Newbie advice

Pest

Pest

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2
Name
Chris
Edit My Images
Yes
First of all hello everyone
New to photography
Looking to try macro
Previous experience is limited to an iphone
Looking at this camera and lens.
Nikon D3500
Nikon AF-S VR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Research seems to suggest this is a good choice
Open to suggestions and above all advice
Regards
Chris
 
flook999 said:
This lens has a minimum focusing distance of 90cm, it's not a macro lens I don't believe
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No it's one of Nikon's Micro (macro) lenses and has a full 1:1 replication at 31cm which is a decent working distance, and with a bit of care you can get close to insects if that's your bag.

OP, if you want a cheaper option take a look at the Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro, but make sure it's the OS HSM version. It's an excellent lens imo, I was very happy with mine.
 
flook999 said:
apologies, 90cm sounds a long way out for a macro lens
Click to expand...

I think the minimum focus distance is 31.4 cm. Googling should lead anyone interested to the specs.

Just a quick thought... As macro is usually done using manual focus a manual lens could be an option as they're sometimes cheaper but of course if you go for a manual focus lens you don't have auto focus for the times you'd like to use it. And yet another thought, if just getting into this I personally would go the mirrorless route for all of the new abilities including the ability to manually focus very accurately using the magnified view option.
 
Write to them, maybe they'll give you a freebee for pointing out a mistake? :D
 
I got these recommendations from techradar
 
For macro I'd suggest mirrorless e.g. Sony A6000 or successors, M4/3 or Fuji.
When getting closer to your subject and increased magnification you "loose" light @ 1:1 youve lost 2stops so your f/2,8 is reduced to f/5,6.
Add to this a dramatically reduced debth of field which youll counter by stopping down a few stops. In an optimal viewfinder seeing what youve then got is very difficult whereas the electronic viewfinder in a mirrorless let you compose stopped down even @ f/22 (though not a recomended apperture)

The 105 nikor is a great lens as is its predecessor but there are plenty of options in both the 50-60mm and the 90-105mm range. I've just ordered the Laowa 65mm 2x macro for my Fuji. Sigh delivery delayed.

A thing to keep in mind is a large working distance is not always good. You may want to shoot e.g. fungi in tight places where a Shorter focal lenght is preferable.
Insects are not always best at 1:1 often something like a telezoom on a couple of extension tubes is a very good option for butterflies and dragonflies.

You may find your shutterspeeds get very long or you need high ISO or light.
 
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