The message that was posted with that Dragon fly photo notes that the photog used two lenses and extender tubes..

The kit lens won't do macro like a true macro lens can. I have the Sigma 50mm f2.8 EX macro and the Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG macro. They are both very sharp lenses. The Tokina 100mm AT-X macro is another good lens and you'll be more than pleased with the build quality of the Tokina AT-X lenses. And then there's the Tamron 90mm macro of which I have read nothing but great things about as well as knowing a couple of guys who use one and love it..

With my Sigma SD9 DSLR, I used the Sigma 50mm EX for this one:.

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I used the Sigma 105mm EX DG for this one:.

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I can't speak for the Nikon macro lenses other than you'll pay a lot more for one than for an equivalent third party lens.My humble photo gallery: http://ntotrr.smugmug.com.

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The major difference in macros of different focal lengths is the working distance from your subject as well as the field of view of the lens. The longer the focal length, the narrower the field of view you will see at the normal setting, obviously. A 50mm macro is a "normal" field of view on a 35mm camera while it is a short telephoto on a typical 1.5 crop DSLR. A 105mm is a short telephoto and a 180mm is a tele, in terms of field of view..

The working distacne is how far away from your subject you must be to get the desried magnifcation. A true macro will give you a 1:1 representation of your subject, meaing the subject will appear as life size in the frame. for a 50mm macro you may hav e a working distance of a few inches, a 100mm macro will increase that distance, and a 180 macro will increase it even more....an increased working distance can be important for photographing certain subjects, such as insects which may be disturbed by the close working distances of the 50mm macros. Poisonous snakes would be a nother where you would want some working distance between you and your subject....  .

JohnPentax *ist-D, K100D, Oly Stylushttp://www.pbase.com/jglover..

Any lens will do macro. There are lots of setups to do macro. Ive taken macros with a c2100Uz + filters that blow away pictures people crow about taken with $5000 slr setups. Right now I use an e500 and the standard 14-45 kit lens..

You have lots of options. You can use a zoom. A zoom + filters. Extender tubes. Reversed lenses screwed on special "filter" screw attachments. Dedicated macros (more to these lenses than just macro.

Some people will use a flash in perfect light.. just because..) The real trick to macro is the "old saw" .. it's the photographer. Your eye, choice of subjects, composition etc. Lets face it if youve seen one ultra closeup of the pistil of a flower youve seen them all.

Stunningly beautiful (nah I wont put the pic up because in the age of 10mp cameras a 2mp pic doesnt really stand out as well). To do that with my e500 id need a very large lens.. like the new 40-300 oly plus filter etc etc etc. I took mosquito closeups that blew up to full frame 8x10's and closer..

In other words it's all up to you. Dont get gear obsessed just grab a lens et al and go at it. Youd be amazed at the cool shots you can get walking down the street and looking for opportunities...

Thanks. I think I might go for the reversed lens on the 18-135 kit lens. Im not too sure of which reversing ring I need to get though?..

Ok.There is Macro and 'true macro'..

These days manufacturers say that any lens that can take a photo that is pretty close is macro. It sells lenses..

True Macro refers to the ability of a lens to be able to get 1:1 magnification or better..

1:1 means that for a 35mm camera the area of the photo would be 24x36mm, a postage stamp. These are the real macro lenses. the bigger the number, the further away you get for any given magnification. I reckon a 180 macro would be great for closeups of a SNAKE's fangs. The sigma 70mm has a great reputation and is the right focal length for portraiture given the ~1.5 magnification of the nikon d80.looking at your examples, this is what you want.To get better than 1:1 accessories are used..

The simplest accessories are small 'magnifying glasses' screwed into the front of the lens. These are the filters referred to by Cried..

Extension tubes are simply tubes with lens connections at both ends. They just make the lens longer and work really well..

Teleconverters are even better. They are a small lens inside an extension tube. They multiply the focal length of the lens and come in three sizes. 1.4x, 2x, 3x..

I have never heard of a GOOD 3x teleconverter. I have used an excellent 2x converter that changed my 50mm 'normal' lens into a 1:1 macro. With a true macro lens and teleconverter even closer shots can be had.Then there are bellows.... for even closer..

