AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G coming on the Brown Truck
Mar 15, 2018 14:39:01 #
After some soul searching I ordered (for my D7100) the 40mm Micro-Nikkor DX lens from B&H and it’s due to be delivered by Big Brown Truck on Monday. I read Ken Rockwell’s review and his caution that it’s really too short a focal length for real macro work, and that though the optics were great the build was a little less than robust. But it fills a niche for me. And he really praised its optics. I have the 50mm UNGelded f/1.8 FF but I rarely use it on my D7100 where it’s a short telephoto, but instead it’s usually on my film FE where it’s a light weight Nifty/Fifty. So the 40 will find a home on the D7100. It follows my usual pattern of buying the lens I want first and finding a suitable use for afterwards.
Mar 15, 2018 15:25:54 #
drmike99 wrote:
It follows my usual pattern of buying the lens I want first and finding a suitable use for afterwards.
Nothing wrong with that. Go GAS!
Mar 15, 2018 16:38:11 #
I find myself using it for a lot of other situations other than macro. It's an excellent macro lens and also a sharp all around lens.
Mar 15, 2018 19:41:55 #
Mar 15, 2018 20:26:59 #
That's a very nice lens. It's sharp and has great bokeh. I did these shots in a coffee shop with the Nikon 40mm f/2.8 macro on my D7000. One nice thing about the short focal length is that your depth of field won't be too shallow. People always struggle with trying to obtain enough depth of field with macro and often stop the aperture down to f/22.
Mar 15, 2018 20:33:30 #
CO wrote:
That's a very nice lens. It's sharp and has great bokeh. I did these shots in a coffee shop with the the Nikon 40mm f/2.8 macro on my D7000. One nice thing about the short focal length is that your depth of field won't be too shallow. People always struggle with trying to obtain enough depth of field with macro and often stop the aperture down to f/22.
What shots? I don’t see any.
Mar 15, 2018 20:46:57 #
Mar 16, 2018 07:42:09 #
mas24
Loc: Southern CA
drmike99 wrote:
After some soul searching I ordered (for my D7100)... (show quote)
Actually, the comments shared by Ken Rockwell about the 40mm lens has been shared by some uhh members, when it came to advice on a macro lens. I have a friend that owns a Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro lens, and he says the 90-105mm f2.8 macro lenses are your best choices. However, that's his opinion. Enjoy your new lens.
Mar 16, 2018 08:29:56 #
mas24 wrote:
Actually, the comments shared by Ken Rockwell about the 40mm lens has been shared by some uhh members, when it came to advice on a macro lens. I have a friend that owns a Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro lens, and he says the 90-105mm f2.8 macro lenses are your best choices. However, that's his opinion. Enjoy your new lens.
I'm thinking when your friend said "best" he actually meant most versatile...Each lens is a tool for a specific purpose/s
Mar 16, 2018 09:57:06 #
CO wrote:
I did these shots in a coffee shop with the Nikon 40mm f/2.8 macro on my D7000.
Is that how you snort your morning buzz?
Mar 16, 2018 10:08:28 #
" It follows my usual pattern of buying the lens I want first and finding a suitable use for afterwards."
With all due respect, that is the wrong way of buying lenses. You buy a lens for your intended use like for instance buying the 85mm lens for portraits.
I agree with Ken Rockwell, 40mm is not enough working distance for a macro but if it fits your macro shots then that is the lens you need. I prefer the focal length of 105mm for macro use.
I have no experience with the 40mm macro lens but I would never order one to find use for it after purchase.
With all due respect, that is the wrong way of buying lenses. You buy a lens for your intended use like for instance buying the 85mm lens for portraits.
I agree with Ken Rockwell, 40mm is not enough working distance for a macro but if it fits your macro shots then that is the lens you need. I prefer the focal length of 105mm for macro use.
I have no experience with the 40mm macro lens but I would never order one to find use for it after purchase.
Mar 16, 2018 10:10:48 #
OddJobber wrote:
Is that how you snort your morning buzz?
I get my morning caffeine much faster that way than actually drinking the coffee.
Mar 16, 2018 12:40:20 #
I have that lens . . . It's very sharp . . . I use it mostly for photo copying old pictures and documents . . . I think it might also be good for landscapes, but haven't tried it in that role yet . . .
Mar 17, 2018 00:21:59 #
rothphotog
Loc: Orlando, FL
I bought that very same lens expressly to use with the Nikon ES-1 Slide Copying Adapter. Great results copying mounted slides!
Mar 17, 2018 03:36:45 #
I guess I should have been more explicit. When I said I buy the lens before I know exactly what I want to do with it, I didn’t imply that I was putting the descriptions of the lenses on a dartboard and throwing a dart at random to make my choice — I have a pretty good idea ahead of time what I DON’T want. For instance, one of my first lenses was the 55-200 VR that was one of the two “kit” lenses for my original D5000 8 years ago. That’s a FF equivalent of a 300mm reach and I don’t need more than that. I don’t shoot birds (except for occasional seagulls at the beach) or other wildlife, and as someone who learned on 35mm SLRs I remain biased toward prime lenses so the field is narrow at the outset. And I don’t plan to invest the $$$ on FF and its lenses. So to a large extent there’s a lot of selection from the beginning.
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