Macro camera equipment thoughts

FarmerTy

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I'm starting to realize my coral photo game is much behind others since I've been just using my smartphone.

I've researched a bit and looking to get a used Nikon D5300 and a Tamron 90mm macro lens.

Any suggestions on acquiring either? Any tips/tricks to getting the best deals?

I've heard that I don't really need autofocus as I'll be manually focusing 80% of the time anyways so buying an older model of Tamron 90mm or international version would work just fine and much cheaper. Is this true?

Also, the Nikon D5300 seems to hit the points I want at the price point I want as well. Having easily transferable pictures to my phone for posting is a must but I don't know what other features to look for if my main focus is going to be macro shots. Any advice is appreciated as well as other models I should maybe look at. I do like Nikon cameras as I've played with them the most and most familiar with their options so I'd like to stick with that brand if possible for suggestions but open to other brands if its a good value deal.

Thanks in advance for your time!

-Ty (camera newb)
 
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saltyfilmfolks

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I think that rig will work for you quite well.
If you find a good deal on the d7000 snag it.
The difference is in light sensitivity and color range. (No, all raws are not equal)
And the d7000 will let you use manual lenses as well as both types of nikon auto focus lenses.( Internal and external focus motors. )

The other crazy option is a mirroless camera and older manual only lenses. Sony and LUMIX would be my go tos there.
 
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FarmerTy

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I think that rig will work for you quite well.
If you find a good deal on the d7000 snag it.
The difference is in light sensitivity and color range. (No, all raws are not equal)
And the d7000 will let you use manual lenses as well as both types of nikon auto focus lenses.( Internal and external focus motors. )

The other crazy option is a mirroless camera and older manual only lenses. Sony and LUMIX would be my go tos there.
Thank you Saltyfilms!

I'm researching D7000 right now!
 
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FarmerTy

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So I've found some cheap international Tamron 90 macro lenses online. Anybody familiar enough with them to know if I should not buy one of the international versions versus a US version? Also, the newest Tamron 90mm has stabilization. Is it really that much of a big deal for stabilization? We're talking almost a $300-$400 diference here. I know its better weatherproofed as well but price point is substantially different.
 

saltyfilmfolks

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So I've found some cheap international Tamron 90 macro lenses online. Anybody familiar enough with them to know if I should not buy one of the international versions versus a US version? Also, the newest Tamron 90mm has stabilization. Is it really that much of a big deal for stabilization? We're talking almost a $300-$400 diference here. I know its better weatherproofed as well but price point is substantially different.
I use a 1967 Minolta Macro.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/saltyfilmfolks-my-pictures-thread.232226/

Looks like you might even be trading for corals though....:D
 
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BigJim

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So did you get the camera and lens? I am late to the party but I love my D7000. I use a Tokina 100mm macro lens. I also have a Nikkor 60mm but haven't figured out the combination to get great pictures with it yet.
 
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Hey BigJim,

Thanks for asking! I ended up swinging by the camera store with a photographer buddy of mine and ended getting this combo:

Nikon D5300
Tamron 90mm macro lens
35mm Nikon lens
55-200mm Nikon lens

I'm pretty happy with it so far. I'm an absolute noob with photography so get ready for some horribly framed shots with terrible lighting and ridiculously over exposed shots to be filling up my reef2reef build thread. The hope is they get better with lots of time and the insane amount of mistakes to learn from.

Here's a couple shots out of the 100s yesterday that I took that I wouldn't hide my head in shame if someone saw them.

IMG_20180314_235445.jpg


IMG_20180314_235053.jpg


IMG_20180314_193234.jpg


0315181044.jpg
 

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Hey BigJim,

Thanks for asking! I ended up swinging by the camera store with a photographer buddy of mine and ended getting this combo:

Nikon D5300
Tamron 90mm macro lens
35mm Nikon lens
55-200mm Nikon lens

I'm pretty happy with it so far. I'm an absolute noob with photography so get ready for some horribly framed shots with terrible lighting and ridiculously over exposed shots to be filling up my reef2reef build thread. The hope is they get better with lots of time and the insane amount of mistakes to learn from.

Here's a couple shots out of the 100s yesterday that I took that I wouldn't hide my head in shame if someone saw them.

IMG_20180314_235445.jpg


IMG_20180314_235053.jpg


IMG_20180314_193234.jpg


0315181044.jpg

Very nice for your first attempts. You might also want to look into a portal for top down shots. The focal length of the macro lens can make it a challenge getting the entire coral in focus, but the shots can be amazing once you get the hang of it.
 
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FarmerTy

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Very nice for your first attempts. You might also want to look into a portal for top down shots. The focal length of the macro lens can make it a challenge getting the entire coral in focus, but the shots can be amazing once you get the hang of it.
Thanks! Yes, I've been looking into the Avast Marine pothole to take shots with since we all know topdowns are some of the best shots of our corals.

I realized the focal issue when playing with the macro so I'll have to play around with the big 3 settings to see what I can capture as well as diving into shooting raw and using Lightroom/Photoshop to post process.

