Macro lens for a Nikon

[Gad-Westy]

I really fancy a macro lens at the moment.

The two that I really want are out of budget (Nikon 105mm and Sigma 150mm).

Realistically I can't spend more than £300 but I'm happy with used gear.

My options seems to be:

Sigma 105mm - Looks good but no AF on my D5000 from what I can tell. That's fine for Macro stuff but would mean that I would never use the lens for anything else. These seem to start at £250 used.

Tamron 90mm - Can get AF version for D5000. Good reviews. Have an option on one s/h for about £200 or start around £250 new. Not sure if 90mm is just a tiny bit short for insects etc..

Tokina 100mm - I like the look of this but they're too much new and I can't find a s/h one. Not sure if it will AF or not on my camera.

Nikon 60mm AF-S - Again I can get a s/h one of these for around £200 which seems a great price. I think it would make a good portrait lens as well which would be nice. Overall I think this is my favourite but my concern is that it won't have near sufficient range for insects, etc...

Any experiences/thoughts? Should I just keep saving for 105mm Nikon?

[Zaxxon]

I'm no expert but if you have two lenses you could try a Macro reversing ring for £10.00. I have ordered my equipment and it should turn up soon so I can let you know how it goes.

http://www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_I...

http://stephenelliot.com/2007/05/15/reverse-lens-m...

[Gad-Westy]

Zaxxon said:

I'm no expert but if you have two lenses you could try a Macro reversing ring for £10.00. I have ordered my equipment and it should turn up soon so I can let you know how it goes.

http://www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_I...

http://stephenelliot.com/2007/05/15/reverse-lens-m...

I have considered quite a few of the cut price macro options and being perfectly honest I've more or less concluded that I'll only be satisfied once I have a 'proper' 1:1 lens. It may sound slightly frivolous but I figure if I buy S/h I can always sell on again for minimal loss if I don't use it.

[Zaxxon]

Yeah fair one, I've gone cheap at first to see if I enjoy it.
My money is being saved up for a lens to take to Goodwood FOS and Duxford

[SamHH]

Go for one in the 100mm range (or longer). For most macro subjects, more working distance is better.

If you want to use it for non-macro subjects, then I think the Nikon AF-S would have the best autofocussing. If not, then autofocussing isn't really important and so any of them would be good (including the older Nikon AF model).