What brands and specs should I be looking at for a macro lens for my D50. I take close-ups picturesof flowers and not getting the results I want. I have the 18-200 and 80-400 lens for the camera now. Any suggestions? Thanks

Nikon makes a 60mm, 105mm and 200mm. Tamron maeks a 90mm, and Sigma makes at least a 150mm. they are all good lenses, and no matter which one you buy, you can get one of the others later and not be over lensed. I was going to buy the discontinued Nikon 105 2.8D, but i saw a lot of people recommending the 60mm, so I went with it. There are no bad choices.

i have the tamron 90mm +d50 have not had any regrets

Micro-Nikkor 60mm f:2.8 is the best. If you take lots of butterfly or poisenous snakepictures then the heavier and more expensive Micro0Nikkor VR105 f:2.8 is more suitable. I have both and love them both.

This picture was taken with D200; VR105

This picture was taken with D50; 60mm f:2.8

I vote for the 105mm f/2.8 VR:



http://bob-ayers.smugmug.com/photos/153072383-L.jpg

If you are on a budget, the Sigma 105 gives super sharp results. I have the Nikon 105VR and 60 Micro and a friend has the Sigma, and to be honest its difficult to tell our butterfly shots apart.

ruchai wrote: How far away were you when you take this shot of the butterfly? Thats really impressive.

I wonder how the 3rd party lenses compare?

nexusworks wrote: There are no bad macro lenses, only a lot of choices. If you look at enough real world user reviews, there are good and bad experiences with all of the macros. The beauty of the macro is that there are several focal lengths from 50-200mm, so you can buy a 50-70mm. 90-105mm, 150mm and 200mm, and not have a problem with overlap. I went with the Nikkor 60mm 2.8 micro, but it isn't the best for butterflys and other skittish bugs, The Tamron 90 or Nikkor 105 would be a better choice there.

cope wrote: I totally agree - There's no such thing as a bad macro lens :idea:
-> I recommend to get the longest macro you can afford so that you don't have to get as close to the action (and also easier to light) - The longer they are the more they cost but won't scare the critters from flying away, for flower then a shorter macro should be fine...

Here's from a Sigma 150mm f/2.8:
http://forums.steves-digicams.com/fo...amp;forum_id=7
http://forums.steves-digicams.com/fo...amp;forum_id=7


This is probably the best macro lens at this moment:
http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses...cro-af.html%5D