wapiti Loc: round rock, texas

Take a look at Nikon 200mm f4.0 AIS Micro. They can be had at a great price. KEH has one in excellent condition for $339. It comes with a tripod collar.

Nicholas J DeSciose

105 mm Nikon there’s a difference between Micro and macro look it up. This is an amazing lens

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Having made a fine living as a full time photographer I can assure you that tech comments are useless. The advice in such comments will not affect your pictures. Buy whatever FL suits your subjects, and whichever make and model you get a good deal on from a reputable source. I have about a dozen macro lenses from several brands, 30 to 200mm, no losers. Stop worrying about it.

Max aperture doesn’t matter much. Something that does matter for the longer FLs is a tripod foot, depending on your intentions acoarst. Also if lighting matters to you, avoid bulky lenses as they can limit your lighting options. Another feature you may care about is OIS if your camera lacks IBIS.

One of my most useful is a rather compact 90mm. FL is generally long enough and the build is compact enough to not get in the way. It lacks OIS so I use it with IBIS.

Boone Loc: Groundhog Town USA

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"We're going to need some more information before we can really give you some guidance. ...Once we know what you want to do and what gaps you might have in your equipment we can be much more help." FTn

FTn if you had taken the time to better understand the OP this would irrelevant...
The hallmark of a "Professional" photographer is a thoughtful understand of their client...
Before they accept an assignment...

It took me less than 5 minutes better understand Boone and his visual statement which btw is germane to my post in this thread... Boone is an accomplished commercial portrait photographer FTn... his work is absolutely breathtaking...

In Boone's own words...
"I am a Portrait Photographer located in Pa.

Here is a link to a post I made here on UHH a few years ago. It is about a "GUITAR PLAYER"!

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-372287-1.html

As a photographer of many years, and many clients, I have this shot on my wall a @ 16x20.

Through the years I have had many wonderful comments on this shot. I am very proud of it.

Hope this gives you some ideas!

Thanks,
Boone."

Here is his epic portraiture of one of his clients... Boone is truly a master of his craft...
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(c) Boone

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ROTFL

Researching the OP ??? No reason nor obligation to consider doing that. The onus is on the OP to ask a useful question and provide useful context. It’s certainly not a “professional practice” in any really practical sense to “sleuth the client”.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Hands down, for Nikon FX, the 60mm AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm F2.8G ED or a used AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED (buy it used or refurbished to keep the price down).

The choice really depends on your subject matter. Since 1980, I've done a lot of copy work with a 55mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor, and an f/3.5 version of the same. I did a project last year with a friend who had the 60mm and the 105. It was mostly copying stamps, coins, and rare book covers for a collectible catalog.

He used the 105 primarily for photographing insects and spiders. I borrowed it (and his D810) once for photographing flowers. It is extremely sharp, but not exactly a lens I would need for much of what I do.

Both those lenses — indeed, MOST f/2.8 to f/3.5 macro lenses, are quite sharp, flat field, contrasty, and well-corrected. I really don't think you can go wrong with MOST macro lenses. For instance, I'm using a 30mm f/2.8 Lumix Macro lens on my Micro 4/3 Lumix GH4... It is among the sharpest lenses I've encountered. My son just bought the same lens after borrowing mine once too often. He wants to do a stop-motion LEGO animation movie short. He made one a few years ago that won him a scholarship.

The dirty little secret of macro work is that technique matters as much, if not a LOT more than the lens! There are many, many good approaches to macro work that do not involve the ultimate lenses. Even the best lenses can produce "birdcage liners" when used by the reckless and feckless.

While using a good macro lens is important, here are some tips:

Depth of field is razor thin at very close distances and/or high magnification. So there is a tendency to want to photograph everything at f/22. Resist that temptation as often as possible. It can lead to subtle-to-moderate diffraction limiting of sharpness that, on the other hand, sometimes just cannot be avoided.

When photographing flat art (stamps, photos, flat book pages), just keep the camera plano-parallel to the art, and work at the sweet spot of the lens (on f/2.8 macro lenses, it is usually around f/6.3 to f/8). I stop down one more stop for coins.

For three-dimensional objects with more depth, if a reasonable aperture won't get everything you want in focus, It's probably a better idea to use focus stacking, when possible.

For moving subjects such as insects, well... You're stuck with the smallest aperture that will work with the subject speed, the required shutter speed, the desired ISO, and the lighting in use. Strobe or speed light helps...

That brings up the subject of lighting, which I'll just say is the key to much good macro work! All the principals of good lighting including control of specularity, shadow:diffuse highlight:specular highlight ratios, shadow edge acuteness, angle of incidence, etc. are just as relevant in macro work in adding drama, background separation, dimension, etc.

For instance, a good pro using macro lenses for food photography, for instance, will have light tents, soft boxes, umbrellas, beauty dishes, polished bowl reflectors, bounce cards, flexible reflectors in white, gray, silver, and gold, plus black surfaced light blockers and various scrims, flags, barn doors... and a battery of strobes and LED panels to go with all that. But more important — (s)he will have the knowledge of when and how to use it.

Visit our True Macro Photography Forum at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-102-1.html for more expert information and a lot of useful, if conflicting, opinions.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

I have this lens in Canon livery, and completely agree with gompfer1.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

EXCELLENT portrait with the 200! One of the best uses for macro lenses IS for studio portraiture, especially with lenses in the 100 to 200 mm range on full frame, or equivalents on other formats. My friend's 105 doubles as his portrait lens when he wants a fixed focal length optic.

Ed Broussard

What u will purchase get one in the 100mm or longer especially for insects. Plus it’s just very comfortable to hold.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Your parameters are rather broad ......except for price.

ALL the macro lenses I have used are GREAT ! But, some of my best close-up images IMO, have come from non-macro lenses ! Having said that, I currently have, use, and would recommend the 100mm Tokina - there are two versions - the IF version - which I have (1:2 and cheaper) - and the later extending version (1:1). It is worth noting that Canon and Nikon Macros are IF also.
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Tokina 100mm

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wthomson Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I'm dating myself, but the Nikon 200mm f/4 IF Micro (purchased in 1994) is one of the sharpest and all-round best micro lenses I have ever used.

cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD

Which of these, Gene, can one get for $700 or less?

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

I have the Nikon 60mm the 105mm and the Tokina 100mm. The Tokina is my favorite, it weighs less than the Nikon 105 and I like the working distance to the Nikon 60mm. It Really doesn't matter which true macro lens you get. It takes lots of practice and GOOD diffused light using a flash. If you're not willing to spend time practicing then not even the best macro lens will do you any good. By the way, the Tokina is only $400 and you can picked used ones up for around $200. Never purchase a new one as most folks that buy a macro lens or a wide angle lens for that matter quickly tire of them and then sell then virtually Unused for half the money. Here's a link I posted here on the Hogg. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-411083-1.html
Look thru my back pages for hundreds more. P.S. Look up the Macro section here on the Hogg for help getting started and learning.

Bill_de Loc: US

I bought this lens to use with the ES-2 slide/negative copier. I have continued to use the AF Micro 105mm 1:2.8 D for flowers. I guess I should give the 60 a chance to get some fresh air. Nice Post!

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