nikon slrs

[Uncle Sal]

Anyone using Nikon's 60mm macro lense?

Also what exactly does a teleconverter do? Can I use it with a 18-70mm-af lense(which comes with the d70) Does a teleconverter magnify what my lense is seeing?

Sorry for all the questions.

regards Sal

[kyle1745]

A teleconverter will make things closer to you, but will also not allow you to focus on things as close. For frog shots it maybe a better idea to look into closeup filters. Hoya makes a set for $50 or so and they were great for the money. Other than that you may want to look into a 100mm Macro lens, but they are not cheap.

[Uncle Sal]

like these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 52356&rd=1

I may give them a try.

[kyle1745]

Ya like those, are they the multicoated ones? The multicoated ones are a little better and about $5 more. I would just look B&H or adorama they are not that much. Just a bit safer than ebay or used.

[yuri]

I have used this lens in the past, it is very nice. I am pretty sure Nikon has made it hard (impossible) to use this lens with their teleconverters. You may have much better luck going with a third party teleconverter (e.g. Sigma, Tamron, Tokina etc.).

With the 60 Nikon macro, your working distance is just shy of 9 inches when focused down to 1:1 (lifesize). So, if you want to photograph something lifesize using a film camera, you have to 9 inches away, which is kind of close when talking about poison arrow frogs. If you need more working distance, consider the Nikon 105 micro-nikkor, which gives you 12 inches of working distnce at 1:1. The other advantge of a longer focal length is that it will give you a more isolated effect - associated with telephoto lenses. The 60 actually becomes a little wider the closer you focus it, so you will be incorporting more of the background (which is susally less desireable).

Quite a few 105s show up used at http://www.keh.com (I've purchased from them on several occaisions and they have a solid reputation for close to 20 years).

Teleconverters use optical elements to increase the magnification of the lens, that is why people use them. If you could attach a teleconverter to a 60mm lens you would get an 84mm with a 1.4X converter and a 120mm with a 2.0X converter (focused at infinity). So, your working distance is maintained, while your magnification increases.

The use of extension tubes allows for closer focusing, increasing magnification without the use of optical elements, but it also means you will have to be much closer for more magnification. You basically put a hollow spacer between the camera body and the lens. The length of the extension tubes determines how close you can focus.

Teleconverter - glass used to increase magnification while maintaining distance.

Extension tube - hollow spacer used to allow closer focusing.

Now to make it more complicated, you can use extension tubes in conjunction with teleconverters. On the Canon system you can even stack teleconverters by using an extension tube (e.g. stack a 1.4X converter on an extension tube on top of a 2.0X converter on top of your lens - works with some lenses).

Yuri

Originally Posted by Uncle Sal

Anyone using Nikon's 60mm macro lense?

Also what exactly does a teleconverter do? Can I use it with a 18-70mm-af lense(which comes with the d70) Does a teleconverter magnify what my lense is seeing?

Sorry for all the questions.

regards Sal

[yuri]

These are actually close up filters. Kind of like teleconverters reversed (somewhat) and of lower quality. For effective ones, you need to spend a bit of money. The best are considered the Canons (even though they might not be used on a Canon).

This is a good alternative, when teleconverters are not possible.

Originally Posted by Uncle Sal

like these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 52356&rd=1

I may give them a try.