Help deciding on a Macro Lens for Nikon D3500

Nburg's Reef · May 1, 2019

I just got a Nikon D3500 and would like to get a macro lens to take pics of coral etc. I got the D3500 kit from costco which includes 2 lenses which are fine for general photos, but neither are great for macro shooting. Granted I am new to DLSR shooting, so some of the terminology is beyond me at this point, but I would like some advice on a good macro lens to buy, preferably used, that would be a good all purpose tank lens. I was reading about the Tamron 90mm, but some are saying its good for top down, sandbed shots, but a 60mm might be better for frontal shots and frag tank shots. I have a red sea reefer 450, so I'm looking at about 20" of water max, but most would be about 14-8" deep. And I doubt I would do a lot of top-down shooting right now except for my very shallow frag tank.

Also, the camera's specs say "Autofocus is available with AF-P and type E and G AF-S lenses". Would I want a macro lense with autofocus, or should I just get a manual focus?

tenurepro · May 1, 2019

I have a similar tank in terms of depth (reefer 250) and a Nikon dslr as well.
For some ideas on what the focal lengths will look like, see this video
(it is a long video so skip over to relevant sections)
There are examples of shots taken with a 40mm, 60mm, 105 mm and 200 mm macro
I think 60mm is a good all round length. 100 mm will give you great details on polyps but will not be able to take pictures of colony’s from the top

Nburg's Reef · May 1, 2019

tenurepro said:
I have a similar tank in terms of depth (reefer 250) and a Nikon dslr as well.
For some ideas on what the focal lengths will look like, see this video
(it is a long video so skip over to relevant sections)
There are examples of shots taken with a 40mm, 60mm, 105 mm and 200 mm macro
I think 60mm is a good all round length. 100 mm will give you great details on polyps but will not be able to take pictures of colony’s from the top

Thanks I'll take a look. What should I be looking for as far as lens mounting type?

PatW · May 1, 2019

A 60 mm lens requires you to get way to close for “true macro” shots to be practical. True macro means the image is life size on your sensor and since the sensor is small, that is really close. Even with a full frame DSLR, I could not fit a whole fish onto my sensor.... even a small one. A small frag, yes. But not a fish.

I would suggest for close up work, a 90 -105 macro lens would be more productive. You could get pretty close up shots from a decent range. Nikon and Canon make great macro 105 mm lenses but for a price. Tamron, Tokina and Sigma all make reallly good macro lenses for about half the price.

You might try going to KEH on line and seeing if you can pick up a used macro lens. You can often get a nice lens for way below new.