Thanks for the tips!
 

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I'm starting to realize my coral photo game is much behind others since I've been just using my smartphone.

I've researched a bit and looking to get a used Nikon D5300 and a Tamron 90mm macro lens.

Any suggestions on acquiring either? Any tips/tricks to getting the best deals?

I've heard that I don't really need autofocus as I'll be manually focusing 80% of the time anyways so buying an older model of Tamron 90mm or international version would work just fine and much cheaper. Is this true?

Also, the Nikon D5300 seems to hit the points I want at the price point I want as well. Having easily transferable pictures to my phone for posting is a must but I don't know what other features to look for if my main focus is going to be macro shots. Any advice is appreciated as well as other models I should maybe look at. I do like Nikon cameras as I've played with them the most and most familiar with their options so I'd like to stick with that brand if possible for suggestions but open to other brands if its a good value deal.

Thanks in advance for your time!

-Ty (camera newb)
Hi Ty,
First, your pictures (with smartphones???) are beautiful. And your video, man, I wish I can do what you did there (also smartphones???)
Second, good choice on the Nikon gigs. I know you will love them as I do. Most of my pictures I took with my old Nikon D3200. It will take a little practice for you to get used to it though, just don't give up.
I don't have micro lens (that's what they called on Nikon), but I did a trick: focus as close as you can, then drop the pic! Your D5200 has 24mp sensor, so there will a lot of room to drop the picture!
Here are some example I took with 18-55mm kit lens
DSC_1483.jpg

DSC_1486.jpg
 
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FarmerTy

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Hi Ty,
First, your pictures (with smartphones???) are beautiful. And your video, man, I wish I can do what you did there (also smartphones???)
Second, good choice on the Nikon gigs. I know you will love them as I do. Most of my pictures I took with my old Nikon D3200. It will take a little practice for you to get used to it though, just don't give up.
I don't have micro lens (that's what they called on Nikon), but I did a trick: focus as close as you can, then drop the pic! Your D5200 has 24mp sensor, so there will a lot of room to drop the picture!
Here are some example I took with 18-55mm kit lens
DSC_1483.jpg

DSC_1486.jpg

Hi Ty,
First, your pictures (with smartphones???) are beautiful. And your video, man, I wish I can do what you did there (also smartphones???)
Second, good choice on the Nikon gigs. I know you will love them as I do. Most of my pictures I took with my old Nikon D3200. It will take a little practice for you to get used to it though, just don't give up.
I don't have micro lens (that's what they called on Nikon), but I did a trick: focus as close as you can, then drop the pic! Your D5200 has 24mp sensor, so there will a lot of room to drop the picture!
Here are some example I took with 18-55mm kit lens
DSC_1483.jpg

DSC_1486.jpg

Hey Mr V! Thanks for the encouragement and tips! Yes, those old pics and videos were all with my cell phone. I'm clueless in the DSLR world so I really appreciate the advice. So when you say drop it, do you mean crop it?

I can't believe you take such amazing pictures without a macro lens even! That's awesome that you can do that. I'll have to try with a regular lens too as the macro is kicking my butt right now.
 

saltyfilmfolks

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You should be able to set your white balance manually to 10,000. Hopefully it’ll reduce the photoshop time.

Have fun. Nice score!
 
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FarmerTy

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You should be able to set your white balance manually to 10,000. Hopefully it’ll reduce the photoshop time.

Have fun. Nice score!
I tried to find it but couldn't find that option on the D5300. The best I got is a preset for sodium bulbs, 8k-9k roughly is what I found online.
 

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Hey Mr V! Thanks for the encouragement and tips! Yes, those old pics and videos were all with my cell phone. I'm clueless in the DSLR world so I really appreciate the advice. So when you say drop it, do you mean crop it?

I can't believe you take such amazing pictures without a macro lens even! That's awesome that you can do that. I'll have to try with a regular lens too as the macro is kicking my butt right now.


Oh yeah. I meant crop it. My English is bad. [emoji28]

You should be able to set your white balance manually to 10,000. Hopefully it’ll reduce the photoshop time.

Have fun. Nice score!

My old d3200 doesn’t have that option. And the custom white balance is a joke also. I think his d5200 is the same.

I tried to find it but couldn't find that option on the D5300. The best I got is a preset for sodium bulbs, 8k-9k roughly is what I found online.

Another trick is : set your lighting to 10k instead of you camera wb to 10k.
It will look ugly under your eyes, but will look realistic under your camera. Note that your camera wb still set at auto.
 

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I watched a youtube video tutorial to learn the setting on my camera. I find it easier to learn if I watch it while also following along on my camera. They also tend to leave out some of the details that I will never use from the manual.
 

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I tried to find it but couldn't find that option on the D5300. The best I got is a preset for sodium bulbs, 8k-9k roughly is what I found online.
Sodium should be orange. High temp mercury vapor would be my choice.
Also the shade setting might be worth a try.
 

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