focal lengths can be used. Prime lenses make life easier though. Laowa makes a 15mm macro lens for Nikon. It takes skill to use this lens but excellent photos can be made. I have used lenses as short as 28mm.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

I have the Tokina 100mm macro lens for my Nikon cameras, for the price it is a great lens.

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

One of the best books on this (it is actually two books in one cover) is still the Kodak Workshop Series book on "Closeup Photography and Photomacrography," still seen on eBay. The products have evolved, but the practical technology (lens-wise) has not. It was the traditional custom to call "photomacrography" any picture where the magnification of subject on film or sensor is between 3:1 (three times life size) to 1:3 (1/3 lifesize), and magnifications greater than 3:1 (typically using a microscopic setup) were called photomicrography. Linhof made a stand for this called Aristophot, to which a 35mm camera or large format camera could be attached for macro work and micro work.

That Kodak series was unmatched in combining the most advanced technical aspects in tandem with practical skills and applications. The cover of the book was a small beetle, full frame on an 8x10 negative, shot with a Kodak cine (movie) lens mounted backwards on bellows--I have attached a picture of a Canon digital camera with just such a lens attached with adapter, with a sample of the macro photograph taken with it. I have also attached a similar photo taken at the same time with the Canon 60mm macro/portrait prime lens. (Canon macro lens is on top, Kodak cine lens 25mm is on bottom. The shots are closeups of an oriental vase--just the eye of one person shown on the vase. The Kodak is greater magnification, neither is cropped. The bubbles are in the porcelain itself.) I have no complaints about the Canon lens for macro, and it has slightly sharper contrast; the Kodak cine lens seems to have richer color. Both take extreme enlargement before crumbling up. With Nikon, you can do the same thing--using the Nikon micro lens in the field, and perhaps a cine lens for careful tripod work where auto-focus is not needed.

Enlargement lenses can be used the same way--they are designed to be flat field and closer to the sensor/film than the subject--but they are generally not as fast as cine lenses. Cine lenses are designed for enormous magnification with stunning resolution. For years I used a Nikon 75mm enlargement lens on a Canon 35mm camera Ftb with Canon bellows attachment. The daylily picture here was taken that way, on Kodachrome, probably around F45 or F64, which gave better focus overall, but less focus on the tiny anther details.

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Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.