Which Macro lens

[calfee20]

In the accessories section there is a lot of custom macro gear. But if someome wanted a macro lens which one and why. Sigma has five, and how good is the standard 18-200. I have never worked with a macro lens as opposed to a lens that can do macro.

.......................Thanks Tom C

 

[netzuser]

Hi Tom,
I´ll try to clarify a little bit.
First there are two categories of makro lenses.
1.the zoom lenses which carry a "MACRO" in their specs.
This lenses are not real macro lenses,they only allow you to get a little bit
closer to the object and allow a scale up to 1:2,often only 1:3 or even less.
2.the real macro lenses.This lenses are designed for a scale of 1:1.
The difference is how close you must go to the object to get the 1:1 scale.
With a 50mm macro it is ~25cm whereas with a 150mm it is ~50cm.-----
Hope it brought some light.
The 18-200 is fairly good.It can be used for flies and dragonflies for example with acceptable results.
The max.scale is 1:3.9
Regards
Uwe

 

[foveonfan]

I get a lot of enjoyment from my 105mm macro lens, Tom.

Sincere regards, Jim R

 

[toisondor]

What about the 70mm?

I'm surprised I haven't found more samples from the Sigma 70mm macro, which gets rave reviews. Can anyone here vouch for it and maybe post some samples? I've been thinking of adding it to my collection to use as a portrait lens.

Jesse

 

[tc95]

Sigma 90mm Macro...

I have been impressed by this old lens...to get 1:1 you need a close-up lens...but in all other areas...it is sharp and clean....plus you can pick these up for less than $100.00 I got mine for about $45.00....best dinner money I ever spent....

Good luck....

Tony C.

 

[skyrk]

Sigma 70mm

I have the 70mm lens, and it can produce quite sharp images. Unlike the 150mm macro it has external focusing which can be a bit inconvenient to use. I focus manually mostly, and use it to take pictures of plants and other still subjects.

 

[toisondor]

Thanks for the sample. Great picture.

When you say the external focusing is "inconvenient," is it just because the barrel extends so much?

Jesse

 

[skyrk]

yes, but that is mostly a problem when I tried to take pictures of insects. I haven't had that much experience with it so that might not be a big issue, and portraits is a different thing.

perhaps it is just because I i wasn't quick enough to get a better picture of this bug a few days ago. it was really fast and disappeared into a tree. :z04_zeter01:

 

[Vetuv]

Ive seen some shots with the 105 and they look absolutely stunning. Here is a link to what I mean. http://www.flickr.com/photos/swarmoeskerken/sets/72157610554409743/

 

[DSG]

Hi Tom,
I´ll try to clarify a little bit.
First there are two categories of makro lenses.
1.the zoom lenses which carry a "MACRO" in their specs.
This lenses are not real macro lenses,they only allow you to get a little bit
closer to the object and allow a scale up to 1:2,often only 1:3 or even less.
2.the real macro lenses.This lenses are designed for a scale of 1:1.
The difference is how close you must go to the object to get the 1:1 scale.
With a 50mm macro it is ~25cm whereas with a 150mm it is ~50cm.-----
Hope it brought some light.
The 18-200 is fairly good.It can be used for flies and dragonflies for example with acceptable results.
The max.scale is 1:3.9
Regards
Uwe

Best macro lens for the SD14 is the Nikon Micro Nikkor 200mm f4 IF AIS...Thats what I use.