Lens Help

Hi all,

I am looking at purchasing a new lens for my camera I am after one that you can take close ups of butterflies, spiders etc. What would be the best lens to buy for this type of photography?

Also can anyone recommend a good second hand web site that sells these lenses etc?

Sounds like you need a 105mm 2.8. Since you probably need to manual focus you might do well just to get an A-is lens and a good site to check is KEW camera.h

What you want is what's called a "Macro" lens. Nikon, confusingly, uses the term "Micro" when describing what everyone else calls a macro lens however, so just be aware of that.

Here's an article that explains a little bit about macro lenses and reviews eight of them: Macro Lenses for Nikon

....

I would advise reading up a little on macro photography before making your decision. There are lots of factors that will determine your lens needs.

Such as:
- What type of light conditions will you be photographing in (low light or bright light)
- How close can you actually get to your subjects
- Using a tripod or handheld
- Do you want true macro or just want to get close up shots



Look through the Macro section here on this forum and see what types of shots look like what you want to get. Also check the Moths and Butterflies thread in the Wildlife section.

If you want up close true macro photos of spiders and butterflies then you will want a macro lens. But, there are a lot of things about this that will indluence what lens you will need.

If you just want close up shots then you can do this with nearly any lens, even a good telephoto lens such as a 70-300mm or 55-300mm.