Lenses?

[00zero00]

Im a beginner w/ photography and have been trying to become more experienced w/ practice. I own a Konica minolta z6 but want to upgrade to the nikon d50 for numerous reasons.. or thats what I have been researching latley, if you could give me a reason to seek something else then feel free, but so far thats were Im headed. What I mostly I need help is with lenses. Im used to a camera that has 'it does it for you type thing'. The camera allowed you as close 1cm away in macro mode.Had a (zoom) wide of 35mm and telephoto: of 420mm. With the d50 is there any one,two lesnes you could get for a resonable price that allowed for this type of room? (of such as the z6) Any help is greatly appreciated!

[K1W1]

For macro you will need a macro lens. You may not get to 1cm without spending huge dollars you you will certainly get macro.
Here is one option.

D50 with kit 18-55 lens (that's roughly 27-82 in 35mm terms) PLUS Sigma 70-300 APO DG lens. The APO lens is the equiv of 105-450 plus it has macro capability. This combination will leave a small hole between 55 and 70. I believe that the Sigma is arround US$199 in the USA.

Another option is to buy say the Sigma 18-125 or the Sigma 17-70 or the Nikon 18-70 DX lens as well as the 70-300 so you cover the whole range.

Others will no doubt have other suggestions.

[erichlund]

The other question is, do you want macro or closeup. Just because your Z6 could go to 1 cm did not mean it was actually a macro lens (but it might have been, I do not have that info). True macro is 1:1 or greater, where the subject fills the frame at life size or larger. So, with an APS-C camera, whose frame is about 24mm x 16mm, this would be the size of area you would record at 1:1 macro. I have a Nikkor 55mm micro lens with a magnification of 1:2, or half life size, so it's only a closeup lens.

Here's the thing: if you are a bug chaser, you probably want macro. For flowers, you can mostly get by with a closeup lens, because flowers are bigger than the sensor (generally).

In either case, when you print out an 8x10, your subject will still be larger than life. That Sigma, which calls itself Macro, is actually a closeup lens. I'm not sure whether it is 1:3 or 1:2. You'ld have to look that up or find out from someone here who has one.

If you want a true macro, there are lots of choices. Tokina makes a good one. Nikon makes good to incredible ones. The best of the Nikkors is the 200mm. Now it will only focus to 19.4cm, but it is 1:1 at that distance, which means it's great for bug chasers as you don't have to get too close. Of course, it's also incredibly expensive. The Nikkor 60mm and 105mm lenses are more affordable, both with 1:1, but relatively closer focus distance to get that ratio.

[00zero00]

Yea the camera has a macro mode and then super macro mode. Not really a bug chaser but it comes in handy alot.. but when I mentioned the 1cm, I meant to add thats how close the object could be to the lens. When I was looking at lenses thats were I became confused, when I thought of macro, I thought of being able to get close to the subject and that telephoto was for things at distance but gave you a closer view when using the corect lens.. basically zoom I guess.

[Prospero]

I have both the Sigma 17-70 and the Sigma 70-300. Both camera's have a macro mode. The Sigma 17-70 has a ratio of 1:2,3 while the Sigma 70-300 has a ratio of 1:2. The pictures you can take with these lenses lenses can therefore display a subject at roughly the same size.

With the 17-70 you can take pictures of subjects that are touching the front element of the lens. I use the macro mode of this lens mainly for flowers when I do not have to use flash. When you do use the on camera flash, the lens will cast an irrecoverable shadow over the subject. An advantage (or disadvantage depending on what is your intention) of this macro-mode is that it has a very shallow Depth of Field due to its close focusing distance.

Here's an example of a macro with the 17-70:



The 70-300 on the other hand takes pictures of subjects that are 95 cm from the sensor. Taking into account the length of the lens (24 cm when fully extended in macro mode) and that of the camera, it follows that you can take pictures of subjects about 65 cm from the front element of the lens. When taking shots of insects this is a big advantage, especially when they can sting . Also, with this macro mode you can take pictures of subjects while using the flash, which can come in handy when taking close-up shots indoors. The Depth of Field wide open is larger than with the 17-70.

Here's an example of a macro with the 70-300:

[D70FAN]

prospero, thanks for those excellent examples. The 9 bladed iris (aperture) on the 70-300 does a nice job on the bokeh. I thought that the min focus on the 17-70 was 8". Guess not.

What a great, low cost, 2 lens system netting 17-300 (@1.5X = 25.5-450).

Thanks for posting.

[K1W1]

Thanks for the post Prospero. I must admit that the Sigma 17-70 is high on my list as I work out what I want in the under 70mm range. I didn't realise that it was actually a macro lens. All the Sigma literature that I have seen says Macro like rather than Macro. Also, I have a question. Is the f2.8 only available at 17mm? I get that impression from reading the Sigma material.

[00zero00]

Thanks alot Prospero. The images give me a much better idea of the lenses.
I had made a list of what could be a possiblity and the Sigma 17-70mm was on it. I believe I have come to the conclusion of these three plus the 18-55mm that comes with the d50 : Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC (I was reading one of the forums that said it was good for versitilty), sIGMA 17-70MM F/2.8-4.5DC (for macro), and maybe a little later on the Nikkor 50mm F/1.8D AF (unless one of the lens I mentioned previously will work about the same.When I was reading about it, it mentioned it was really sharp and great for portraits. If anyone has any other sugestions please reply..

[rawpaw18]

Props to Prospero

That bug shot is awesome. You can see why that lens is recommended often,
coupled with your skill it makes a great shot.

[mkgago]

gorgeous shots, prospero!