Hello all.
Quick question. I am soon going to purchase a Macro lens primarily for insect photography. My heart was set on the Nikon 105mm but at nearly £750 it's a bit steep. I was thinking of buying the Sigma equivalent and wondered if anybody has this lens, knows somebody who has it or knows of any problems associated with it. at £372 it's quite a bit cheaper than the Nikon but still expensive enough to not want to rush in.
Any info would be much appreciated.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-105mm-Mac ... 948&sr=8-1
New lens
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ChrisLilley
- Posts: 674
- Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 6:12 am
- Location: Nice, France (I'm British)
For an AF-S lens, the extension ring needs to have electronic couplings to retain autofocus and metering (and VR, if it has that).Mogie wrote: I've noticed with the extension rings manual focus is required. Is this only a problem with the cheaper models or can you get rings which allow auto focus?
For an AF-D or AF lens, the extension ring needs to have a connection for the 'screwdriver' (mechanical) focus coupling, to retain autofocus. To retain metering, it needs either the electronic coupling or, for higher end cameras, it can also use the mechanical Aperture Indexing (AI) for metering.
For an AI or AI lens, the extension ring needs to have AI coupling to get metering and your camera needs to be AI compatible. And there is no autofocus as these are manual focus lenses.
(In answer to your earlier question, I have no experience with the Sigma 105mm lens and can't help there, sorry).
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ChrisLilley
- Posts: 674
- Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 6:12 am
- Location: Nice, France (I'm British)
And that reminds me of the other question I was going to ask ... "which camera".Mogie wrote:Thanks Chris,
Just did a bit of digging around online and found some more expensive rings which would allow auto focus with my D300.
OK so with a D300 you have compatibility with three generations of lenses - the AF-S (and VR) fully electronic no-aperture-ring ones, the AF and AF-D lenses, and the AI/AIS lenses.
It is arguable whether VR really helps at macro distances. Autofocus may or may not help. So one way to save money is to look for an AF or AF-D Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 (slower autofocus, no VR) or AIS Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 or 105/4 (manual focus).
As an example, I bought a Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/4 AIS in 2009 for around 150 euro (£125).
Mogie,
Sigma is a good alternative for Nikon, optically, it is hard to notice any difference. The build quality is the reason why it is so much cheaper. But if you are not a pro, using your equipment on a daily basis, I would say go for the sigma without hesitation.
About autofocus and macro, if you are using rings, you do not need autofocus anyway. Learn to use manual focus in combination with moving your camera back and forth to find the focus. It is a much better way of working and the final result will be better. You will learn to focus on the important areas in the image instead of what the focus brackets dictate you.
Rollin
Sigma is a good alternative for Nikon, optically, it is hard to notice any difference. The build quality is the reason why it is so much cheaper. But if you are not a pro, using your equipment on a daily basis, I would say go for the sigma without hesitation.
About autofocus and macro, if you are using rings, you do not need autofocus anyway. Learn to use manual focus in combination with moving your camera back and forth to find the focus. It is a much better way of working and the final result will be better. You will learn to focus on the important areas in the image instead of what the focus brackets dictate you.
Rollin