Need a camera lens recommendation...

[Ward9320]

Ok guys I see so many beautiful pictures of other peoples corals on these forums and I have to know what lens everyone is using. I have seen people say that they use a macro lens, is this what everyone is using to take these pictures? Anyways can someone help me out with picking up a lens please. I have a Nikon D5100 and up until I decided I wanted to take pictures of my corals it has been working out just fine for me for the last 2 years. The camera came with two lenses (55-200mm and 18-55mm) that have been working out great for day to day pictures but I can't capture the beauty of my coral with either one of them.

[ninjamyst]

First and most important question:

 

What's your budget?

[jestep]

Without a budget it's hard to recommend. But speaking generally a name brand 1:1 Macro in the ≈70 - 100mm range is probably the way to go.

[Ward9320]

First and most important question:

 

What's your budget?

 

As much as I can talk my wife into , I would imagine some where around $300 maybe a little higer.

[ninjamyst]

$300

- new Nikon 40mm macro (very short and not sure if I will recommend this)

- used Tamron 60mm macro (short, but does the job...I have this lens. Most of the pics in my build thread were taken with this. It's decent for the price)

- used Tamron 90mm (classic macro lens, doubles as a nice portrait lens too)

 

Pricier

- ($500) new Nikon 85mm macro (comes with VR which is awesome for handheld shots)

- ($900) new Nikon 105mm macro (my dream lens....)

 

Regardless of which lens you get, get a tripod. And honestly, any macro lens from well known manufacturers are sharp sharp sharp.

[Ward9320]

Thanks a lot, now I have a place to start looking. I think I might try and talk the wife into the Nikon 85mm macro, Christmas is coming up .

[ninjamyst]

I contemplated selling my Tamron 60mm and getting the 85mm f3.5 macro. But that's a DX only lens so if you ever go full frame, you will have to upgrade again.

[Ward9320]

So what your telling me is that the Tamron 90mm is most likely going to be the best way to go?

 

If that is the case then is THIS what I need?

[ninjamyst]

I *think* that's the one but the seller is in Japan. If possible, try to buy a refurb one from authorized US dealers. Will save you much headaches if things go wrong. Although, if budget allows, the 85mm f3.5 macro is still the way to go. But this is just my opinion because Nikon lens hold better resale value. And that VR is very useful for hand held with that focal length.

[Ward9320]

Thanks a lot for your help ninjamyst I am going to go with the Nikon 85mm then. I really like the idea of having the VR and after just reading soem quick reviews that lens seems to be pretty reliable.