Macro lens questions

I have a nikon d5200 camera and was looking into the Nikon - AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Macro Lens. Just wondering if this is a good lens for this camera if one is wanting to do good coin photography. I know I CAN save money buying used but not too interested in something used because you never know. But if there's a better alternative in something that's easy to use I'm welcome to recommendations. It's going to be a bit yet before I pull the trigger.

 

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It's a reported excellent lens. The camera and macro lens will need a good adjustable support so you can work with it well, and if the cost doesn't such, it's a personal decision. I am testing a tamron lens almost a clone of yours and its price is similar and very temping. Old enlargers often can be converted to excellent stands for macro photography. Jim

 

I was going to get a good tripod with lateral arm to work with.

 

I bought my ex-girlfriend a Nikon camera and macro lens about 3 years ago. Yes in hide sight I will never buy a girlfriend such an expensive gift ever again. Her macro lens produced some of thee best close up photos I have ever seen for my coins. Yes the Nikon lens are very expensive, but probably the best quality lens out there.

 

I have a very similar setup, with a copy stand to hold the camera in place. I've been quite happy.

 

Macro lenses are the way to go and 100mm is the shortest I would recommend since you want to be far enough from the coin to avoid shadowing it with the camera. I know nothing about Nikon since I have Canon cameras but these are with the Canon 100 macro. Just be sure the lens you choose is fully compatible with the camera body you have. Each company has more than one mount variation. The insets below are from the full size images that were reduced to produce the top pair.

 

I use a Nikkor 60mm Macro lens with my Nikon D90.
Like others have said, the 105mm Macro is better, at least in part because it affords you more room for lighting.
My 60mm Macro has always given me grief on that account.
And I can't get the real close-ups that a 105mm affords.
But for my purposes the 60mm is okay.

And Nikkor(?) has a 155mm out there too, I believe.

 

I bought the same lens back in 2009, used it a few months, and it has sat on the shelf since then. It's big, heavy, and because it doesn't have a tripod mount, you must mount your camera to the copy stand. This causes the camera to droop a bit, and the weight causes the whole system to have a long response time to any vibration or bumping. The large size makes getting light on the coin very difficult, though not impossible if you are willing to make specialized fixtures.

The 105VR, like all dedicated macro lenses which can reach 1:1, shortens focal length as magnification approaches 1:1. In particular, the 105VR is aggressive with this, shortening to ~60mm at 1:1. This further compromises working distance, making lighting even more difficult for small coins.

Luckily, your camera is an APS-C "crop sensor" type, so you can fill the sensor with small coins. But if you ever upgrade to a full-frame camera someday, the 105VR (indeed all 1:1 macro lenses) will not be able to take advantage of the full-frame sensor. Even for Dimes, which are 18mm diameter, you will only be able to fill 75% of the sensor height. If you're into Half Dimes or Gold Dollars, it's only 65%, and God forbid you are into Trimes or anything smaller, you can only fill 58% of the sensor. So while you're paying a lot more money for the 105VR's full-frame capability, it's not a great lens for shooting small coins on full-frame.

 

Since I don't really need AF or AE when using the camera on a copy stand, some time ago I bought an old manual 105mm Micro-Nikkor. cost about 95$ at the time. Use it on a D40 body.

 

I've got that lens and have been totally happy with it's performance.

 

Pardon my ignorance on the subject. I am starting to look at lenses for projects I have in the works. So this thread is perfectly timed.

I was looking at a 40mm macro lens, which is considerably less expensive. This makes me wonder what the difference in these two lenses (40mm v 100mm) are, and where is the line between value and overkill?

 

How about if you go DX?

 

The Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Macro Lens is an excellent Lens; I use it and a Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1.35-5.6 G II ED Zoom Macro Lens with my Nikon D7100 on a Copy Stand to take all of my coin, document, jewelry, stamp and other small item photos. I also use a Vello Extension Tube Set (permits up to about 3.5X magnification) so that I can get intermediate magnifications, and also stay further away from the item so that the lighting can be more easily controlled for the effect that I want. I would also strongly suggest that you get a decent quality Circular Polarizing Filter--it will both protect the lens glass from dust and scratches, and will help to minimize reflections from glare off a coin slab or other reflective surface. As for lighting, incident 45-degree lighting from 2 sources will usually work for most subjects; as you can see from the attached photos a light that can be mounted nearly vertical will permit you to photograph--with some adjustment for inclination of the coin--proof surfaces so that you get that black background of the fields, and also other effects of shadow versus lighter areas. I highly recommend a book entitled "Numismatic Photography" 2nd edition by Mark Goodman; it is very practical and gives excellent recommendations for good coin photography.

