# Macro lense For Nikon D3300



## Nelson (21 Nov 2016)

Looking for advice on a lense.Just got £250 vouchers from work to spend.
Has to be from Currys.
Will be mainly for pics/videos of my aquariums.
Was originally going to spend a bit extra and get this,
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camera...dg-hsm-macro-lens-for-nikon-10152872-pdt.html
But there's also these options,
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camera...m-lens-with-macro-for-nikon-10023739-pdt.html

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camera...lephoto-zoom-lens-for-nikon-10124563-pdt.html

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camera...m-lens-with-macro-for-nikon-21019302-pdt.html

What are your thoughts ?.


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## Nelson (21 Nov 2016)

Just noticed this is now out of stock.
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camera...m-lens-with-macro-for-nikon-10023739-pdt.html


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## Bacms (21 Nov 2016)

Hi Nelson,

Good to hear from you life as been busy so I rarely come to the UKAPS these days. I am assuming you only have the 18-55mm that came with the camera? 

The first one you list (Sigma 105 Macro) is the only "true" macro lens on the list. To understand what a macro lens is for most people you can think of it essentially as a 1:1 magnification ratio (unfortunately the definition is confusing because you can call a macro lens anything that allows you to focus very close to the subject, which your later lens do), so a 35mm in real life will fully occupy a 35 frame on the old 35mm film (now equivalent to full frame).  This allow you to take excellent pictures of very small things like a singe shrimp. It is also important to notice than this magnification is not the only way of using that lens and you can still use it for portrait photography but since you are using it on the Nikon D3300 you will have to stand a few meters away from your subject. If you want to considers true macros it also worth taking a look at the 90mm Tokina or the previous model of the 90mm Tamron since they just released a new one less than half a year ago. There are a few differences between them but I would probably make my decision on this camp is solely based on price. 

I would not consider the last two lens as they are the so called super zooms which basically trade image quality for versatility. Unless you want a do all lens because you don't ever want to change lens this aren't of much use. 

The second option is a good upgrade to your kit lens but kind of coverage the same spectrum the advantage of this one is a "faster" aperture (you can let more light in at the cost of a shallower depth of field) and a macro magnification of 1:2 which probably won't give enough working distance to try and take pictures of shrimps unless they are standing against the front glass of the tank but should allow you to take photos of medium to large fish with not too much problem. 

So to summarise go for the 105 macro if you want a true macro lens but don't expect to be able to take picture of your full tanks with it, just of individual fish/shrimps or "zoomed" in details of plants and so on. Go for the sigma 17-70mm if you want a replacement for you kit lens that you can use to take pictures at lower iso inside and that can on a pitch replace a macro lens for bigger subjects. 

Let me know if you have more questions mate I am more than happy to help

PS - I also did not cover the differences between the focal distances but the biggest this is the furthest away you can/need to be from your subject.


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## Nelson (21 Nov 2016)

Thanks Bruno.


Bacms said:


> I am assuming you only have the 18-55mm that came with the camera?


Yes.


Bacms said:


> If you want to considers true macros it also worth taking a look at the 90mm Tokina or the previous model of the 90mm Tamron


I can only use my vouchers at Currys,and they don't sell these brands .
So probably the Sigma 105 Macro then,as the 17-70mm is out of stock now.


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## KipperSarnie (21 Nov 2016)

I shoot Sony but yes I also would go for the 105 my Macro is a Tamron 90mm.  I use it a lot for the fish as well as a Zeiss 24-70 zoom.
although the 90mm can't fill the frame every time due to the width of my tanks the image quality is far superior so cropping makes up for that!
Although I also have a 70-400G for wildlife I now never use it preferring a 300mm fixed lens.

Keep your eye on Apertures although decreased depth of field you might need the extra light rather than higher ISO, flash or slower speed.


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## Bacms (21 Nov 2016)

Your welcome I am sure you will be very pleased with the sigma 105mm, I have that on my shopping list since I bought my DSLR. A macro lens is not the easiest lens in the world to work with specially if you are trying to use the max magnification so don't fret too much if you first pictures with it will be totally crap. A tripod if you haven't one will also be useful for true macro as as KipperSarnie mentioned light and depth of field tend to be problems with macro so you may need extra light for super hyper duper macros


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## Nelson (21 Nov 2016)

Thanks to you both .


KipperSarnie said:


> you might need the extra light





Bacms said:


> so you may need extra light for super hyper duper macros


While we're on the subject .
What lights do people use ?.


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## KipperSarnie (21 Nov 2016)

I don't, not for fish anyway,
OK not good photo's high ISO but I'm here for the fish.
Photo's are secondary & light gives you reflections on the tank.

Thinking a little further perhaps it is better to up the tank lighting for the photo period or add an internal light stuck to the front of the glass inside the tank.  LED?  Thinking as I type,  I have a Trigon 350 as a show tank in the house & I find it better to have a submersible LED light stuck to the front just above water level in side the tank it rally brings out the fish especially when they come between the tank light & the front of the tank.

I should also add I'm a fish & planted tank man without the patience & skills of you guy's!


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## Bacms (21 Nov 2016)

On the light subject you could probably have an entire thread with several pages just on it. Basically lighting for photography can be divided into two types strobes/flashes and fixed lighting. Unless you really want a full set up of lighting which can be quite expensive most people get away with a single external flash unit. You can also buy either a remote trigger or a long cable that allows you to use the flash without it being attached to the camera. For fish though since we already tend to use a lot of lighting you can just push your lights to the max and add another lamp or two if needed. They won't be the best pictures in the world as you will probably be at the high end of the usable iso on the Nikon D3300 say 3200/6400 but you will still get the shot


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## X3NiTH (21 Nov 2016)

Nikon Speedlights are very good for getting more light in the frame, the SB-800 (discontinued), SB-900 and SB-910 can be set to SU-4 mode and still allow you to adjust the strobes output manually, the upshot of this is they can be triggered to fire with 'any' brand camera onboard flash without it having to physically connect it to the camera. They're not cheap but they're amazing pieces of kit that deliver stunning results.

Using these strobes this way (remote SU-4 mode) you can direct them over the top of the tank and have the cameras onboard flash fire them off and you can move around the tank without having to be cable connected to the flash, you'll want to direct the cameras onboard flash away from shooting into the tank glass and adding to the exposure (the strobes detect the pulsed IR component of the strobes light and fire), it's then a case of working out the best exposure by adjusting the cameras f-stop/ISO/shutter speed combinations until you get the look you want. 

You're probably going to want more light with macro because you're going to hit the limits of your camera very quickly if relying on the tanks lights to do all the lighting, once you hit the ISO limit and set the shutter speed as low as you can go without motion blur being an issue in the shot you are left with widening the aperture, wide open apertures in macro give you depth of field like a razor blade at the closest focus point. 

With off camera strobes over the tank you can use lowest ISOs, have motion freezing shutter speeds and maintain a decent depth of field without having to put large amounts of continuous lighting above the tank for the same camera settings.


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