There are 'reversing rings' so that a lens, usualy wide angle, can be fitted to the camera backwards and .... vioala! ... it works!With all of these accessories there is a price.filters are 'iffy' in quality.all the others lose light with every extension of the lens.with a reversing ring, you lose automatic apeture..

This is just the beginning. The real problem of Macro is getting enough light on the subject to get a decent shutter speed and apeture..

Welcome to the world of macro..

ThanksAndy.

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C'est La vie..

The easiest way to get good, large images with a particular lens is to move the lens away from the sensor. "Extension tubes" are available for this purpose..

They are simple tubes that go between the camera and the lens. They have no internal optics so can't degrade the lens' optics..

See:.

Http://search.ebay.com/...v=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1&fsoo=1..

Re>I hope I am not confusing anyone as I am probably not using the correct terms. <.

Don't be concerned about termininology even the camera and lens makers are flexible in their definitions..

You've got some good info already, including the comment on macro and true macro..

The face-on bug shots you showed involve some serious equipment..

But for shots where you can fill the frame with something the size of a hand, those zoom lenses with "macro" in the name will do just fine..

It's zooms that seem to have the most flexible definition of macro, generally meaning "closer than you'd get with a conventional lens.".

About that list you gave, 50mm, 60mm, 70,,, 90mm etc.... All these lenses fill the frame with very small objects. The numbers 1:1 and 1:2 are commonly used to describe macro capability, and 1:1 means the real size of the object is the same sizew at it appears on the sensopr or film, (when the lens is focussed as close as possible).

So, if you were taking a picture of a ruler with a macro lens at 1:1, focused as close as possible, the anoamount of ruler in the shot would be the same length as the sensor inyour camera..

1:2 means that the lens captures something 2 times as big as the sensor. So, with a sensor that is an inch long, you caould take a picture of two inches worth of ruler..

ALL MACROS FOCUS FARTHER AWAT, too. You can take all kinds of shots, of things three feet or ten feet or at infinity, with macro lenses (except for a few really weird specialized lenes, but none of those on your list are weirdos).

For a beginner, reversing rings and bellows extenstions and even extension tubes are a lot of trouble, Forget this nonsense until you get more experienced..

The cheapest, easiest way for real closeups is to buy a set of screw in close-up lenses. These look like filters, and let you use you lens as a closeup lens. Most of these come in little cases with three lenses, and you can combine any two of the three, so you have lots of range..

Closeup pictures have almost no depth of field, so a tripod is really helpsul because you need to use small apertures for sharpness..

BAK..

The best macro lens you can buy for your D80 is the Nikkor 105VR. If you want to achieve super macro's you will have to work with extention tubes (Kenko extention ring set, approx 150 euro). Another (and cheaper)solution for extreme macro is to work with a 2Ba reverse ring from Nikon and a reversed 28 or 24 mm lens, but thge practical side of this technique is very complicated. A specialist on this is posting in the Nikon forum under the name M-A-R-K, he also explains how it works on his website.Have fun!Some of mine:With Canon 5D & sigma 150mm F2.8 & extention tube.

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And the crop:.

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With Fuji S5pro & Nikkor 105VR & kenko extention rings.

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You can find more on my website.Kindest regards,StanyI prefer one really good picture in a day over 10 bad ones in a second....

Http://www.fotografie.fr/..

You know.. thinking about it. Id bet that at 135 with a filter kit that lens would do the pics you're wanting by itself. I was getting closeups of parts of mosquitoes with my c2100. That lens is something like the equivalent of a 300mm optically or 500 through "enhancement" supposedly. And you cant use the entire zoom with macro of course (dang I miss that camera!).

Then find the reversing ring setup when you can on the net (a macro site maybe or nikon macro yahoo group). Id seriously suggest you just buy a +1 +2 +4 filter kit first they'll amaze you. Its cooool to be sitting n the living room and pick up the camera.. and have lots and lots and lots of stuff to photograph! Even that sandwich you forgot for 3 months in the fridge becomes a wonderland of possibility ..

Very nice. Especially the DOF. Though your subject is a bit skeery heh. I hope you didnt kill it to take the pic...

Man, those 105 shots are moose! Great bug shots. But I already have a 105 Nikkor; how could I possibly get another one even if it does the best macro in the world?Leonard Migliore..