Macro Lens for Nikon

[StanChung]

Hi Wasabi,

Read the stickies! The shortforms and the links to the photography sites. [Some don't work, so you can report to Benny ]

Get a tripod that uses a ball-head with pressure/tightening adjustment knob.
Tip: if you see your reflection in the aquarium, the ambient light is too bright. Wear black, darken room/shut curtains, wait till night time.

Hi Vincent,
I use a tripod to shoot fish. Frame up roughly the bg I want, wait for the superstar/s to make an appearance by tempting with food or hand gestures.

The tripod ball-head set to a semi-loose position will give flexibility without the headache. I also use manual focussing because auto is quite kooky/annoying unless you set the focus point at exactly where the fish eye is going to be in frame. Try AF on small fishes

Since Choy and Benny already got so many nice pics of small fishes, I'll stick to slow moving big targets like discus. lol. I'll only do small fishes for money.

The reflection problem for close ups can be avoided easily by just angling away from aquarium glass. Don't like direct flash even if it's softened. Bounced light can work but you lose a lot of F-stops.

[valice]

Hehheh, Stan, I do AF on small fishes when I am lazy. That's where the 60mm EFS come in. Extremely fast and accurate. Hand-held.


Jeff,
buy what you need. Not what others say. Else you will drop into that BBB hole and buy things that you find yourself keeping in the dry cabinet. Just to let you know about the dangers of SLR photography first. keep your focus!

But, yes, 50mm can be used for fish photography. But like I say, and I say again, all lenses can be used for fish photography once you solve the problem of light.

Another limitation about lens focal lengths you need to remember is the combination of your physical working area (meaning space around you) and size of fish. Too long a lens on a big fish with no space to work, you can't shoot the whole fish. Too small a fish with too short a lens, you go super close to the glass and the subject still small in your picture.

So for the case of Stan shooting his discus, the 50mm will work nice for him. A 105mm might be too long if he has a short physical working space in front of the tank.

[Simon]

you don't require a tripod, it slows your response. handheld is easier is track the movement or you simple rest your elbow on the table and aim at 1 area while the unexpecting fish swims pass. however, a tripod like the gitzo mountaineer will be an excellent choice for insect macro. if you need demo, approach benny, he will demo how to handhold his 180mm L, which is far heavier than all of the other brands

[hwchoy]

I'm not sure Stan shoots any of the small fishes, meaning 2cm and below. They are not only small, many also swim in a jerky motion. your field of view is so small that tracking the subject is a problem because they easily swim out of your focusing view.

Actually how can you shoot 1/200s without flash?

also at ƒ/11 and beyond, you start to get diffraction softness. For big fish this is not an issue, for small fish with very delicate features, this is clearly a problem. In this regards, fish is simple, try shooting 3D objects like mini orchid flowers.

[StanChung]

I'm not sure Stan shoots any of the small fishes

Tried rummies but lousy quality without flash. I got 450W of lighting mah. ASA 400 and f/5.6 only. A bit of brightening in photoshop with NEF RAW mode.
Not your standard lah. Direct flash and ugly. paiseh. Can use cable but the tank is 5ft and i don't want flash to drop in the tank[done that before]! Actually a cheap tripod is useful to mount the flash to get the lighting you want to avoid accident. I have this nissin remote flash trigger thing to avoid cables if i need additional lighting without buying expensive flash units.

A table is like a tripod. I use my tripod to get the framing, loosen the ball head. I also have to stay very far away because of my ugly face or the 'superstar' will not appear. So far my subject[discus] very easy and only need 1/60 with 72W pl. Used and 80-200AF-D. Was sitting 8ft away.

Anyway let me do a 'Stan's gallery collection' of more than 5 pics first then can let you guys comment. So far have to concentrate on whole tank subjects. The 5ft tank with light colour bg is quite a challenge for the you know what competition...geez.

[hwchoy]

actually the reason I said that is to highlight the different techniques and equipment needs, and all this is primarily driven by the size of the fish, and the size of the tank.

I once shot vinz' 15-inch arowana, one overhead flash was simply not enough (it creates a light cone), but to my surprise, it works without flash because I could open my aperture wide (but this is on a G5 digicam) and yet have enough DOF because of the shooting distance.

I also shot 6-8 inch cichlids in CF's display tank with flash. the things you have to deal with vs 2cm fishes are very different.

Hence the thing to remember, there is not one single formula and camera settings. you need to understand what you are doing, why the pictures are turning out the way it does, and most importantly understand how your fish behave in order to get the picture you want.

[valice]

Brilliant summary on fish photography!

[StanChung]

Couldn't have said it better. Get the gear to suit the subject you want to photograph. Good to have gear that have overlapping capabilities but there'll be quality compromises. eg: an 28-200 zoom would have quality issues but you'll still get a photo, just not a great one like the sifu's here.

Expand as you encounter more desires...[hehe]

[wasabi8888]

Still searching for a good macro lens.. tried the Tamron 90, Nikkor 60mm, 105mm VR... have not decided yet.. but i guess the flash takes priority.. but cant buy now... must wait for next pay day, cant imagine my bills next month.....

My friend bought the Hoya +3 and +5 filter... I guess I will try it out first before buying the macro lens.. but i guess my tendency is 105mm VR with close up filters.... am I nuts?

