By coincidence I just put my 60mm macro on the sale block. I paid $500 for it new and folks in here know how sharp a lens it is. You can find it for sale at www.equipmentlady.com. Laurie Excell is the business lady and will have it on the block this week. Below is an example of how sharp it is.

I have this one and have had amazing results with it. Was voted best in its range by one of the photography mags. It is budget but i didn't want expensive lenses when i am working with dogs all the time... already had one lens broken by huge dog feet!! So glad i have insurance!!

thanks for the replys, ok so wants the difference in zoom lengths with a macro? does it matter with the focal length?

my target is to photograph animals, plants, humans e.g eyes and use it also as a portrait

For a simple explanation: The longer the focal length the further you can be to take the photo.

so longer could be better for me?

The longer the focal length the further from the subject you can be, all the better in macro as you don't disturb the subject.

Yep - longer is generally better if you're after bugs etc

xx

You must weigh the uses of the lens. On a DX camera like yours you multiply the focal length of the lens by 1.5 to get the equivalent lens in 35mm film format. A 60mm digital lens equals a 90mm lens in film format. That used to be considered the ideal portrait lens for shooting two people, head & shoulders, at 10 feet. When you start getting macros at 105mm x 1.5 you can only shoot 1 person, head and shoulders, at 10 feet. It is correct that a 105mm macro will allow you to get further away from such things as butterflies, hummingbirds and bugs but you lose the wider angle uses of a 60mm lens for portraits indoors. Your priorities for use of the macro will decide which one you get.

Yes, it does matter what you shoot - I think though you seem to do mostly animals, and I would personally aim for the 105 Mind, many of them are captive right? So you should be able to get closer. For example, I use my 50mm always on the rats I do still do some portraiture with the macro, but it's not the easiest in the world, as Bob says

xx

Try and get hold of that magazine I mentioned.

As well as testing the 16 macro lenses and explaining the pro's and con's of the various focal lengths there's a section on macro lenses covering 4 different aspects of using a macro lens - insects, portraits, flowers, landscapes.

Lenses tested and reviewed are:

Sigma 50mm f/2.8EX DG Macro £250
Tamron 90mm f/2/8 SP AF Di Macro 1:1 £350
Canon 60mm f/2.8 EF-S Macro USM £360
Tokina 35mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO DX £370
Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO DX £370
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro £390
Tamron 60mm f/2 Di II LD (IF) Macro £390
Nikon 85mm f/3.5G ED VR DX Micro £400
Nikon 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Micro £400
Canon 100mm f/2.8 L USM Macro £440
Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX IF Macro USM £560
Nikon 105mm f/2.8G AF-S VR Micro £605
Tamron 180mm f/3.5 SP Di LD (IF) Macro £700
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Magnification £870
Nikon 200mm 4/4D ED-IF AF Micro £1100
Canon 180mm f/3.5 L USM Macro £1280

After all the blurb in the reviews they picked best budget / best starter / best enthusiast.