Which macro lens to choose ?

Hi everybody

After reading this forum every day for a few months, i've decided that it's time to buy a dSLR. I decided to buy a Nikon D-70. I don't have a lot of experience with SLR cameras, but i've been using the manual mode of my camera (Oly C4000) most of the time. I do have a few month to learn before the summer holiday start.s

I'm trying to decide which lens to get first - I want a good macro lens (love those small critters, nudibranchs especially) but i'm not sure if i should go for a 60mm or 105mm, and if i should get a Sigma or Nikkor lens.

That's what i learned so far :

- Nikkor 105mm. Pros - great lens for small critters. Ikelite provide a flat port that can change from manual to autofocus. Cons - expansive. Might be hard to start with this lens a a first lens (is that true?). Might be hard to work with a 105mm lens on night dives.

- Sigma 105mm. Pros - cheaper from the nikkor lens (by far...). I'm not sure if it's as good (anyone ?). Cons - Ikelite port provide autofocus only (is that a problem ? is it posibble to work with autofocus most of the time with this lens?). Might be hard to start with this lens a a first lens (is that true?). Might be hard to work with a 105mm lens on night dives.

- Nikkor 60mm lens. Pros - Suppose to be good lens, heard it's easier to work with then with a 105mm lens . Cons - Ikelite offer two type of flat ports for this lens - one with macro control, the other one with manual. With the 105mm port you can switch from manual to autofocus.

So, what do you think guys ? a 60mm lens or 105mm ? Nikkor or Sigma ?

Thanks,

Oren

Oren,

I have the Sigma 105MM lens and love it. I am a Canon shooter so I picked this lens over the Canon 100MM.

If I had to do it again though I would have bought the Canon lens for the same reason that might suggest the Nikon 105, the fact that Ikelite has ports with manual focus controls. When shooting macro I find that I mostly use manual focus personally, although I think that the Sigma has pretty good autofocus abilities. I have not tried shooting this lens underwater yet though as I just got my housing for the 300D.

As for 60MM vs 105MM, tough call. The 60MM will be more like a 90MM while the 105 is going to be like a 150. I like the idea of having more standoff space myself and would go right for the 105 but like I said I haven't tried it yet underwater.

Craig

Hi Oren,

For your first macro lens, I recommend the 60mm. It has better autofocus, is sharper than the 105, and a LOT more versatile. You will be able to get fish photos with this lens.

With that said, in a year or two, you might want a 105mm and you'll be ready then.

See my article in the Features section Wiseman Beginner Col. about selecting lenses.

HTH

James

Hi Oren,

 

For your first macro lens, I recommend the 60mm. It has better autofocus, is sharper than the 105, and a LOT more versatile. You will be able to get fish photos with this lens.

Well, the thing is that i dont really like taking photos of most fish. at least not "medium" size fish. I do like taking photos of really small ones( blennies, shrimps, nudibrnachs and such) or big ones (stingrays, eaglerays, and sharks, though there aren't a lot of those here in the north part of the red sea). If you have the time you are wellcome to visit my gallery (http://lederman.smugmug.com) and see what i look for when i dive.

Maybe what i need is to see a gallery or two showing images taken with a 60mm and 105mm. It'll help me figure out what these lenses are capable of.[/url]

Nikkor 60mm vs. 105mm for first macro......tough call, conventional wisdom would say the 60mm, but I started with the 105mm (my wife was using the 60mm ) and didn't have any trouble with it.....I use AF exclusively and have had very little trouble with the D70/105mm combo acheiving a fast focus.....

check out our website for examples of both lens... www.kdietz.com Cozumel 2004 and Wakatobi 2004

Karl

Taken with 60mm and DX sensor camera:

http://www.reefpix.org/gallery/album29

Taken with 105mm and DX sensor camera:

http://www.reefpix.org/gallery/album36

Cheers

James

Nikon 60mm vs. 105mm for first macro......tough call, conventional wisdom would say the 60mm, but I started with the 105mm (my wife was using the 60mm ) and didn't have any trouble with it.....I use AF exclusively and have had very little trouble with the D70/105mm combo acheiving a fast focus.....

 

check out our website for examples of both lens... www.kdietz.com

 

Karl

Amazing photos Karl. Your indonesia gallery was one of the reasons for choosing the D70 :-) I think that Phyllodesmium longicirrium shot is why i want a 105mm lens Its look HUGE in this shot (how big was it?).

I tried to decide which lens is best by looking at those pics, but it's hard to decide because i dont know what was the original size of the photos and how much was cropped. Kimberly took some really nice close-ups with the 600mm as well.

Regarding the 105mm - did you find it easy to use during night dives ?

The 105 is a very slow focusing and frustrating lens to use in low light. It can rack in and out and in and out and drive you crazy. You absolutely MUST use a focusing light with the 105, unless you are in pretty bright light.

Or use manual focus.

With that said, yes, it takes awesome pix on a DX sensor lens. Without diopters and behind a flat port it will do >1:1

Cheers

James

Not to be a contrarian, I've never used a focus light with the D70/105mm/AF combo and don't have plans to use one until I can't get the shots that I want....granted I've been diving in clear waters when I've used it

BTW, I have the auto/manual port for the 105, so using either is possible

I use the 105 on night dives with a light cannon as my primary light and have had the same success as daylight shooting....the light cannon with diffusers and the ULCS fitting is awesome for night diving

BTW, some of our macro shots are blown up, but not much, so it's kind of hard for you to know the original sizes.....both lenses can shoot 1:1, so it's the working distance that changes

The Phyllodesmium Longicirrium was around 6" long....very cool!

Karl

I think if you prefer small critters to fish portraits you will like the 105 better.

