Nikon Lens Recommendation for Close-up work

One of my workshop participants recently requested a lens recommendation.  He is interested in macro work and already has a Nikon 105 IS Macro lens.  He is looking for a lens to add to his lens kit that offers some variety to the ability to focus close.  My first recommendation was the Nikon 200 Micro lens, a great macro lens that is sharp and gives fantastic background control.  I own this lens and it is my favorite lens to work with for macro and close-up work.

After thinking more about the request and his reference to wanting a lens that offered more variety, I am adding the Nikon 80-400 IS Zoom to the recommendation list.  This lens is one of those lenses that doesn't do anything to perfection but it does LOTS of things very well.  I use this lens for close-up work with insects and I use it for bird and wildlife photography.

Check my post from Feb.14, Reelfoot Lake and my post from Feb. 13, Trumpeter Swans to see examples of images of birds in flight taken with this lens.  I use a DX format camera so this lens is a 120-600mm zoom with autofocus.  That is plenty of reach for wildlife photography.  The VR works well but it is not the newer VRII that is offered on higher end Nikon lenses.  Autofocus is slow on this lens and I find it difficult to acquire focus on flying birds unless they are very close.  The lens works well for wildlife but it is not perfect, there are some limitations.

The lens minimum focus distance is 7.55' but at 400mm that gives you almost 1/2 life size!  That is plenty of magnification for larger insects like dragonflies and butterflies and with a working distance of almost 8' you are in a great position to work with insects.  Here are a few examples of images of insects taken with this lense.

80-400 lens
Zoomed to 400mm
f5.6   1/500 Second

80-400 lens
Zoomed to 400mm
f5.6  1/500 Second

80-400 lens
Zoomed to 400mm
f5.6   1/1250 Second

One of the limitations of this lens is its smallest aperture of f5.6 when zoomed out to 400mm.  This limits your ability to blur out objects in the background.  I usually look for subjects where the background is separated from the subject by distance or I look for background objects that compliment or support the main subject.

If you understand the strengths and weaknesses of this lens you can make it work for you in many situations.

Careful placement of the main subject allows you to avoid distractions when the main subject and the background merge or overlap.

This lens is a great compromise lens that does many things very well but it is not a lens that should be bought without carefully thinking through how you will use it.  It is large and heavy so it does not travel very well and it requires a pretty strong committment on your part to carry it in the field.

Even with all the shortcomings, if I lost the lens I would immediately replace it.  It has found a permanent place in my camera bag, until AP takes it back or Nikon upgrades it with better autofocus and VRII.

Alternate lenses that Nikon offers could be the 70-300 VR Zoom or the newer 55-300 VR Zoom.  Both of these lenses are much smaller, lighter, easier to work with, and cost less than 1/3rd as much.  So why not go with one of the newer designs?? 

The two things that make this lens a winner for my use are its reach at 400mm for wildlife and its close focus ability at almost 1/2 life size for insects.  Both of these are lost with the alternative choices.