Best Nikon macro lens?

[myjohnson]

and as of canon's IS technology, they have 4 generations up till now i think. The 4th generation one is their new 100mm marco L IS i think..which is a nice lens but also fancy price...as of canon...generation 3 IS and maybe some generation 2 ones deserve the price differences, but personally i dont think the generation one lens deserves it...but on the other hand...there are not many people still using those old first generation IS lens nowadays...i am sure that nikon 105mm VR is a pretty new lens?

Nikon 105/2.8 AF was replaces in 2006 by the VR version.

[myjohnson]

let me ask you this...are you for sure gonna get a flash and this lens is most likely only gonna for shooting fishes?

I'm not getting the flash right away but I'm 100% sure I will later. I'm thinking sb900 as a slave and the on board as master. Then I'll get the sb600 as slave and use the sb900 as master. I'm also sure I just want to take pictures of fishes with this lens.

if not...
105mm f/2.8 VR is the way to go...
like he said...VR is like canon's IS....if you can get a lens with IS or VR, never get the non IS/VR one if money is not a problem...or the price is not that crazily different..you will find it useful a lot of times..specially in dark environment

This might be a good reason to get the VR. My tanks got a lot of light over them. You still need to stop by and check out my tanks man. But I also want to take pictures of other peoples fishes when I go on a tank tour or whatever. Those people may or may not have a lot of light over their tanks.

...but as of fish pics...i m not too sure VR will help you thatttttt much if u gonna use it with flash...because u can go all the way to 2.8 and a flash is gonna help you the most...
but...if dont wanna freak your fishes all the time by using flash...def going with the VR one...my friend got that and she likes it...and i think the VR one got better reputation too right?

mj

[madugo]

and as of canon's IS technology, they have 4 generations up till now i think. The 4th generation one is their new 100mm marco L IS i think..which is a nice lens but also fancy price...as of canon...generation 3 IS and maybe some generation 2 ones deserve the price differences, but personally i dont think the generation one lens deserves it...but on the other hand...there are not many people still using those old first generation IS lens nowadays...i am sure that nikon 105mm VR is a pretty new lens?

[myjohnson]

I'm also looking at the nikon 60mm f/2.8 marco.

What would be the pros and cons when comparing 60/2.8 vs. 105/2.8?

I'm assuming canon lens are comparable, so what are the pros and cons between the 50/2.8 and 100/2.8?

[madugo]

So guys, I'm looking at the 105mm f/2.8 AF and the 105mm f/2.8 VR.

You guys think the VR is worth the extra coin?

let me ask you this...are you for sure gonna get a flash and this lens is most likely only gonna for shooting fishes?
if not...
105mm f/2.8 VR is the way to go...
like he said...VR is like canon's IS....if you can get a lens with IS or VR, never get the non IS/VR one if money is not a problem...or the price is not that crazily different..you will find it useful a lot of times..specially in dark environment...but as of fish pics...i m not too sure VR will help you thatttttt much if u gonna use it with flash...because u can go all the way to 2.8 and a flash is gonna help you the most...
but...if dont wanna freak your fishes all the time by using flash...def going with the VR one...my friend got that and she likes it...and i think the VR one got better reputation too right?

[madugo]

Yeah, I was really debating hard between canon and nikon.......which you know is endless.

I settle with the D90 body cause it's a step up for noobs. I wanted a body that I can learn with and still use it was my skills develop. Hopefully I can use it for at least 2 if not three years before I get the bug to upgrade.

Regarding lens, it's exactly like you said. I read a lot of people only pick between canon and nikon b/c they are buying into the lenses offered more so than the body.

ya...i chose canon because imo i do think they make better lens than nikon...
i dont even bother with tamron and sigma because i think they are not better than canon on lens...only non canon lens i would consider would be carl zeiss...but they are super expensive...and most of their lens you have to go with a converter mount to put on a canon or nikon body...that means MF only.. thats just my opinion tho..
one thing too...i dunno if nikon are like canon...if d90 is a aps-c body..and if their 105mm marco is a regular lens but not one design for the aps-c body..your will not get 105mm...but instead like maybe somewhere around 150mm...canon are like that..not sure about nikon...
i prefer buying lens locally...because i can test it out...not all lens are perfect out there...even brand new ones...there are lemons...those wont focus right...or focus shifting...then it will have to send it back to nikon to calibrated it...which is pretty trouble...even more be careful with second hands...the exterior of the lens may looks perfect...sometimes people drop it on carpet...or something like that...you wont see any scratch outside...but sometimes inside will be bad...
there are tools that can test the accuracy of the focus of the lens...
its like a little stand that you make with paper...there are marking on the stand which you focus on and test shot..
i have it if you want it than i can send it to you..
its a pdf file which you just print it off and make it yourself..

[cameracorpus]

The only lens I'd consider without VR is a very wide lens, where it really doesn't matter as much. VR is the best invention since digital. And for fish, the f2.8 is really worth the money.

[myjohnson]

So guys, I'm looking at the 105mm f/2.8 AF and the 105mm f/2.8 VR.

You guys think the VR is worth the extra coin?

