Tamron 90mm or Tokina 100mm?

[errolbacalzo]

If I were to start studying macro, which of these 2 lenses would fit my newbie needs? very interesting kasi yung macro shots na nakikita ko sa mga threads dito. medyo marami ring shooting opportunities dito sa min lalo ng mga insects kasi mapuno and mahalaman dito. to be honest, 2nd hand lang naman ang afford ko for both of these lenses. although the 2nd hand tokina has almost the same price as a brand new tamron.

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[Bernie Lira]

I use Tamron SP AF90mm f2.8 macro. No regrets.

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[errolbacalzo]

I use Tamron SP AF90mm f2.8 macro. No regrets.

thank you sir. kamusta po ang af speed ng tamron 90mm nyo? i used to own and tamron 17-50 and napansin kong medyo mabagal ang af nya compared to the nikon 18-55VR. maganda rin ba sya for portraits?

mga sir, may baka may iba pa kayo insights/experiences sa mga lenses na ito?

add ko rin lang po, isama ko na ang nikon 60mm macro sa choices ko. alin po sa mga ito ang marerekuminda ninyo?

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[Bernie Lira]

Acc. to a review I read, they say that this lens hunts a lot, but in my case it will if you don't know how to use it. The way to use it is on manual mode, fine tune the focus and switch to AF mode to get the best focus. That way, it won't hunt or get noisy. This lens is one of the best macros ever produced by Tamron. I also use it for portraits, grabe ang bokeh at sharpness.

Eto yung sample shot, (driver ko yan,hehehe, walang modelo), walang PP:



Ano sa tingin mo? I just so love this lens.

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[Bernie Lira]

Do you see the white stork reflections?

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[errolbacalzo]

Do you see the white stork reflections?

very nice shot sir. i'm worried kasi if i get the tamron the focal length is very close to that of my nikon 85mm 1.8. parang redundant na. i use the nikon for portraits and i'm very, very, veeery happy with it. sharp pictures with very nice bokeh. the redundancy is the reason why i think tamron is my 3rd choice. tokina would be the 1st and nikon 60mm 2nd. pero depende pa rin sa mga magshare ng experiences nila sa mga lenses na pinagpipilian ko.

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[pitbull]

tamron 90mm: masyadong malapit sa 85mm  nababagalan ako sa AF nya,altough expected sa macro lenses ang mabagal ang AF...malinaw. di ko feel yun build pero pwede na, 67mm ata filter size nito

tokina 100mm: malinaw,pero mataas daw chromatic aberation. palagay ko hindi naman sya magiging problema sa macro. sa portrait malamang oo...para sa mga maarte,malaking bagay ito,pero no big deal talaga ito. matibay,pang bugbugan. mabilis AF compared sa tamron pero maingay,parang laruan.

nikkor 60mm: masyadong malapit sa 50mm, napakalinaw,maingay AF, mabilis AF,kaya from infinity to minimum focus.maganda build,parang 50mm f/1.4,62mm filter size,swak sa lumang nikkor na 52,62,72...,maganda resale

sa 3,pipiliin ko yun tokina,kasi 100mm siya-malaking bagay yun 10mm,nagiging 15mm yan sa 1.5 na multipier,mabilis AF,at matibay. nasubukan ko na yun 2 dyan sa taas sa DW,and i own the nikkor...yun tamron maganda din,gusto ko din yan. kaya lang nababagalan ako sa AF.pero ok lang since manual ka naman mag shoot ng macro.

hindi ka magkakamali sa 3...parehong magaganda yan

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[someone]

I have the Tokina 100mm macro, its a great lens, great build plus the focus clutch is pure genius.

Kung gagamitin mo talaga yung lens as dedicated macro wag ka na mag worry sa AF speed, because you can't help but go manual focusing sa mga subjects mo.

eto sample straight from the cam and tokina lens

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[errolbacalzo]

thank you sir pitbull and someone!

manual focusing pala talaga ang preferred sa macro. another reason to learn na naman. ok din kasi matuto ng manual focusing.

additional question mga sir: mas common ba ang bad copies sa tamron lenses compared to tokina? madami kasi ako nababasa na bad units ng tamron. although i'm not sure if totoo yun, baka kasi nadadala rin lang yung iba ng sabi sabi. thanks!

@someone: ano yung focus clutch? sensya na ha, medyo di ako familiar sa term. thanks!

