Micro Lens for Nikon D5200

[Bulley61]

I am very keen to purchase a lens for macro work in the next week or so. I recently purchased a Nikon D5200 and have a keen interest in macro photography of insects and the like. I well understand that this new obsession of mine is quite expensive but I do not want to waste money only to upgrade later. I have a good quality tripod and would appreciate advice.

[JasonR]

Are you after lens advice or macro advice in general?
I have the tamron 90mm macro and think its great. I mainly shot reptiles so sometimes the focal length is a tad short depending on what im shooting. So i was looking at the 105mm nikkor.

[Wayne]

Nikkor AF200/4
There is no better macro lens for Nikon, period.

[arthurking83]

I think there are much better options for Nikon cameras than the old 200/4, and they will only manual focus on the D5200 as well.

Two best value for money lenses tho(if this is what you are after) are the Nikon 105/2.8 VR and the Sigma 150/2.8 with OS.

Both of those should cost a bit less than $1K and have all the modern fanfare, bells and whistles and ability to get all types of close up shots in a consistent manner.

While auto focus is not an important aspect of macro work, it is handy in a lot of close up situations.

I believe the Sigma150 can give slightly better image quality than the Nikon105 but it's a close call and your ability and technique will be more important in achieving high image quality.

Because the two lenses are so close in ability price and quality .. I'd lean more towards the Sigma simply because of it's extra focal length and thus longer working distance as magnification gets higher.

[Wayne]

AF200/4 =
Longer working distance
Zero distortion
Zero CA
Razor sharp
Built like a tank
No focus breathing
Built in tripod foot so all the weight isn't swinging off the mount

As mentioned AF is rarely going to be used at macro focus distances, and this is where the 200/4 excels, because of the way it is geared with the focus ring providing excellent feel and precise focus ability.

[Tommo1965]

OP

if you do go the sigma route.. don't forget that the Aussie importers will match any grey import price from the likes of DWI and Eglobal.....gotta love CR Kennedy for that ....

I agree with wayne......but also with Arthur if you will use the lens for other uses such as portraits etc....having said that the 200F4 AF lens which will have a effective FL of 300mm on the D5200 will need at least 1/350 sec shutter speeds as it does not have VR or OS..so the other newer lenses might suit lower light levels due to the lens stability Tech

pity you didn't get a D7000 as it can use the older AF lenses..

[Wayne]

Most true 1:1 will take place on a tripod if you are serious about being accurate with focus and DOF, so the normal rule of thumb for shutter speed when hand-holding becomes irrelevant Steve.

[Cage]

I have the Sigma 150/2.8 (non OS version but I shoot all my macro off a tripod anyway) and it is brutally sharp.

I had to stop using it to take shots when I was selling some camera gear because it was finding marks I couldn't even see.

It's also quite a handy short telephoto lens.

[Mathy]

I have the Nikkor 105/ f2.8 VR etc. The IQ of this lens is beautiful. However, the AF hunts like crazy in low light, even wide open. May not be a big deal if you're shooting Macro and don't need AF. If you do, I use a torch to provide illumination for the AF, as this lens appears to block out the AF light assist on the d3200, and I would assume it could be the same scenario with the d5299, cheers Deb