Which Macro lens?

Hi All,

I have a Nikon D70, and am now wanting to buy a macro lens. But i don't know whether to go for the 60mm or 105mm -- apart from the cost of course!

Does anyone have some advice on practical aspects of the 2 lenses, e.g depth of field, minimum focussing distance and anything else which might help the decision.

Thanks

aeromole

Hey aeromole (great name!)

There has been lots of discussions on this issue in the past. Have a quick search. The general view is that with a 1.5 sensor like the D70, a 60mm is probably the most useful and the easiest to get used to. A 105mm comes more into its own for photographing shy, tiny creatures (like pygmy seahorses here at Lembeh). I have both and love them both. 60mm is more the workhorse; 105mm is more the "I fancy something a bit different today" or "let me go and get them there pygmies" ;-)

Hey aeromole (great name!)

 

There has been lots of discussions on this issue in the past. Have a quick search. The general view is that with a 1.5 sensor like the D70, a 60mm is probably the most useful and the easiest to get used to. A 105mm comes more into its own for photographing shy, tiny creatures (like pygmy seahorses here at Lembeh). I have both and love them both. 60mm is more the workhorse; 105mm is more the "I fancy something a bit different today" or "let me go and get them there pygmies" ;-)

Thanks Tim, that is really helpful.

Pete

I second Tim's comment. I own a 60 mm and a 100 mm macro on the Canon side. I use them mostly for nudibranchs and find the 60 mm to be better for the task. Dof is a bit larger and it focuses a bit faster, which is important if you are shooting near the surf zone, which is mostly the case on the channel islands. Not sure on the focusing speeds for the Nikon lenses, though.

Here is an example for the 60 mm:

I own both and enjoy using both for different purposes. Here's a quick writeup I did on the differences that I found, I hope this helps

scott

also own both and prefer the 60mm for ease of use. The 105mm is more a special purpose lens, reduced dof, hard to shoot on a DX for general macro use. biggest downside it limits how close you can get to your subject because everything gets really big easily and you have to stay away to frame properly (your experience may vary based on your photographic preferences).

60mm general purpose macro.

105mm Nudibranchs and other tiny critters