[myjohnson]

Considering what you want to do, I'd try to rent/borrow a 180mm macro. I'm not sure if Nikon makes one, but Tamron and Sigma do. They are in your price point, and they give you a bit of room between you and your subject. No biggie for fish, very big deal for snakes, bees, etc. 105mm would be next.

Like others have said, however, lenses are just about forever, so they are worth saving your lunch money for.

The nice thing about Tamron and Sigma's macros is that they are for all cameras, not just the APS-C sized sensors, like most of the Canon and Nikon consumer grade lenses.

A HUGE plus of the Nikon (I'm almost sure the D90 has it) is wireless flash control. You don't have to have your master flash on the camera, like you do with Canon. Great for doing fish. You can position all of your flashes overhead:


When paired with Nikon SB600 and SB800 external flash units, the D90 can act as a wireless controller:

• Several external flash units can be remotely fired using the signal sent out from the D90's built-in flash
• The amount of light put out by the remote flash units can be set from the D90 camera body

This is a feature that I'm still bummed about Canon not doing.

Houston Camera Exchange can also help you out. Very nice folks there.

Yeah, the flash system is another reason why I picked Nikon over canon. I like the CLS...from what I read at least. Soon I'll know how it really works. But I'm sure canon has a nice flash system too. I just don't know much about it.

[cameracorpus]

Considering what you want to do, I'd try to rent/borrow a 180mm macro. I'm not sure if Nikon makes one, but Tamron and Sigma do. They are in your price point, and they give you a bit of room between you and your subject. No biggie for fish, very big deal for snakes, bees, etc. 105mm would be next.

Like others have said, however, lenses are just about forever, so they are worth saving your lunch money for.

The nice thing about Tamron and Sigma's macros is that they are for all cameras, not just the APS-C sized sensors, like most of the Canon and Nikon consumer grade lenses.

A HUGE plus of the Nikon (I'm almost sure the D90 has it) is wireless flash control. You don't have to have your master flash on the camera, like you do with Canon. Great for doing fish. You can position all of your flashes overhead:


When paired with Nikon SB600 and SB800 external flash units, the D90 can act as a wireless controller:

• Several external flash units can be remotely fired using the signal sent out from the D90's built-in flash
• The amount of light put out by the remote flash units can be set from the D90 camera body

This is a feature that I'm still bummed about Canon not doing.

Houston Camera Exchange can also help you out. Very nice folks there.

[Zulaab]

When you have invested several thousands into the lenses its hard to say "lets switch"

[myjohnson]

Yeah, I was really debating hard between canon and nikon.......which you know is endless.

I settle with the D90 body cause it's a step up for noobs. I wanted a body that I can learn with and still use it was my skills develop. Hopefully I can use it for at least 2 if not three years before I get the bug to upgrade.

Regarding lens, it's exactly like you said. I read a lot of people only pick between canon and nikon b/c they are buying into the lenses offered more so than the body.

[madugo]

It's Jim (ssrprelue's) fault. He went canon so I had to go Nikon.

J/k. I basically did like Donald advised and picked up both cameras to see which one I liked. The Nikon was more noob friendly to me so I pick it.

Plus my brother has A LOT of lenses it's all about time before he gives them to me. When he upgrades the older ones become mine.

i agree nikon is more noob friendly....the focus system is just miles better imo...
plus if people around you use nikon then you made the absolutely right choice...
the best way to decide which lens you gonna buy is to try on one if your friend or people you know that got it...which i am sure you will find people that have them...there are many lens that nikon offer, but most user seems to ended up own those most popular lens, at least i know canon people do...there are just a few lens that you will hear people mention them all the time...then i think if the reputations are there, then it's the way to go...
i think another important thing is that i find that if you in the dslr world...you will always wanting to go deeper on the road as long as you have the money to back it up....you will find it that it will cost you a loooot of money in this road...
as of the camera body, you are looking to change once a few year...because of the life span of the shutter, and also new feature...
but as of lens, you are looking to buy THAT right one that will go with you for many years..more like a decade...a lot of top lens are products back in the 90s...and they are expansive..and they can use like forever as long as they are not broke...
whenever i try to decide to buy a lens...i will always do loooots of research, and try to find one to do some test shoot if possible...i tend to think for the future when i try to make a lens purchase...
for example...i got a aps-c body but that i dont buy efs lens..
all my lens are ef because i know the aps-c body i am using will be upgrade to a full frame body in the near future. so if i did go efs lens...when i go full frame body...all my efs lens are useless...
so i mean..always try to to do it right the first time if it is not a problem financially...or i would save for the right lens for later, rather than purchase on how much money that i have now...
truth me...you will want to go further and further....lol...its gonna be like a endless road..
and fredmiranda is also good for buying second hand lens too..
sometimes you will find really good deals there...

[ddaquaria]

http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/sho...d.php?t=255647

[ddaquaria]

Is there any difference between the lighting system for a D90 vs. D200 that I should know about?

I looked at the comparison chart. You're right, it can be used as a Master. In that case I would get a single SB 900 (or an 800 if you can find it). The lighting system would be basically identical to my D200.