d2mini
5000 Club Member
Hi all!
I get this question a lot.... "what lens (or macro lens) should I buy?"
So I figured I'd put together an easy to reference list of my personal favs.
If you are looking for your first lens, outside of the kit lens that may have come with your camera, I always suggest a good Macro lens.
My macros are by far my most used lenses when photographing my tanks because they are the most fun!!!
Here's my quick list broken down by popular camera systems.
Tamron 90mm 1:1
This is without a doubt, the best value in a macro lens!!!!! It's the one I recommend most often.
It's easily got 95% of the optical performance of the name brand lenses from Nikon and Canon but at half the price.
You would have to be doing some crazy pixel peeping to be able to see the difference.
IMO, it's probably the best performing third party lens, period, as far as being compared to its name brand cousins.
Tamron really hit it out of the park with this one.
For Nikon: https://amzn.to/2pkpFu2
For Canon: https://amzn.to/347MxLZ
For a little bit extra, you can get the "VC" version, which stands for Vibration Control.
This can help with hand-holding at low shutter speeds, giving you can extra stop or two. But I tend to turn this off whenever possible because it can cause the images to not be quite as razor-sharp as without. But it can come in handy sometimes so some people like the option of having it.
For Nikon: https://amzn.to/2pUJZlN
For Canon: https://amzn.to/2NcIRla
Nikon 105mm 2.8 VR
The Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm is a beautiful lens for full-frame Nikon shooters.
I shot with the Tamron above for many years and then finally decided to get this lens. As I stated earlier, you get a few % better optical quality, but you also get a better build quality and Nikon's VR (Vibration Reduction). But it's a little bigger and weighs twice as much as the Tamron. It also doesn't focus quite as close but that's due to having a longer focal length. The longer focal length may be a reason for you to choose this lens over the Tamron if you have a larger, deeper tank. If you must have the top name brand version of a lens and don't mind the longer focal length, this may be the lens for you. But even when I was shooting this lens, I still recommended the Tamron to most people.
Canon 100mm 2.8L
This is the one lens on this list that I can't PERSONALLY recommend, only because I do not own Canon cameras. But from everything I've heard and read, I would not hesitate to offer it as a great option to Canon shooters. Canon is known for its "L" lenses, so if you are a Canon shooter, this one is definitely worth a hard look.
Fuji 80mm 2.8 OIS Macro
I've recently made the switch from Nikon to Fuji and a large part of that decision was based on the performance of this lens. It is my new favorite macro lens, even more so than the Tamron. It's just stunning, and if you own a Fuji X camera, I would slap you silly if you did not purchase this lens. Sometimes, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between images coming out of this lens and any of the others mentioned, but when you get everything JUST right... O, M, G. The details it can resolve are just amazeballs.
Olympus 30mm 3.5 Macro
And finally, what's a list of anything without the underdog?
There aren't many Micro 4/3 shooters out there but there should be.
You get all the benefits of a DSLR in a tiny package. There are limitations, but it still beats the heck out of a phone or little point and shoot camera.
So for those on the fence, thinking about getting into a nice little DSLR camera system, the Olympus Micro 4/3 cameras are definitely worth a look.
There are not many options available for macro, but luckily Olympus makes their own and like their other pro glass, it's actually a really good performer.
This will give you more of a 60mm field of view when compared to full-frame 35mm systems.
Extension Tubes
It may be worth a look. It's a way to achieve closer focusing with standard lenses at a cheaper cost than buying a dedicated lense.
Some people like to use them as a way to see if they will shoot macro enough to make it worth the cost of purchasing an actual macro lens.
I do not have experience with extension tubes so I can not recommend any. If you do have experience in this area, feel free to talk about your findings in the comments below.
Below are some examples taken with the various lenses above (except the canon).
With most of these, I couldn't tell you which were taken with which camera and lens without looking at the EXIF data. Which says a lot. This means any of the lenses mentioned above (except for the canon in my case) are a solid choice. If anyone needs further assistance in this area, feel free to ask here or PM me. Good luck, and have fun!!!
