Good starter macro lens?

Hi everyone, I think I might want to try macro photography. It's something completely out of my zone that I've never really considered before until seeing beautiful bokeh macro pictures. I'm a complete noob at macro photography, and I'm scared of insects so I'll avoid that, but I figure a cost effective or older prime macro lens would be a good place to start. Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Pan

I have the 60 F/2.8 AF D bought it from a seller as part of a package and have come to love it! Many say 60mm is too short a focal length for macro and will suggest the 105.

I am pretty much a macro newby too tho I did have a Minolta Maxxum 100 F/2.8 macro with my A mount kit I used it mostly as a short tele only taking pics of the occasional bee and tight shots for eBay/ Craigslist.

The 60mm Nikkor does a nice job, see if you can find a local shop that has one for a quick demo!

Raynox DCR-250. It is a high quality clip on close up lens. A cheap way to get into Macro. Then save your pennies for a high quality macro lens.

I have some shots in my 2014 thread. All my macro shots are with the Raynox.

I was the same as you and wanted to try Macro photography.
I bought a Tamron SP 90mm F2.8 DI Macro lens, glad I bought this lens.
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Nikon has a great inexpensive Macro that gets great results. IT is the 40mm

Amazon.com : Nikon 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

It is very short and not great for insects but the quality is great.

Don Kuykendall said:

Nikon has a great inexpensive Macro that gets great results. IT is the 40mm

Amazon.com : Nikon 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

It is very short and not great for insects but the quality is great.

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Thank you for the suggestion, short focal lengths are okay for me as long as I don't block out the light. I wont be worrying about insects because I'm actually scared of them. Perhaps photos of flowers and water droplets and other macro vegetation which capture my eye.

The OP doesn't specify which camera body it is for but lists a D750 in the signature. Panza, would you mind using a DX lens or would you rather have FX?

Don Kuykendall said:

Nikon has a great inexpensive Macro that gets great results. IT is the 40mm

Amazon.com : Nikon 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

It is very short and not great for insects but the quality is great.

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and it also doubles up as a great walkaround and portrait lens!

Did not read his signature line. If you have the D750 then the 40mm is not the lens for you. get one that is FX

hark said:

The OP doesn't specify which camera body it is for but lists a D750 in the signature. Panza, would you mind using a DX lens or would you rather have FX?

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oh, you are right, then the 40mm micro is probably not going top be the best option as its for dx

Yes, sorry about that, yes it's in my signature but I forget that this forum has the little Camera option on the left. It's for a full frame D750 : )!

Edit: I think I remember why I put my camera in my signature now. I tried to update my primary camera in my profile but there is no D750 option yet.

Try adding it now. I added the D750 to the product list.

Panza said:

Yes, sorry about that, yes it's in my signature but I forget that this forum has the little Camera option on the left. It's for a full frame D750 : )!

Edit: I think I remember why I put my camera in my signature now. I tried to update my primary camera in my profile but there is no D750 option yet.

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How you liking the D750 @Panza?

BTW +1 also on the Tammy 90, had one in A mount for a while until I lucked into the Maxxum 100 2.8 which was one of the best bits of glass I have ever owned....gosh I wish my A mount glass worked on F mount!

If I could do it all over I think I would get the Tokina 100mm macro. It is inexpensive and it gets great reviews.

The Tokina is the one i am aiming for. We probably need to act on our impulse pretty soon as Tokina does not seem to manufacture any given lens for 2 long of a time, I think their 11-16 is about their longest running lens.

Well depending on budget... cheap to expensive
reversing ring/50mm manual lens
Tokina 100mm
Nikon 105mm 2.8D
Nikon 105mm 2.8G

and well in terms of macro lenses... guess depends on what you want to shoot from there on...

Don Kuykendall said:

Try adding it now. I added the D750 to the product list.

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Updated, thank you for adding it onto the list. : )! Should probably inform the other D750 users hehe

I shoot the Tamron 90 and have no reason to disparage its range of use or quality in any way. I have posted some decent pictures, mostly in the macro thread.

hrstrat57 said:

How you liking the D750 @Panza?

BTW +1 also on the Tammy 90, had one in A mount for a while until I lucked into the Maxxum 100 2.8 which was one of the best bits of glass I have ever owned....gosh I wish my A mount glass worked on F mount!

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I had a D610 for a short while before moving onto the D750. I'll be honest with you, I can't notice the picture quality difference. Iso, sharpness, nada. I don't shoot sports so how would I know how much better the AF is? What I do notice, is that I'm not doing the army crawl as much and I'm not worrying about the USB slots at the back of my computer anymore. Broke my back 9 years ago so I avoid such harsh activities.
Difference between my cousin's D700 and the D750 are a bit more obvious though. So much lighter in the hand. Picture quality wise haven't compared but I'm not a pixel peeper.

I'd vote for Tokina 100 or Tamron SP 90 (e72 model, ~$200 street, and makes a great portrait lens as well). No need to break the bank, but at the same time get something that might feel too short as time goes by.