Which macro lens for Nikon D90??

[say_cheeese!]

Have just bought a Nikon D90 with 18-105mm VR lens kit. It is my very first DSLR and I am still learning how to use it, however I know this lens is not suitable for macro which is an area of photography that I really want to have a go at. Being so new to this and with so many lenses to choose from I thought I would ask you guys which lenses you would recommend for macro and anything else I should take into consideration when shooting.

 

[djacobox372]

Your least expensive option would be a 60mm f2.8 AF micro. Although the 105mm f2.8 micro would give you a better working distance.

With either you'll want to add an extension tube and a good flash.

 

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

105mm f/2.8 FTW

 

[Derrel]

Tamron 90mm f/2.8 AF-SP, used, a great lens. THere is also the somewhat newer AF-SP Di series with the Digitally Integrated lens coatings...not much different, but newer,and available in mostly in-lens motor versions since 2007-2008.

The longer, 90mm focal length gives higher magnification and allows more distance between the front of the lens and really small objects photographed at close ranges than a 60mm lens would.

Used macro lenses are fairly plentiful; many people, and I mean many, buy macro lenses, use them a few times, and within a year to two years, trade them in. Macro lenses are one type of lens that can often be found in pristine shape, even if the design is a decade or more old, and so that's why I specifically mention a used macro lens as opposed to a new lens.

 

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

The problem, as I see it for the Tammy, is that the front element moves in and out. That's just me! By lab reviews that I have read, optically it is quite good and a damn good bang for the buck.

 

[Derrel]

The problem, as I see it for the Tammy, is that the front element moves in and out. That's just me! By lab reviews that I have read, optically it is quite good and a damn good bang for the buck.

Well, the Tamron does focus by barrel extension,so it gets longer and longer as the lens is focused closer and closer; it is not an internally focusing design like say, the Canon 100mm f/2.8 EF USM macro. The Tamron 90 has pretty nice bokeh, so it renders the out of focus backgrounds pretty nicely,and the color rendering of Tamron lenses is reasonably close to the Nikon "family" color rendering; Sigma is quite warm,compared to Nikkor lenses, so to me, the Tamron slots in pretty nicely,and is very easy to get on the used market.

What the Tamron does have is a fairly deeply-recessed front element, so that sort of acts like a lens hood under many conditions,and keeps the front glass protected from accidental bumps and such. Here is Thom's review of the new 105VR Micro-Nikkor, along with a mini-overview of the Tamron 90 Di at the end...and keep in mind, not too long after the D40 hit the market, Tamron upgraded/updated many of its popular Nikon-mount lenses to in-lens focusing motors; when Thom wrote his article this lens did not have an in-lens motor, but Tamron has subsequently updated the 90 macro and a few other big sellers to in-lens motors for the "baby Nikon" bodies that need such a motor to AF.

Nikon 105mm f/2.8G AF-S VR Review by Thom Hogan