I get this question a lot.... "what lens (or macro lens) should I buy?"
So I figured I'd put together an easy to reference list of my personal favs.
If you are looking for your first lens, outside of the kit lens that may have come with your camera, I always suggest a good Macro lens.
My macros are by far my most used lenses when photographing my tanks because they are the most fun!!!
Here's my quick list broken down by popular camera systems.
Tamron 90mm 1:1
This is without a doubt, the best value in a macro lens!!!!! It's the one I recommend most often.
It's easily got 95% of the optical performance of the name brand lenses from Nikon and Canon but at half the price.
You would have to be doing some crazy pixel peeping to be able to see the difference.
IMO, it's probably the best performing third party lens, period, as far as being compared to its name brand cousins.
Tamron really hit it out of the park with this one.
For Nikon: https://amzn.to/2pkpFu2
For Canon: https://amzn.to/347MxLZ
For a little bit extra, you can get the "VC" version, which stands for Vibration Control.
This can help with hand-holding at low shutter speeds, giving you can extra stop or two. But I tend to turn this off whenever possible because it can cause the images to not be quite as razor-sharp as without. But it can come in handy sometimes so some people like the option of having it.
For Nikon: https://amzn.to/2pUJZlN
For Canon: https://amzn.to/2NcIRla
Nikon 105mm 2.8 VR
The Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm is a beautiful lens for full-frame Nikon shooters.
I shot with the Tamron above for many years and then finally decided to get this lens. As I stated earlier, you get a few % better optical quality, but you also get a better build quality and Nikon's VR (Vibration Reduction). But it's a little bigger and weighs twice as much as the Tamron. It also doesn't focus quite as close but that's due to having a longer focal length. The longer focal length may be a reason for you to choose this lens over the Tamron if you have a larger, deeper tank. If you must have the top name brand version of a lens and don't mind the longer focal length, this may be the lens for you. But even when I was shooting this lens, I still recommended the Tamron to most people.
Canon 100mm 2.8L
This is the one lens on this list that I can't PERSONALLY recommend, only because I do not own Canon cameras. But from everything I've heard and read, I would not hesitate to offer it as a great option to Canon shooters. Canon is known for its "L" lenses, so if you are a Canon shooter, this one is definitely worth a hard look.
Fuji 80mm 2.8 OIS Macro
I've recently made the switch from Nikon to Fuji and a large part of that decision was based on the performance of this lens. It is my new favorite macro lens, even more so than the Tamron. It's just stunning, and if you own a Fuji X camera, I would slap you silly if you did not purchase this lens. Sometimes, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between images coming out of this lens and any of the others mentioned, but when you get everything JUST right... O, M, G. The details it can resolve are just amazeballs.
Olympus 30mm 3.5 Macro
And finally, what's a list of anything without the underdog?
There aren't many Micro 4/3 shooters out there but there should be.
You get all the benefits of a DSLR in a tiny package. There are limitations, but it still beats the heck out of a phone or little point and shoot camera.
So for those on the fence, thinking about getting into a nice little DSLR camera system, the Olympus Micro 4/3 cameras are definitely worth a look.
There are not many options available for macro, but luckily Olympus makes their own and like their other pro glass, it's actually a really good performer.
This will give you more of a 60mm field of view when compared to full-frame 35mm systems.
Extension Tubes
It may be worth a look. It's a way to achieve closer focusing with standard lenses at a cheaper cost than buying a dedicated lense.
Some people like to use them as a way to see if they will shoot macro enough to make it worth the cost of purchasing an actual macro lens.
I do not have experience with extension tubes so I can not recommend any. If you do have experience in this area, feel free to talk about your findings in the comments below.
Below are some examples taken with the various lenses above (except the canon).
With most of these, I couldn't tell you which were taken with which camera and lens without looking at the EXIF data. Which says a lot. This means any of the lenses mentioned above (except for the canon in my case) are a solid choice. If anyone needs further assistance in this area, feel free to ask here or PM me. Good luck, and have fun!!!
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