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I’m following this! I actually have the same camera 🙂 and I’m interested in hearing about good macro lenses too.
-LeanneFor those reading this wondering exactly what a macro lens is, a true macro lens allows you to fill the frame with an object the size of your sensor or smaller. We call that a 1:1 magnification. On a crop-frame camera such as the D5300 that means a nickel would be cropped off at the top and bottom of a photo and a quarter would be cropped on the sides as well.
Unless you are planning on getting a new lens for other things as well, you should look into extension tubes. The manual ones (which remove all automatic functions of your lens) are in the 25US$ range, the automatic ones more around 120USD$. Basically they force the lens to focus closer, which allows you to get closer and thus get more magnification. The manual ones are a really cheap way of getting into macro photography if you are up for the challenge. I have even seen people make one from PVC pipe… not recommended. 🙂
You can also reverse a wide-angle lens to do macro photography. You can also combine extension tubes and reversed lenses. Take a look at this post for a real macro photography enthusiast’s setup: https://www.lenspiration.com/forums/topic/snowflakes-2/#post-15219
As far as I have seen, “micro lens” is not a technical term, but Nikon does stick the term on to some of their macro lenses.
Thanks for sharing that, @dfrazer!
@eagleeye, if you’re on the webinar tomorrow night, that would be a great time to drop additional comments in the question area for James to address while you’re there live!Ok @eagleeye, thank you for your patience! After the webinar I did some research and have come up with the following conclusions that I hope will help you land on which macro lens will best fit your needs.
First, as @dfrazer mentioned, what makes a macro lens a macro lens is that it can focus on a subject 1:1 at it’s minimum focus distance. But the space needed between you and the subject changes based on the focal length of the lens. With a 35mm macro lens, you have a working distance (the space between the front of the lens and the subject) of less than 2cm! However, a focal length of 100mm is going to give you a working distance of more like 15cm. Both will create a 1:1 photo of your subject, but the longer the focal length, the more space you have to work with between you and the subject. This is why I think the popular macro focal length range is between 60-100mm. There’s more space to work with skittish critters or various lighting setups. (More on this first point here: https://digital-photography-school.com/working-different-focal-lengths-macro-photography/)
However, you should keep in mind that field of view with a macro lens works exactly the same as any other lens. The wider your lens, the more background you’re going to see. The more telephoto the lens, the less background you’re going to see. So, with something like the Laowa 15mm macro lens, you’re going to be able to get epic landscape photos with tiny foreground objects appearing ginormous. Of course, you’ll have an extremely tight working distance, but you’re going to get out of the ordinary perspectives. On the other hand, a regular 100mm macro lens will render backgrounds more like what you’re used to seeing in macro photography. (More about that in this extremely helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJXDVDXvD44)
Something else to think about is “multi-purpose”. You don’t have to use a macro lens just for macro photos. They work like any other lens. So, if you’re looking for a good portrait lens, then perhaps you could kill two birds with one stone by getting a macro lens in the 80-150mm range. Now, keep in mind that true 1:1 macro lenses (as far as I know) are only prime. If there’s even such a thing as a zoom macro lens, then it would probably be very expensive. But of course, there are zoom lenses that could provide a magnification ratio that’s good enough. Like 1:2 or 1:4. But that would only be if multi-purpose is high on your priority list.
So, having said that, I think any other considerations would simply be what you would consider for any other lens! Like sharpness, distortion, bokeh, brand, build quality, etc.
For a head-to-head comparison on 6 affordable macro lenses, you take a look at this excellent article: https://photographylife.com/the-best-macro-lenses-for-nikon
And let me know if you have any follow up questions! Would love to hear what you decide on getting.
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