Macro lens for photographing vacuum tubes

[kasperbergholt]

Clever people,


I've begun a documenting project taking photos of various vaccum tubes used in my Leben CS-600 for Wikipedia and Swiss Radiomuseum.

I'm in the process of side-grading from a Pentax K-5 with a Pentax SMC DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Limited lens to a Nikon D3 as the memory card reader in the Pentax camera has broken down and a replacement would be close to as expensive as what the Nikon D3 cost me.

I'm considering buying the AF-S Micro Nikkor 2.8/40mm G DX SWM with minimum focus range of around 16 centimers if I read its specs correctly.

Would this be a good match for the work at hand?

Final images need not be neutral - some ambience and glow is perfectly okay if not aimed for.


Thanks in advance,

Kasper

[Akira]

The lens choice (4omm Micro) is good.  But this lens is designed for the DX (APS=C) format.  D3 is an FX (full frame) camera.  When you shoot with the D3/40mm Micro combo, you will only get 5MP images.  I would think you would be better off looking for D7200 or D7500 body (if you prefer a DSLR), or Z50 or Z30 body and ZTF adapter (if you prefer a mirrorless) to combine with the 40mm Micro.

[Ian Watson]

Since you have the D3, how about the AF-S 60mm f/2.8 Micro? That should do the same job on FX.

[Birna Rørslett]

The 60mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor is a good choice. If you find the first generation, the AFD model, it can be had pretty cheap on the second-hand market.

[kasperbergholt]

The lens choice (4omm Micro) is good.  But this lens is designed for the DX (APS=C) format.  D3 is an FX (full frame) camera.  When you shoot with the D3/40mm Micro combo, you will only get 5MP images.  I would think you would be better off looking for D7200 or D7500 body (if you prefer a DSLR), or Z50 or Z30 body and ZTF adapter (if you prefer a mirrorless) to combine with the 40mm Micro.

Thank you for the reply & explanations. I hadn't taken this into consideration, so it's very valuable inputs. I thought the lens was directly compatible with the D3.

Would pairing the D3 with a AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D have the same shortocmings?

By the way, I don't need more than 5MP's for the project, but I assume it will be a huge benefit to be able to use the full sensor area?

[kasperbergholt]

Since you have the D3, how about the AF-S 60mm f/2.8 Micro? That should do the same job on FX.

Thank you for the reply. That sounds like a very good idea - I didn't know the 40mm wouldn't be fully compatible with the D3 till a while ago. Glad to have learned this The minimum focus distance is listed at 18.5 centimeters, some 4 centimeters longer than my current 35mm from Pentax. That should work, I think.

[kasperbergholt]

The 60mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor is a good choice. If you find the first generation, the AFD model, it can be had pretty cheap on the second-hand market.

Thank you for the suggestion - I'll switch to eBay straight away

[kasperbergholt]

I've been looking at the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm F1.4G for some while - perhaps this could do the job, so I wouldn't need to invest in a pure macro lens? Minimum focus distance is around 30cm, which should be okay?

[Birna Rørslett]

The AFS 35/1.4 is a very good lens, but not for the purpose of shooting close-ups   Besides, it would fetch far higher price on the second.hand market so I stand by my earlier suggestion. Get a nice AF(D) Micro 60mm f/2.8. While there certainly are even better -- and much more expensive --  alternatives out there, the 60 Micro is rugged and reliable and can do service for a very long time indeed.

Be aware there is a transitional AF model, AF 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor, that is very much the opposite in build quality although its image quality is rumoured to be good. As the 55 AF is quite rare, you are not likely to stumble across it, however if you do the warning has been given.

[kasperbergholt]

The AFS 35/1.4 is a very good lens, but not for the purpose of shooting close-ups   Besides, it would fetch far higher price on the second.hand market so I stand by my earlier suggestion. Get a nice AF(D) Micro 60mm f/2.8. While there certainly are even better -- and much more expensive --  alternatives out there, the 60 Micro is rugged and reliable and can do service for a very long time indeed.

Be aware there is a transitional AF model, AF 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor, that is very much the opposite in build quality although its image quality is rumoured to be good. As the 55 AF is quite rare, you are not likely to stumble across it, however if you do the warning has been given.

Thanks again, I'll stick to your advice. There seem to be versions produced in both Thailand and Japan. My intuition tells me to go with the Japanese production?

[Birna Rørslett]

Look for a clean lens that is not too abused and worn down. The origin is of second concern.

[Akira]

Thank you for the reply & explanations. I hadn't taken this into consideration, so it's very valuable inputs. I thought the lens was directly compatible with the D3.

Would pairing the D3 with a AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D have the same shortocmings?

By the way, I don't need more than 5MP's for the project, but I assume it will be a huge benefit to be able to use the full sensor area?

The 40mm Micro is directly compatible with D3, but the image circle of the lens won't cover the full sensor of D3.  If you would use D3, AF(-D) 60mm f2.8 Micro (designed for the full frame format) would be more appropriate.  It is still a cost-effective choice.

[ColinM]

Hi Kasper I like the sound of your project, literally
 

Final images need not be neutral - some ambience and glow is perfectly okay if not aimed for.

Away from the optics chosen, it sounds like you'll take at least some shots whilst the tubes are warmed up & in action.

I'm wondering if trying a few shot in Infra Red might be interesting
(artistically, if not for the main Wikipedia articles)

Although maybe there'd be so much heat overall this would muddy the results?

Meanwhile I love playing Laptevinmeri / Laptev Sea by Pan Sonic as an occasional bass treat

[paul hofseth]

A somewhat neo-luddite comment;

 if your tubes are line up behind each other you might not be best served with autofocus. if your viewfinder is capable of judging this you would need to aim for a precisely thought out depth of field. AND (at least in my experience) autofocus tends to latch on to the wrong points and manual forcus is far more predictable, also your tubes do not move, so no need for speedy snaps. There are ancient manual Nikon macros that are quite good.

p.

[Hugh_3170]

If you are comfortable with manual focus on the D3, then why not acquire a 55mm f/3.5 Micro lens?  These are relatively inexpensive and are good lenses on the 24mm x 36mm sensor of the D3.

A somewhat neo-luddite comment;

 if your tubes are line up behind each other you might not be best served with autofocus. if your viewfinder is capable of judging this you would need to aim for a precisely thought out depth of field. AND (at least in my experience) autofocus tends to latch on to the wrong points and manual forcus is far more predictable, also your tubes do not move, so no need for speedy snaps. There are ancient manual Nikon macros that are quite good.

p.