 

The 40mm is sharper than the 105mm, but the working distance is even smaller, so high-angle lighting is harder to achieve.

The OP is doing DX.

Mark recommends high angle lighting. 45-deg is too low, and produces strong reflections off the edges of the features, as can be seen in your Live View image. The effect is a dark-light-dark transition on every edge, which is undesirable.

 

The lighting on my setup is adjustable, as can be seen if you examine the fixtures, and I did mention lighting that is nearly vertical (i.e. High Angle) which I also have on my setup. It just happens that the photo I used to show the setup had had a coin that I wished to show the edges of the details on and is not indicative of what all my coin photos look like. If one doesn't have a Copy Stand and still wishes to use a DSLR with Macro lens to take closeups, a reasonable setup would be a Tripod with a Head that can be rotated 90-degrees down and a pair of Light Stands, which for the angle that would be effective to illuminate a coin without casting shadows or being blocked by the lens/lens hood, and for being close enough to provide sufficient illumination for the exposure, could approximate 45 degrees.

 

But when you are shooting small coins with the 105VR, it is difficult to achieve high angle lighting. Only way to do it is to place the lights between the coin and the lens, and this can be very problematic. Special fixtures can be made of course, and this is a good solution, but most folks don't know this is needed or how to make them, and the info is not easy to find online.

What do you mean by "light stands" .

You are still talking about "45 degrees" like it is a good thing. It is not.

 

rmpsrpms--to answer your question, below is an image of a typical pair of Light Stands; they come either with or without Heads (you can get the Reflector with a socket for standard incandescent or fluorescent lamps, or you can substitute an LED Array Head) and in different adjustable height ranges:




We're not really in disagreement over the subject of High Angle lighting; it's just my opinion that most collectors that wish to take photos of their coins don't have a Copy Stand and DSLR with Macro lens at their disposal, and therefore could not use a lighting source such as the Omano (OMLED-DP6W LED Dual Gooseneck Pole Mount Light) that I use for most of the High Angle lighting shots that I take, or a Macro Ring Light (which is probably the best source to use for consistent, professional results). I also use supplemental goosneck-mount LED lights that I can angle below the plane of the Macro Lens if the distance to the subject is too close for the Omano lights to provide illumination, but this is because my setup is configured for these supplemental lights and ALL are variable with the use of dimmers--a custom configuration that is not turnkey available in the marketplace. Using Lens Extension Tubes allows for a further standoff distance from the focal plane, but again one needs a camera that has a removable lens mount and requires a Tripod or Copy stand for steadiness. Another trick that I use which eliminates a lot of height adjustments of the camera itself which also saves wear-and-tear on the copy stand and also much refocusing of the lens when I change specimens or magnification--and to also tilt the coin for certain effects (e.g. for proofs, or to better show die cracks, etc.)--is to use a Scissor Jack Lifting Table (shown in the 1st photo).

Many of the photos that I see posted herein and on other coin blogs are taken with a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera which either relies on the built-in LED or Flashtube for the exposure. For those that want to use a light source that can be adjusted in height and angle of declination--and that can also be used for general photography such as photos for items to be sold on eBay, etc.--the pictured Light Stands are a rather low-cost solution; before I invested in the components to make my Copy Stand setup in 2013, I had used a Canon Powershot A610 (a point-and-shoot camera), a tripod, and these light Stands to take photos for the items that I was selling on eBay, including raw and slabbed coins. With proper adjustment of the Light Stand(s) Head angle, height, distance from the subject, and usually with natural lighting from a window, good photos can be taken--even Macro photos within the limitation of the camera focal range.

 

The 105 is a great choice. A lot of folks use it. I went with the Sigma 150 macro. It needs a strong copy stand. It gave me a lot of room between the lens and the coin to play with the lighting. The only bad thing is you may need a step stool to get your eye to the view finder.

 

The Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Macro Lens is the sharpest Nikon lens I have - and I have over 10 lenses (excluding the Nikon Z lenses). While this is not based on objective measurements, I feel sure you would like this lens.