I found this Nikon EM collecting dust in the closet and want to start using it mostly for close up work. I am a real rusty dusty novice so please bear with me, but my question is what would be a good lens to put on this camera to do close up of things such as flowers, insects and of course jewelry items for Ebay selling? I currently have a zoom lens (Sigma) on the camera.

Thanks in advance, Susan

-- Susan (susan@steveheller.com), October 28, 2000

Answers

In general, avoid most zooms. Many are so-called macro zooms, but don't allow truly close focusing.

All the Nikon single-focal-length Micro lenses (60, 105, 200 mm) have great reputations. Many people prefer the longer focal lengths for close-up work, because they allow you to be a little further away from the subject. This can help in not scaring off living subjects and not throwing unwanted shadows over them. One disadvantage of the longer lenses is cost, which goes up dramatically with focal length.

Although it is usually best to get the manufacturer's own lenses, there is a bit of an exception with the Vivitar 100mm 3.5 macro. It is very sharp and a real value, at half the cost of Nikon's shortest micro lens, and less than a third of the cost of Nikon's 105. It depends in part on your budget. It is not nearly as well built as the Nikon lenses, so that you might want to avoid it if you are rough on equipment. Because of its construction, however, it is marvelously light, in case that is important. You can look at the specifications of all of them at http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/

One final note: all the macro/micro (micro is just Nikon's terminology) lenses also work well for non macro photography as well.

-- Hector Javkin (h.javkin@ieee.org), October 28, 2000.

Hector is rigth, if you intend to buy a macro lens, If you havent done anything in that field (macro) and your not sure if you'll do it for long or is it just an itch you have to try, I would suggest going the cheap way. Get a close up lens for the sigma, sure, quality will be somewhat low in comparison to a macro lens, but if you find yourlesf not liking it too much you'll still have your money with you, and if you like it, then buy a macro lens.

For Ebay pics, I found my 100 2.8 (series E not macro) with a +1 or +2 CU lens does just fine, and the quality is not bad either. you could pick up a 50mm (cheap and always a good lens to have) and a CU lens.

Another thing to think of is MLU, I know EM doesnt have a real MLU (like F, F2.......) but in the FE/FM series there was a pseudo MLU when using timer function. the Mirror gets out of the way at the start of the cycle so its usefull for stationary objects, check the camera to see if it has that paseudo MLU.

Wish you most of luck

Diego K.

-- Diego K. (heuristica@yahoo.com), October 28, 2000.

There are four basic ways to get close: close-up filters, extension tubes, bellows, or a macro lens. The first three can be used with any lens, but in general you will get significantly better pictures with a fixed focus lens. I like tubes because they have no glass in them, are pretty cheap, and can be used with any lens. Others like the filters because they don't lose any light. Bellows are only really practical in a studio and require a bit of additional technique, so I'd give them a miss until you are a little more experienced.

My recommendation is to pick up a cheap prime lens (50/85/105 - something like that) and an extension tube. The macro lenses are great (I have a 105/2.8 AF lens that is quite astoundingly sharp, and works very well with my manual F3 body) but expensive. So, I'd play with a cheaper setup first before you spend a lot to get the convenience and sharpness of a dedicated macro lens.

You can find a great deal of information about all this in John Shaw's excellent book, Closeups in Nature. It was written a while ago when Shaw used Nikon manual gear, so it's actually perfect for you.

Good luck.

-- Oliver Sharp (osharp@greenspice.com), October 28, 2000.

One option that no-one else has mentioned yet is a macro-converter.
Vivitar used to make these things, and they were surprisingly good. A combination of tele converter and variable extension tube. They'd give 1:2 (1/2 life size) magnification with a 50mm standaed lens. You can still pick them up 2nd hand, and they're not half bad as a teleconverter either.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), October 30, 2000.