Macro for nikon d800e

I have Nikon D800 E and I wish to buy the best macro lens. Can you advice me. Sadly the Nikkor 200 mm f/4 MICRO is not the best combination for my lens.
Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro? Is there anything better? Maybi Sigma? 150 mm or 180 mm f/2.8. Any experiences? Quality, sharpness, CA?
Zeiss Planar 100mm f/2? Fantastic lens (DxOMark - DxOMark by DxO Labs), but only 1:2. Ok, extension tubes, but how it affects on quality and macro work?
I want to shoot some small object, flowers, portrait and of course insects. The most important for me is sharpness. Can you advice me?

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Thanks muzza 22au and greetings to all.
By the way does anybody know how much time elapses between paten and a relation of this. Why?
Nikon patents update | Nikon Rumors

Hi there Kiwi86! welcome to Nikonites. I use a Sigma 105mm f2.8 with my D800 and find it works very well, not confident I would call it the best but price wise and performance wise it is a decent choice.

I've been researching this very thing and the one suggestion that came up frequently was to a longer lens to give you more working distance. Shorter macros require being closer to the subject which can scare living things and block light. The 105 would be great on a DX but for FX I suggest something longer. The one lens that seems to be universally praised is the Sigma 150 macro. It's the one I'm going to buy when I upgrade to the D800.

Sigma AF 150mm f/2.8 APO EX HSM macro DG D - Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict

Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro Review & Rating | PCMag.com

Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX IF HSM Macro Interchangeable Lens Review

Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro Lens - Photo Review

my vote would be for the newer 105 micro G..

Personally I use the older 105 2.8 AIS micro, a very fine lens... and well, when shooting macro, I use manual focus ANYWAY..

Would I like the newer G version,, sure,, but not enough to invest the dollars

I also have the 55 macro classic,, super sharp,, and the newer 60 af macro,, but not the newest G version either.

Don't get me wrong,, I don't mind the newest G lens (have a few of those), but I just had invested in my lens prior to most of the newest lens, and well, the old work very fine too.

My macro
55
60
105
reversing ring for standard primes
bellows when I really want to in close.....

Honestly, I think your best bet is a manual focus 55mm f/2.8 AIS Micro Nikkor and the PK-13 extension ring. Manual focus is usually best for macro, as even the slightest error in focus (or the camera deciding to focus on something beside you want) can be the difference between a great shot and something that winds up on the "cutting room floor". They can be had used on Fleabay for very reasonable prices. If you want so to save even a little more money you can go with a 55mm f/3.5 AI Micro Nikkor, which is a half stop slower but still a superb lens. The f/2.8 is also an outstanding "normal" lens if you don't need a fast lens.

Reversed, it also works superbly on a bellows.

Thanks muzza 22au and greetings to all.
Sigma? Yes but you must be lucky with good copy
Working distance? Yes at least 20 cm from the end of lens. I had canon 100 2.8 IS L USM. Fantastic lens but very small working distance.
By the way does anybody know how much time elapses between paten and a relation of this. Why?
Nikon patents update | Nikon Rumors

Thanks muzza 22au and greetings to all.
Sigma? Yes but you must be lucky with good copy
Working distance? Yes at least 20 cm from the end of lens. I had canon 100 2.8 IS L USM. Fantastic lens but very small working distance.
By the way does anybody know how much time elapses between paten and a relation of this. Why?
Nikon patents update | Nikon Rumors

The Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR is excellent.

I've got both the Zeiss 100/2 and the Nikon 105/2.8 VR on my D800. Both are exceptional lenses - it all depends on what you are trying to do. I wish the Zeiss were a true macro, but with all the pixels you get with the D800, cropping makes it a non-issue for most of my close-up work.

If someone put a gun to my head and made me sell one, I'd very reluctantly let go of the Nikon. More and more I'm shooting video - the IQ of the Zeiss and the almost 360-degree range of the manual focus make for stunning footage and easy follow-focus.

Although the conventional wisdom is that a close-up lens screwed on the front of your lens is inferior to a macro lens, I have been extremely pleased with the Canon 500D on my Nikon 85/1.4.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-500D-77mm-Close-Lens/dp/B00009XVDB

Again, it all has to do with subject size, distance, whether autofocus is needed, etc.

Thanks muzza 22au and greetings to all.
Sigma? Yes but you must be lucky with good copy
Working distance? Yes at least 20 cm from the end of lens. I had canon 100 2.8 IS L USM. Fantastic lens but very small working distance.
STM: macro for me mean manual focus.
Chacon: can we see some full size samples?
By the way does anybody know how much time elapses between paten and a relation of this. Why?
Nikon patents update | Nikon Rumors

Here is a sample using D800e and the Nikon 105mm f2.8 VRI. I think you will like this combo. Well, there is nothing not to like with the D800 with any other lens. All macro lenses are sharp but the Nikon version is much faster when it comes to auto focus.

Hand held shot.


Plum blossom 006 by gqtuazon, on Flickr

Very sharp shot,Verygood combination!!

Thanks muzza 22au and greetings to all.
Sigma? Yes but you must be lucky with good copy
Working distance? Yes at least 20 cm from the end of lens. I had canon 100 2.8 IS L USM. Fantastic lens but very small working distance.
STM: macro for me mean manual focus.
Chacon: can we see some full size samples?
qgqtuazon: Yes at the moment Nikon 105 is my first choice.
By the way does anybody know how much time elapses between paten and a relation of this. Why?
Patent 2011-118379 for 200 mm f/3.2 Macro (sorry but i not YET allowed to attached link).

kiwi86 said:

Thanks muzza 22au and greetings to all.
Chacon: can we see some full size samples?

Click to expand...

Sure, I'll shoot the same target today with all three lenses (100/2, 105/2.8, and 85/1.4/close-up lens). I'm new here, so what exactly do you want me to upload for "full-size" samples?

The entire images without crop. I realy want to see comparison between size of facility Zeiss Planar 100 and Nikon 105. And of course sharpness of the images

Will this site let me upload JPG's without resizing? D800 files at full quality produce 25MB+ jpgs. I'd appreciate it if someone could give me the preferred settings for posting here so that image quality can be discerned without consuming excessive bandwidth. Thanks!

Chacon said:

Will this site let me upload JPG's without resizing? D800 files at full quality produce 25MB+ jpgs. I'd appreciate it if someone could give me the preferred settings for posting here so that image quality can be discerned without consuming excessive bandwidth. Thanks!

Click to expand...

I send you private mesage. You can me mail me or. send throught wetransfer.

Since I've just joined this community, I'd like to learn how best to share my work publicly in the forums, so it is important for me to post here. Can anyone help me with the preferred settings to use when I export my RAW files to jpgs for uploading here? Diffraction at small apertures is a major issue for macro shooting which would be hard to discern in highly-compressed/lower resolution files. I could upload cropped images to demonstrate the differences as well as the full-sized ones that the OP has requested. I just don't want to bombard this site with multiple 25MB jpgs unless that is what is considered acceptable.

Thanks for any help.