# Nikon D3100 macro lens



## Derek113 (3 Apr 2016)

What macro lens would you recommend for the nikon d3100?

I have the standard 18-55mm and the 50mm. I was considering a 90mm for macro shots (bugs ect) any ideas on lenses?


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## LondonDragon (3 Apr 2016)

Depends how much you want to spend, the Nikon 105mm 2.8 is a good option, if you are on a budget you can also look at the Sigma 105mm 1.8 or the Tamron 90mm 2.8, you can find these on ebay at decent prices.


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## Derek113 (3 Apr 2016)

My ideal lens would be the 150mm f/2.8 EX, but this is the best part of £800. As a total novice i cant pay that price a) my wife will leave after going nuts b) as good as it is, i cant justify that money for a lense.

My budget is £200 final.


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## EnderUK (3 Apr 2016)

LondonDragon said:


> Tamron 90mm 2.8, you can find these on ebay at decent prices.



I won one on ebay with an olympus fitting (no one else bidded for it).  It was then just a matter of swapping the fitting for a nikon one


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## Derek113 (4 Apr 2016)

Can i ask what you paid?

There is one up now for £52 but has 5 days to go. See if my luck comes in.

More important than the price, what do you think of it?


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## EnderUK (4 Apr 2016)

Think it was about 70 quid. The ones that have Nikon or Cannon fittings have more activity.


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## Derek113 (4 Apr 2016)

In terms of focus and quality how do you find the lens? I looked at the 105mm and have been told that this lens (the 105mm) is the one to get. However the 90mm rates high but there are few example photos to be found.


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## Bacms (12 Apr 2016)

With £200 you have to look into used market. Both the Tamron or the sigma will give you excellent results and you can also try to hunt eBay for the non stabilized versions which are going cheaper than the current ones and are equally as good in image terms. Also remember that you will be using it on a crop factor sensor so the focal length needs to be multiplied by 1.5x


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## LondonDragon (12 Apr 2016)

I have no experience with the Sigma macro, but the Tamron has a tendency to focus hunt if you are using auto focus, but when I use my Tamron 90mm I always do manual anyway, just be aware of that.


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## Bacms (12 Apr 2016)

LondonDragon said:


> I have no experience with the Sigma macro, but the Tamron has a tendency to focus hunt if you are using auto focus, but when I use my Tamron 90mm I always do manual anyway, just be aware of that.


I am planning to buy the sigma but still saving money at the moment. As far I could understand that is something that cannot really be avoided as as to do with the amount of light reaching the sensor. Does it do that even when using high apertures Paulo?


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## Derek113 (12 Apr 2016)

Bacms said:


> With £200 you have to look into used market. Both the Tamron or the sigma will give you excellent results and you can also try to hunt eBay for the non stabilized versions which are going cheaper than the current ones and are equally as good in image terms. Also remember that you will be using it on a crop factor sensor so the focal length needs to be multiplied by 1.5x




So with the crop sensor what lens do you think will work best? As the d3100 is an entry level DSLR theres not much info on lenses.

My thoughts were

Nikon 105mm
Tokina 100mm
Nikon 70-300mm
Nikon 18-55 with extension tubes

Any thoughts.


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## Bacms (12 Apr 2016)

You can look at dxomark to see how the different lens perform on the Nikon D3200* http://tinyurl.com/gqj77zw*

It is important to understand the only thing the crop sensor changes is the focal length and perceived depth of field. Or in other words a 100mm macro will be the equivalent of a 150mm macro on a full frame camera. This only affects the distance you need to be from your subject to achieve the 1:1 magnification ration. Or in other words the longer the focal length the further away you can be when taking the photo. The 100mm is normally the value most people find useful since it allows them to focus at around 30cm away from their subjects so on aquarium a longer lens is better if you are trying to take pictures of a shrimp on the back of the tank but at that point you have so many factors influencing the quality of the image that the sharpness of the lens becomes less important.


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## LondonDragon (12 Apr 2016)

Bacms said:


> Does it do that even when using high apertures Paulo?


Does it most of the times regardless, I tend to use manual but makes using a tripod impossible on manual focus!


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