Macro Lens for a D80?

[BoxPhotographer]

Hey, can anyone suggest me a macro lens. The 200mm is too much and I hear there is no bokeh. The 105mm also has lens breathing issues. What else is good for macro photography. I'd like to be shooting bugs, flowers, products etc, so fast AF would be nice.

 

[Overread]

Hey, can anyone suggest me a macro lens. The 200mm is too much and I hear there is no bokeh. The 105mm also has lens breathing issues. What else is good for macro photography. I'd like to be shooting bugs, flowers, products etc, so fast AF would be nice.

Huh? could you elaborate a little on these two points - on the first side what is lens breathing (I;ve never heard of it before) - on the second a longer focal length lens will give you increased background blur (bokeh) over a shorter focal length lens, so again I'm a little confused

 

[BoxPhotographer]

When the lens focuses, it moves, so its difficult to focus on a subject. On the 200mm subject, its what I've heard from various people.

 

[Overread]

Hmm well the 200mm point might be dealing with the shape of the background blur, I can't comment since Nikon are not my brand and so I know little about that lens. As for the lens breathing I get you now - the lens barrel extends when you focus - not ideal I will agree, but I've worked with macro lenses where the barrel extends and its not too difficult. The trick is to have it focused close before you start, so that its already extended out and then move yourself into position.

 

[MrRamonG]

I shoot with the Nikon AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED. It has some trouble with auto focus in poor lighting situations, but I hear that is the nature of macro lenses. I will post some pics i have taken with it later.

 

[kundalini]

The 105mm also has lens breathing issues.
<snip>
When the lens focuses, it moves, so its difficult to focus on a subject.

The lens barrel does not move when acquiring focus. With macro, you're better off by manually focusing. The 105mm is fast focusing otherwise. I've posted a few macro shots with the 105mm in the Macro Photography forum, if you're interested.

 

[JSD]

I have the AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm 2.8 G ED N and love it. It has internal focus so the lens does not change length while focusing. As mentioned above it is better to focus manually when very close up. The 105 2.8 VR is more money and has vibration reduction which would help in some situations. When doing close up you really need a tripod so you can use a small enough aperture to get enough depth of field. That will in some cases negate the need for vibration reduction. The 200mm will allow you some working distance from your subject so you dont scare away skittish critters. Hope this helps, JSD

 

[Wolverinepwnes]

the nikon 105mm macro lens is one of the best macro lens on the market! and you want the additional focal length since you can not alway get close enough to your potential target! if you do some research on the 105mm online you will see almost all of the people that purchased it are happy with it. if you can afford the longer focal length macro lenses definitely go for those instead. As mentioned the VR is not very essential in macro photography due to the fact that you will be using a tripod but it is a nice addition incase you need to shoot some portraits or what not!

 

[Atlas77]

Hey, can anyone suggest me a macro lens. The 200mm is too much and I hear there is no bokeh. The 105mm also has lens breathing issues. What else is good for macro photography. I'd like to be shooting bugs, flowers, products etc, so fast AF would be nice.

What are breathing issues?

The 105 is a great lens for macro, id say buy it. The only other lens I would suggest is the Nikon 60mm

 

[MrRamonG]

I shot this with the Nikon AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED