Macro choice question..

[William james]

Thoughts on the choice here...

 

Fuji 60 macro,  or the Nikkor 105 Macro with an adapter, to go on a XT-1?   (I have the Nikkor currently as a holdover from my Nikon set that I'm shedding).

 

No AF with the Nikkor isn't so much an issue for macro work, but wondering which will be sharper, and if there's any other issues..

[William james]

Hi

I have the 60 mm, it's very sharp but not 1 to 1 macro, so I bought an addaptor ring from Amazon for £40 and use my tamron 90 Nikon fit macro. This gets me true macro of 1 to 1

When the 120 mm macro is launched I will trade in my Fuji 60 and the tamron, I know it will be a much better lens.

I also have the extension tubes, and find the lens that works best with these is the 18-55 because I can use zoom to focus,,,, works well for me.

Let me know

Billy

[MSW]

Thoughts on the choice here...

 

Fuji 60 macro,  or the Nikkor 105 Macro with an adapter, to go on a XT-1?   (I have the Nikkor currently as a holdover from my Nikon set that I'm shedding).

 

No AF with the Nikkor isn't so much an issue for macro work, but wondering which will be sharper, and if there's any other issues..

 

I you want it near exclusively for macro and you are fairly hardcore about the macro go with the Nikon 105mm.  But get and older model not the current "G" version which costs more and doesn't have an aperture ring.  If you are more interested in "very close up" rather than "seriously macro" go with the Fuji 60mm as it is much more versatile as well as lighter and smaller and has AF.

 

I find the 60mm is all I need most of the time but I use a 105mm AF-D occasionally (the only thing Nikon I did not sell) and discovered with the help of Reikan's FoCal software that max sharpness is at F/14 not F/8 as is commonly assumed.  If this is not a fluke but is true of all AF-Ds or even other versions it is worth knowing sind DoF is a big deal when doing macro.

 

Don't entirely dismiss the 1:2 max magnification on the Fuji.  That,s what the early Nikon 105mm Micro had (I think they came with an optional extension ring).  Fuji 1:1 came later.

[frod]

Personally I'd buy a D3200 for that lens, if you're serious about macro. There's no size/weight benefit with fuji when you're lugging a tripod and focussing rail around.

[merosen]

I remeber reading a Kodak publication in the 1980s that defined macro as ½ life size or greater

Edited March 15, 2016 by merosen