Largobob

I had a pre-war, German made, Zeiss lens on a large format Speed Graphic when I was a teenager. It would resolve two adjacent pubic hairs on a tick at 50 yards.... lol

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

on the Nikon 200mm f4 macro

rdubreuil Loc: Dummer, NH USA

Festus Loc: North Dakota

I have the 105mm and the 200mm, both Nikkors. Purchased the 105mm first. Since I purchased the 200mm, I rarely use the 105. Love the added distance it gives you from your subject.

3dees

I have a like new Sigma 105mm os Nikon for sale. 400.00

donie95 Loc: Staten Island NY

I have the tokina and I have been very satisfied with the results. Especially for a novice. Yes it is noisy when it focuses but the bugs don’t seem to mind.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

I was thinking of the 105 2.8 then, I saw the 200mm f4. I saved money by going with the 200mm because I would have followed your route.

Festus Loc: North Dakota

Smart man!

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

I got a Tamron 90mm SP f/2.8 1:1 macro for my D7200 this past summer - could not be happier - was top rated in comparison to offerings from Sigma, Nikon, Tokina, and others. It also makes a great portrait/medium tele prime lens as well. It is fully FX capable too even though I currently use it on my 7200 (DX).

To shoot bugs may need extension tubes but I used mine without and got really close (aided by the DX crop factor too :) )

Robert Bailey Loc: Canada

I have a 90 mm Tamron f2.8 from about 1995.
Do you think the current version would be better or about the same?

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

Hard to say but generally lens from the film era have lower contrast/ resolution than modern digital versions - are you happy with the results?

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

Nikon makes great macros. But so do Tokina, Sigma, Tamron and others.

I use all Nikon gear, but I found little benefit to spending the extra $$$ for a Nikkor 200mm F4, and ended getting a Tamron 180mm, F3.5 Macro for $450. I also own a Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macro which I paid $400 for. Something to consider when getting third party lenses. My Sigma does not focus in live view. While it seems insignificant, if you try to use it with a remote control device like a Cam Ranger, or if you want to use live view to do focus stacking, you have no ability to select different focal points for each "slice". My version of the lens is older. Newer lenses have firmware that is upgradeable, which eliminates the problem. This is not the first Sigma lens I have had similar issues with. My Tamron does not have this issue. Both provide exceptional image quality, comparable to anything from Nikon, at a fraction of the price.

As MT suggested, longer focal length lenses are probably going to serve your purposes better than shorter ones, primarily because of the greater working distance.

r.grossner Loc: Rockford IL & Sarasota FL

Try and find a 105mm f/4 or f/2.8 micro Nikkor AI manual focus. A buddy of mine picked up the f/4 for $135.00 in 8+ condition. I also shoot a D750 and have owned a 105 f/4 AI for 30 years. Sample pic to follow of a passion flower 1/125 f/11 105mm ISO tripod and light from a makeup mirror. Download and zoom in. This lens is sharp!

(Download)

pendennis

I've been using the newer 105 f5.8 for almost a year, and I'm quite pleased with it. The rendering I get with flower closeups is outstanding.

papa Loc: Rio Dell, CA

Yes, Tokina makes some excellent lenses as do Sigma and Tamron. My kit consists four lenses, one a Tokina 16-28, and Tammies 24-70, 70-200, and 150-600(all 2.8 big glass) that I pair with my 5D Mark III or 7D. I'm very pleased with the performance, build and IQ of all of them. I too, was looking into buying a macro from all three. All have good 1:1 magnification and higher. After buying AF macro extension tubes that cost me $12 shipped from China directly through an ebay purchase and they work perfectly. They even come with a metal mount. This hits the sweet spot of my lenses at f/8-f/16 and I see no need to spend $350-$600 for a slow focusing macro lens. By the way this AF extension tube set is the same one rebranded Fotodiox and offered by Adorama for $47.95. Here's the ebay buy in 2015.
As with all extension tubes and lenses the larger the f/stop wide open the better the AF will be. Then there is always manual focus, but check your specs to reasonably presume the functionality of AF and manual on your body and lens. AF with my Tamron 70-200 VC and either body is as responsive with all three stacked, as it is with a standard shot.
Now the money I didn't spend on the macro will be put toward the new SUPREME LENS, the Sigma 135 1.8 Art; which when finally tested by DxOMark.com will dethrone King Leica. Then that lens and tubes will be my go to for macro, but mostly portraiture. It's the shiz, mon!


Siliver Metal Auto Focus AF Macro Extension Tube/Ring for CANON 5D 5D2 EOS EF-S
ITEM PRICE:
US $12.00
See description
ITEM ID:
231733321208
SELLER:
szyxs2015 (1263)
100% positive feedback

And click this link to see how many are for Nikon. The metal mount AF tubes are made by one manufacturer in China.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Siliver+Metal+Auto+Focus+AF+Macro+Extension+Tube%2FRing+for+CANON+5D+5D2+EOS+EF-S&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XSiliver+Metal+Auto+Focus+AF+Macro+Extension+Tube%2FRing+for+nikon.TRS0&_nkw=Siliver+Metal+Auto+Focus+AF+Macro+Extension+Tube%2FRing+for+nikon&_sacat=0