[Green Baron]

Still searching for a good macro lens.. tried the Tamron 90, Nikkor 60mm, 105mm VR... have not decided yet.. but i guess the flash takes priority.. but cant buy now... must wait for next pay day, cant imagine my bills next month.....

My friend bought the Hoya +3 and +5 filter... I guess I will try it out first before buying the macro lens.. but i guess my tendency is 105mm VR with close up filters.... am I nuts?

You decision will have to be based on your budget and you expection on the quality of macro shots.

I have owned and used all of them - Hoya filter, Tamron 90, Sigma 105, Canon 100, Nikon 105 VR and non VR.

My recomendation is 1. Nikon VR, 2. Tamron, 3. Nikon/Canon close up filter.
I don't recommend the hoya filter.

[wasabi8888]

Green Baron

Thanks for the tip... will consider about the VR.. I will go test again..

[StanChung]

If budget is the problem, Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 Di is more value for money and performs better at all the way from f2.8 up to f16.[edge performance especially] After that, performance is the same according to lens test comparisons on the net.

For macro/micro, you're looking at f8 upwards perfomance, so the choice is yours.

IMHO, if you want the Nikon VR for 4 stops less handheld blur then go for it but you can buy two Tamrons for the price of one Nikon VR and get some change to buy skylight UV filters.

[tjudy]

I have been using a Nikon D80 for a few months now, and I am very happy with it. I alos decided to purchase the Tamron 90mm lens over the Nikkor 105mm, and I am glad that I did. I have had the opportunity to use both, and like ease of the Tamron better. The manual focus on the Tamron is very easy to control, plus you can manually focus the lens while the camera is on AF. Switch between the two is as fast as clicking the focus ring backward or forward on the lens.

My next lens purchase will be a smaller micro... probably a Nikkor 60mm lens. The 90mm lens, though great for shooting decent size fish from .5 meter from the tank, is too large to really get close to a very small fish. I need a lens that will let me fill the frame with a Bororas merah!. I am not sure if Tamron sells something similar, though whent he time comes to buy I will look into it.

[benny]

I need a lens that will let me fill the frame with a Bororas merah!. I am not sure if Tamron sells something similar, though whent he time comes to buy I will look into it.

Hi Ted,

Welcome to AQ!!

I think the Tamron has a 180 mm macro that will suit the above requirement pretty well. Add some extension tubes, the filling the frame will be no issue at all, even if it's a Boraras merah. You might even have to step back a bit!!

Cheers,

[StanChung]

Welcome to AQ Ted!

If only the highly acclaimed AF 200mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor IF AI-S is an AF-S instead[and 1:1 instead of 1:2]. Then you can have the best of both worlds! Manual and Fast AF to catch small darting fish.

What I normally do is shoot RAW with my Tamron 90 and crop. Not great but sufficient for my uses.

[wasabi8888]

Welcome to AQ Ted!

If only the highly acclaimed AF 200mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor IF AI-S is an AF-S instead[and 1:1 instead of 1:2]. Then you can have the best of both worlds! Manual and Fast AF to catch small darting fish.

What I normally do is shoot RAW with my Tamron 90 and crop. Not great but sufficient for my uses.

Stan

Tried to look for it but could not find in the glossary at nikon's page.

What is AI-S and AF-S?

[StanChung]

Forgot what is AI-S-something to do with mount.

Edit-found a site explaining AI, AI-S etc. http://www.nikonlinks.com/unklbil/nomenclature.htm

AF-S is their hi speed silent wave motor for faster focussing ala Canon's USM.

[wasabi8888]

I think after so much discussion and reading other stuff, i am looking at the below

1. Nikon 105mm VR
2. Sigma 80-200mm
3. Tamron 90mm


I think end of the day if I want really close up, i prob also need close-up filter...

[Goondoo]

I think after so much discussion and reading other stuff, i am looking at the below

1. Nikon 105mm VR
2. Sigma 80-200mm
3. Tamron 90mm


I think end of the day if I want really close up, i prob also need close-up filter...

Actually, there are still other prime macro lenses you can consider if budget is part of your concern, such as Sigma, Tokina etc. If you have $600, just grab the Tamron. I won't even recommend tele-lenses for real macro pictures unless quality is not what you are after.....

[Green Baron]

I think after so much discussion and reading other stuff, i am looking at the below

1. Nikon 105mm VR
2. Sigma 80-200mm
3. Tamron 90mm


I think end of the day if I want really close up, i prob also need close-up filter...

It all depends on how much magnification you need.

If you are short of cash, get a 2nd hand Tamron. Should you decide to 'upgrade' later, you can sell off the 2nd hand Tamron with very minimal loss.

For most amatures, the technique and skills affect the image quality more than the lens ;-)

Two features in the Nikon 105 (and Canon 100) which I like are :

1. Override Auto-focus without having to push a dial (Sigma) or push/pull the focusing ring (Tamron). After the lens auto-focused, you can fine tune the focus just by rotating the focusing ring. This is very useful for those who use AF and need to fine tune the focus on the fly.

2. Internal Focusing (IF) - The lens stays the same length. Tamron and Singma will protrude out when you focus on a close up subject. Not an issue for taking fish and plants but nice to have for skittish insects.