Nikon Lens For Close-Ups

[GregC]

Hi,
I have a Nikon D50 at the moment but only have a Tamron 28-300 lens. Great for landscapes and whatever but a right pain in the proverbial when taking close-ups of the tank.
Can anyone recommend a good lens for a Nikon that wouldn't break the bank, anything under £100 would be affordable.
Cheers
Greg

[Reef bloke]

Not sure if you will get anything under a oner for macro.You could try macro rings and something like a 50mm lens.If buying a dedicated macro lens then the Tamron 90mm macro would be a very good choice.

[GregC]

What's a macro ring?
Could you recommend one for a Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens? was planning on getting one of these sometime anyway.

[Reef bloke]

Sorry i meant macro tubes/extension tubes as in
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Macro-Extension-Ring-For-Nikon-DLSR-SLR-EF_W0QQitemZ160268754428QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p32 86.m20.l1116
You could also try a reversing ring on the 50mm.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Macro-Reverse-Ring-for-Nikon-D300-D80-D70s-D40-D2x-55mm_W0QQitemZ350090588468QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item 350090588468&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C24 0%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[BadgerGaz]

Try googling for "extension tube". These go between the lens and camera body, spacing the lens from the body thereby increasing focal length. They often come in a set of different lengths so you can choose how much the lens is spaced from the camera.

Some will let you keep autofocus & metering (they have the electrical connections between lens and camera) and some won't so you would have to shoot fully manual. This might also depend on the specific camera and lens you're using so I'd check with the shop.

I think a company called Kenko do some tubes for Nikon that have the connections, not sure if they'll work with your camera / lens combo though.

They're a reasonable way of getting cheap macro and an interesting piece of equipment to have if you're interested in photography.

I love this photo which was taken using 3 extension tubes and two lenses :cool:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bksecretphoto/361697264/

[GregC]

I love this photo which was taken using 3 extension tubes and two lenses :cool:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bksecretphoto/361697264/

:eek: This photo is amazing! I've not seen anything like it before!

Sorry i meant macro tubes/extension tubes as in
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Macro-Extension-Ring-For-Nikon-DLSR-SLR-EF_W0QQitemZ160268754428QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p32 86.m20.l1116
You could also try a reversing ring on the 50mm.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Macro-Reverse-Ring-for-Nikon-D300-D80-D70s-D40-D2x-55mm_W0QQitemZ350090588468QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item 350090588468&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C24 0%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Thanks for your advice, off to town now to see what Jessops can offer!

[GregC]

Scratch that, I'm getting those off eBay.
The official Nikon ones with AF are tres tres expensive!

[hairyduck]

af is useless when doing close up macro, I just use a set of nikon manual tubes but as there's no lenses in them any make will probably work just as well

[Wombat]

You could look round for the old sigma 60mm macro second hand you might get one for around £100

[GregC]

Cheers for all the advice.
Just received a set of extension tubes today which are great with a 50mm fixed lens.
The photos of the individual clowns here (http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2175889#post2175889) were taken with these.
Thanks again,
Greg

[KROS]

if you dont mind doing everything manually (metering and focussing) then theres nothing stopping you looking at the AI-S range of manual lenses from nikon, some reet bargains around!