Coin Photography guy, which mm lens do you use?

seateddime

Are you better off with a 18mm-200mm lens or is there a better one?

I am moving from my trusted coolpix 4500 to the SLR world but the lens coming on the Nikon has no zoom at all.

Any advice?

notwilight

Most purpose built macro lenses are fixed focal length. I use 100mm for most coin photography. --Jerry

jessewvu

What Nikon lens are you getting? 18-55 or 55-200? You can spend some big bucks, ~400, and get a macro lens for your Nikon. I bought a D90 for coins but haven't really had time to play with it yet as far as coins go.

adamlaneus

Zoom is unimportant. Close focusing is important. That's why the photographers typically recommend "Macro" lenses, which are specifically built for focusing closely.

The Sigma 105mm macro lens is a good choice.

Before you spend $400 on another SLR lens, see what your kit lens can do. Set it to it's maximum zoom setting (largest number). Put it on manual focus and focus it as closely as you can go; move the camera to the appropriate location to get your coin in focus. If it is still too darn small, either crop the resultant image or get a macro lens.

Also, "close up" lenses can be an alternative. They are little "filter like things" that screw onto the front of your lens. I had one once; outgrew it in about 5 photos; I did not like the lack of quality. But that's because I expected rather alot.

drkilmer

I use a 105mm Nikkor for my coin photography. I have used it quite a bit for outdoor nature photography too, and it also makes for a fantastic portrait lens. I love it! Kinda pricey, but it actually is a pretty versatile lens.

fcloud

I use close up magifiers on my Nikon 18-55 mm for coin images.



I use a Sony Cyber-Shot 4.1 for my microscope work. This Sony works for me without any adaptors.

mgoodm3

A zoom lens won't perform as well as a fixed foca length macro lens.

100 is a good focal length. If you do a lot of small coins, 150 or 200 is good.

ldhair

I like the 150 macro the best but it requires a tall stand with large coins.

speety

I have both the 60mm and 100mm but use the 100mm almost exclusively. Only exception being group photos of multiple slabs....

slipgate

105mm VR Nikon Micro. Nice lense but very narrow field of focus and needs to be leveled with a level to get good results.

MikeInFL

In general, longer is better. I have had 60, 90, 100, and 200mm macro lenses over the years, and use the 200mm 99% of the time.

zeebob

I was lucky enough to have a buddy that has loaned me his 85MM Tilt and Shift Nikkor lens. I read about it in Mark Goodman's most excellent book. Mark suggested I use a 25mm extension tube and I couldn't be happier with the results.

messydesk

105mm/f4 manual focus Micro Nikkor ca. 1978. Zoom lenses are not going to perform as well as dedicated fixed focal length macro lenses when taking macro shots, ever.

OnWithTheHunt

<< <i>105mm/f4 manual focus Micro Nikkor ca. 1978. Zoom lenses are not going to perform as well as dedicated fixed focal length macro lenses when taking macro shots, ever. >>



What he said. You have to set the shutter speed manually on the older lenses to get the proper exposure and bracket, but it's pretty easy to get the hang of it.