a photo and a question

[barleymalt]

So, I'm really fascinated by some of the macro work I've seen but I don't own a macro lens yet. I have the 18-200VR nikkor and I went out the other day looking for some nice snow/ice crystals to shoot and I was really discouraged by the results.

Question is..do I really need a macro lens to get decent closeups or am I just doing something terribly wrong? This was shot at 200mm at iso 200 and focused as close as the lens would let me (abt 12 inches). Looks grainy as hell and completely lacks detail!

 

[Jarmo]

If you want crisp macro shots use the lowest possible ISO and slap the camera on a tripod.

 

[ann]

and, if your camera allows, use mirror lock up and a remote control device to trip the shutter, or use the self timer.

 

[KmH]

Your Nikkor 18-200 mm doesn't perform very well at 200 mm. Also, when zoomed to 200 mm and then using it's closest focus, the working focal length is actually closer to 135 mm because of 'focus breathing.'

The Nikon 18-200, while convenient, is a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none lens that has rather pronounced technical issues when used at it's extremes of focal length, aperture, and/or focus.

Back if off to under 180 mm, stop the aperture down some, and back away a bit from it's closest focus, and give it another try. You can always crop to get some image scale back.