Just got in an old macro lens for my D70s

[priller]

It's a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Ai-S. Found it on eBay, in really excellent condition.

I knew it was going to be manual focus, which I didn't mind for macro shots, you kinda want to do it manually anyway. But I didn't realize that there's no metering with this kind of lens either. I just had to vary the shutter speed until I got the exposure right (based on the histogram).

I had also read that the DOF for this lens is paper-thin, but I didn't realize how literally true that is. You basically have to set the aperture to f/8 or smaller to get any DOF at all for closeup shots. Makes hand-held shots challenging.

But I think these virgin attempts look pretty good. Must be a *really* good lens!

[Blue_In_AK]

1. These are beautiful...

Looks like you got that depth of focus thing down. I have so much to learn in this area.

[Tallison]

2. Wow.

I still don't understand how macro works, especially in relation to specific focal lengths, but these pictures inspire me to learn more about them. Great focus and color saturation. What shutter and film speed did you wind up using? Any filters?

Did you have any trepidation about buying a lens off Ebay?

Congratulations on a great find! Props to the gardener, as well!

[priller]

3. Yeah, the macro stuff is kind of a mystery to me, too

It's a 105mm lens, which is like a short telephoto, and you can use the lens that way, but it's really optimized for close focusing. For example, the focus ring turns almost 360 degrees, so you have very fine control over focusing. And smooth as silk, too! But as to how it works, beats me.

For these pics, where it was overcast outside, they were shot at ISO 640, I believe, with aperture around f/8 to f/16, shutter speed in the 1/250-ish range. Unfortunately, with this old manual lens, the camera can't record some of the settings, so I'm going by memory.

The eBay seller I bought from had a good rating, many transactions, and large pictures of the actual lens, so I felt okay. But there's always that nagging doubt. The newer, auto-focus version of this lens was going for a lot more, so I got a good deal on this one.

From what I've read, this particular lens is very highly regarded amongst the Nikon cognoscenti, and just from my few examples, I have to agree. But it's quite "challenging" to use, I won't kid you about that. But I think that will only help my photography skills.

[CC]

4. Great pics and are you sure you are just

learning macro? Looks like you did get a very good lens there. As far as metering, you can always look for a light meter to help with settings though at least with digital you can use trial and error without costing you money. Now what kind of flower in pic one? I want some of those.

[priller]

5. Yes, rank beginner in macro

I give all the credit to the lens. Every time I look at the pictures I can't get over how clear they look. Beginner's luck.

From what I can tell, the flower is a "lantana camara", in an early stage of blooming.