The 60 shoots 1:1 theoretically but there's not enough working distance for that to be practical. I like a 3T on the 105mm. Cuts down on the maximum focusing distance but you don't really need that and the minimum distance improves a lot.

AF versus MF may be a function of the housing selected. I like MF myself. Focusing lights are good to have. The new Fisheye light is expensive but really good.

I agree mostly with what James has said.

To me, the 60mm is a much more versatle lens capable of the same reproduction ratio as the 105mm. It's also a slightly sharper lens.

So the 105mm basically costs you about $400 dollars for 8 inches of working distance.

That makes it a specialty lens in my book.

I've also noticed that it is much slower to focus, and not nearly as reliable to lock focus where you want it to. *Just sitting at my desk with the light on, it took me 3 attempts to lock focus on the top of a bottle sitting on my desk.

*This is aiming at the top of the bottle with the wall another 10 feet away.

Focusing on a penny on my desk, where the back ground is close to the subject I'm focusing on normally works fine.

Also, I have not shot the 105 underwater yet.

I agree with James on buying the 60mm first and then getting the 105mm down the line. Unless everything you plan on taking pictures of is very skittish, in which case it may be worth just getting the 105 and learning it the best you can.

Just my 2 cents.

Karl, I guess you're just a lucky guy to do all that warm/clear water diving! We need to get you diving in Califorina - that'll really get your MF skills going...lol

The link to the macro photos taken with the 105 is for a San Diego dive - cold low-viz dark water. The 105 AF would have been COMPLETELY useless without a focusing light.

I agree with Craig about using the 105+diopter. It's a great combo.

Cheers

James

Karl, I guess you're just a lucky guy to do all that warm/clear water diving! We need to get you diving in Califorina - that'll really get your MF skills going...lol

I hear how lucky I am from Kimberly everyday ...you are both right

Maybe I'll get a focus light when they get affordable...I still can't understand why they cost $400 - $500 scubabucks....for an hour burn?

The link to the macro photos taken with the 105 is for a San Diego dive - cold low-viz dark water. The 105 AF would have been COMPLETELY useless without a focusing light.

 

I agree with Craig about using the 105+diopter. It's a great combo.

 

Cheers

James

James, 99.9% of my dives are in the (reletavely) warm, cosy, Red Sea. Did i mention that it is just 4 hours drive from where i live ? In the last few months (before i started Uni) i went diving in there every two weeks (98 dives in 5 month).

When you refer to "Focusing lights", you mean those realy-realy strong lights with a battery pack attached to the back of your tank ? or a DS-125 with modeling light should be enough ?

About the diopter - do u know if there's enough room for a diopter in the ikelite flat port ? How does the 60mm perform with a diopter on it ?

Anyway, i'm starting to think that the 60mm is a good start afterall. I know that my bank account will like me more if i'll buy this one instead of the expansive 105mm...

Sigma 105mm. Pros - cheaper from the nikkor lens (by far...). I'm not sure if it's as good (anyone ?). Cons - Ikelite port provide autofocus only (is that a problem ? is it posibble to work with autofocus most of the time with this lens?).

I've been looking into the Nikon vs. Sigma 105mm trade myself and will get one of them soon.

I think it ought to be possible to use the zoom gear in the Ikelite housing to focus this lens. If you get the new DX version I believe the focus mechanism does not move while autofocusing (like Nikon AF-S Lenses) so you could easially switch between autofocus and manual focus by leaving it on autofocus and rotating the zoom gear when you want manual. Someone needs to try this.

On the other hand Nikon is offering $140 rebate on the 105mm so you can get one from the discounters for about $500 after rebate which is only about $150 above the Sigma.

As far as 105mm vs 60mm goes: I love my 60mm because I get lots of keepers with this lens. I love fish photography. If you want small critters I think the 105mm is a better choice but it takes more skill to be stable and focus manually. Also, if you want more than 1:1 I think it is more practical to work with diopters on this lens than the 60mm because you have some working distance to give up.

Let us know what you decide.

I don't know if the 60mm would be a good fit for a standard lens diopter...

I do know that a wet diopter that slides on to the end of either the 60mm flat port, or the 105mm flat port, is a great option!!!

http://www.usanexus.com/diopter.html

The focus lights James is reffering to, are essentially $400 flashlights. Read the review on the front page for an idea about how they benefit photographers.

I do agree that the 105mm is the better macro lens. I just think the 60mm is a better overall lens, that also has the same macro capabilities as the 105mm.

Get the 60mm and take the $400 you saved and buy a Flashlight!

On the other hand Nikon is offering $140 rebate on the 105mm so you can get one from the discounters for about $500 after rebate which is only about $150 above the Sigma.

As far as i know Israel isn't one of your states (yet?), so no rebate for me

I think i'll go for the 60mm, and maybe get a 105mm later on. From what i see here most of you guys have both (or will soon) I guess there's a good reason for that.

Hello Oren, Good to see you here also.

Same here Arnon I decided it's a good time to start writing here (asking questions so far... give me a few months and i might be able to answer a question or two). Me and a few other "Tapuz" forum members are trying to get a discount for 4-5 sets of D-70 cameras. Hope it'll work out. If we get a good price i might buy the macro lens+kit.

How does the 60mm perform with a diopter on it ?

There is no need (or purpose) for a diopter on the 60mm. It will focus as little as a couple inches in front of the port as is, and the diopter will only reduce the focal point closer than you will be able to get! That is actually it's "downfall" as a macro lens, in that to get 1:1, the critter has to be right in front of the port. The primary advantage to the 105 is simply that you get and extra 8 inches of "working distance".

As someone with both lenses, I rarely use the 60mm any longer.

This is not to say you should not get it, just be prepared down the road to get the 105 as well. The 60mm is an excellent way to start.