Need a Macro lens for the Nikon D7000

Saaron

Hi guys,

Looking for some advice here. I currently have a Nikon D7000 with the kit lens, however as I'm in my final year of college I need to build a portfolio with photos of my work.

I'll mainly be taking photos of teeth, like crowns, veneers, bridges etc. which are very small. Because a huge part of my degree is graded on the photos and quality of my portfolio I need to be able to get really good close-up photos of my work to capture the detail and colour.

As I'm a student I don't really have a huge budget. I can stretch to about €200 which may not really be enough.

I'd really appreciate some advice on lenses that would be good as I'm not very good with this sort of stuff.

Thank you!!

intolerant

I had a 7000 and used a beautiful macro on it. It was a Sigma 105mm 2.8 and was pin sharp. It is perfect for such work and can be seen for sale the odd time on adverts etc. Saw one recently for sale so if I find it ill repost here!

Nforce

Get a Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens and some cheap ebay macro tubes. Results can be quite decent, and the combination will be easily got within budget (maybe enough to get a cheap ring flash).

asark

instead of getting expensive Macro lenses you can get Extension Tubes. Do a search for "Kenko Automatic Extension Tube Set". There are good few tutorials on youtube how to use them.

asark

Kenko brand Extension Tube Set will cost you around 120 E, but you can get cheaper ones from other brands, just make sure they work with AF with your camera.

Logie-1

i recently bought a Tamron 90 2.8 1.1 macro from e-global for £205, might be a small bit above your budget but definitely good value.

Saaron

Logie-1 wrote: »

i recently bought a Tamron 90 2.8 1.1 macro from e-global for £205, might be a small bit above your budget but definitely good value.

Is that website reliable to buy from?

pixbyjohn

Saaron wrote: »

Is that website reliable to buy from?

Where are you based. I would loan you a 50mm prime lens which has an aperture ring and also I have a set of macro tubes. Best way to use these together is with manual focus and you can set the aperture by turning the ring on the lens. I live in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. After you use them then decide if that is suitable for your needs or maybe you will want to buy a dedicated macro lens.
I am not selling the lens or tubes but you may borrow them to try.

Saaron

Hi guys, just a quick update.

I had been using the college's Canon 5D with a Canon 100mm Macro lens until I could find something that would work for me. Having saved up a bit of money I ended up getting the Tamron 90mm USD lens which seems to be decent enough. Not as good as the Canon but still very nice and will be fun to use outside of college as well.

I chose not to go with the older version as it didn't internally focus and because I'll be taking close-ups of stone models I was worried the lens may hit off my subject.

Thanks to all who commented and also to pixbyjohn who offered to lend me some of his equipment!

Gehad_JoyRider

105 sigma is a beast of a lens for macro I cant not recommend it enough, we use it for shooting art work and never once had a problem with it. These shots are then taken to a stock agencey who never have had a problem with them. Very very underrated lens.