? about Nikon Macro

Hey guys, last Christmas I bought my wife a Nikon D3100. Now shes kinda leaning towards wanting to take Macro shots. Do any of you know what would be a decent starter Macro lens? When I think Macro, I think pics of a flys eye, but shes thinking more like birds that may be a little farther away, so a zoom lens is a must, probably something that would go to 300 or so. I know a nice lens is a mortgage payment or 2, but $5-600 is probably the most I'd like to shell out right now. Any ideas?

I'm actually a little confused by what you're looking for? Do you want to take pics of a fly's eye or a bird? The bird is a zoom lens (or long fixed focal length) and I'd recommend nothing less than a 300mm. You're going to get better magnification of birds with a 500mm or better. Faster lenses, (meaning those with more glass and larger f-stops) will allow you to shoot in less light, but are much more costly.

If you want to shoot a fly's "whatever"...then I'd go with something in the 105mm - 200mm macro. You can get these in zoom lenses, but they are heavier. I prefer fixed focal length lenses. But that's my preference. As a professional photographer of 25+ years, I've always preferred fixed focal length lenses because they are lighter and sharper IMHO. You can still get very nice zoom lenses though, so don't discount those. They definitely offer more opportunities if you don't have all the fixed lenses.

Hope this helps some, but I'm not sure I answered your question.

Dang, you're just a Jack of all trades aren't ya :wink: , so to hopefully answer your question- I think Macro is super up close stuff like a flys eye, or coins, or stamps, stuff like that. What my wife wants and thinks is Macro is being able to take close up pics of farther off stuff, like birds and the like. Im guessing just a longer zoom lens is what she wants (the camera came with the kit lens at 18-55mm, and I bought a 70-200mm for her as well). So something at or above 300 is what I should be looking for then?

Oh, and thanks for the info.

I have a D3000, and it also came with the 18-55 kit lens, and then I bought a 55-200 zoom, which is a decent lens, but I should've gone up to a 300 just for that extra little bit of "reach". Checkout B&H Photo for some decent deals, and they also carry some refurbished stuff. Reputable company with good customer service, and it's where I bought my 55-200 lens.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?KW=BANNER2&img=bh_professionalcameras.gif

You're welcome, and WW has good info too. I bought my family camera from B&H several years back and some of my professional equipment from them over the years too. Never had a problem.

With lenses too....I'm not afraid of buying used as long as I can return it if I find something wrong with it.

Yes..you are correct....if you want to shoot pictures of things far away and make them look "up close"...you need a longer lens, ie. 300 or better.

Something else you might look into, is a Mirror Reflex lens. The pros for these lenses are that they are usually a little cheaper for longer focal lengths. The Cons are that they are a fixed focal length and fixed aperature (f-stop...usually around f-8 I believe), they don't offer these with a zoom option (if you want a zoom), and they are more likely to have lens flair when shooting on sunny days towards the sun.

Just a thought.

Sweet. Thanks Guys.

Ok, Im justing posting this so I can hit "200 Posts" Woot Woot! Party over here!!!!

SVOMike86 said:

Ok, Im justing posting this so I can hit "200 Posts" Woot Woot! Party over here!!!!

Click to expand...

Quit that! :LOL2: :LOL2:

If u are looking for a good lens with the reach of 300mm then i would look at this,and it is in ur price range


AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Zoom Lens
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=70%3D300+nikon&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

I have this lens and it is on my cam. 80% of the time.Yes u may find it at a lesser cost online but B@H is agreat place and in my case i get it in 3 days.

As for micro well that is another story wish list

Telephoto AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR (Vibration Reduction) Autofocus Lens

So I did some research (pretty much just asked her what she wanted) and she said her friend had this lens that would zoom, but had a macro "switch" also. So, checked out some stuff on Amazon, and found this one. It was cheap, got great reviews, and came with a free filter, so I couldn't pass it up.

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Motorized Telephoto Zoom Lens

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012X61U2