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[pitbull]

bihira makakita ng bad copy ng macro sa experience ko 

try mo din yun sa sigma. ang maganda sa sigma ay pwede mo pa calibrate dito

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[milesyoung]

just a question will i still need extension tubes to use on either the tokina or tamron to get those shots posted above? argh cant wait to get the tokina...ipon ipon pa haha

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[errolbacalzo]

bihira makakita ng bad copy ng macro sa experience ko 

try mo din yun sa sigma. ang maganda sa sigma ay pwede mo pa calibrate dito

di pa ko nakakakita ng review ng sigma 105mm macro. baka may nakagamit na sa inyo mga sir, share nyo naman experience nyo. it's now sigma versus tokina. hehehe. gusto ko sana nikon 105mm, may VR pa, kaso out of budget na e. i would have to sell my other lenses just to buy a nikon 105. pero kung may makita kong good deal kahit 2nd hand, kakagat na rin siguro ko. pero for now it's tokina against sigma. hehehe.

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[someone]

Just to answer the 2 question posted.

Focus clutch is tokina's way of innovating the AF/MF switch. Yung usual na lens may switch sa gilid para ma-select mo kung AF or MF ka. Sa tokina, yung mismong focus ring ang switch, so tutulak mo lang sya naka MF ka na tapos pag gusto mo mag AF hahatakin mo lang ulit. Nakakatuwa siya kasi convenient di ka na mangangapa ng switch.

The question about the extension tube, on my shot that I posted I didn't use extension tubes(planning to buy pa lang). As far as I can remember hindi pa naka 1:1 yung magnification ng shot. Mahirap kasi laging 1:1 ang magnification kasi masasacrifice yung composition ng picture.

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[retina]

About Macro:

I use MF rather than AF. The DOF is too narrow for AF so you need to do it manually to focus the points that you want. It is very slow to AF.
You can use extension tubes or close up filters with your Macro lens to increase magnification beyond 1:1.
Ring flash or ordinary flash will improve your macro photos but I prefer ring flash.
Most of Macro lenses are very good and you can never get wrong with any of them.
I don't have the Tamron or Tokina both are good but I can recommend the Nikon 105VR, Nikkor Micro 200mm and Sigma 150mm. Currently, I have the Sigma 150mm.

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/304-sigma-af-150mm-f28-apo-ex-hsm-macro-dg-d-review--test-report

I prefer a longer FL so I won't easily scare the bugs. The shorter FL macro lens are good for product shots.

If you just want to test the waters of macro world you can go cheap by reversing your lens. Just search the forum and there are plenty of reverse lens shots that can rival the dedicated Macro lenses. You just need and adaptor for reversing your lens and it is readily available from traders at the marketplace section.

The center point of Macro is "PATIENCE" without it you can never get a good shots even with the best macro lens.
That's just my 2 cents  opinion.

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[errolbacalzo]

thank you sir retina and someone.

i have to delay the purchase of the lens for another week. sayang naunahan ako dun sa lens ni sir ruben sa for sale section. i also had to advance some money for tuition fee of my cousin. next week pa raw ako mababayaran. oh well, more time to research about the lenses. mga sir keep the suggestions and insights coming.

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[milesyoung]

Just to answer the 2 question posted.

...
The question about the extension tube, on my shot that I posted I didn't use extension tubes(planning to buy pa lang). As far as I can remember hindi pa naka 1:1 yung magnification ng shot. Mahirap kasi laging 1:1 ang magnification kasi masasacrifice yung composition ng picture.

thanks for your reply.  another question, arent you using a true macro lens (thread title kasi tokina or tamron macro)? kasi as i understand it, with a true macro lens, anyshot will produce magnification of 1:1 but you said above its not 1:1 magnification for your shots, sorry im just trying to understand macro photography 

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[someone]

thanks for your reply.  another question, arent you using a true macro lens (thread title kasi tokina or tamron macro)? kasi as i understand it, with a true macro lens, anyshot will produce magnification of 1:1 but you said above its not 1:1 magnification for your shots, sorry im just trying to understand macro photography 

Yes I am using a true macro lens. I really want to explain how the 1:1 magnification works out but I'm not good at explaining technical stuff. If anyone who can explain better.

I would suggest borrowing a macro lens, you'll probably get what I'm saying.

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[negative13]

Yes I am using a true macro lens. I really want to explain how the 1:1 magnification works out but I'm not good at explaining technical stuff. If anyone who can explain better.

I would suggest borrowing a macro lens, you'll probably get what I'm saying.

To get 1:1 magnification, you must be at the MFD (minimum focusing distance).

For example, if you're using a 100mm macro and its MFD is one foot but you're more than one foot, like a feet and a half away from your subject, you won't get 1:1 magnification.

1:1 Magnification means that the image captured in the sensor is the same size as the subject. A 1cm bug would take 1cm from your 35mm or crop sensor.

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[someone]

To get 1:1 magnification, you must be at the MFD (minimum focusing distance).

For example, if you're using a 100mm macro and its MFD is one foot but you're more than one foot, like a feet and a half away from your subject, you won't get 1:1 magnification.

1:1 Magnification means that the image captured in the sensor is the same size as the subject. A 1cm bug would take 1cm from your 35mm or crop sensor.

negative13 pretty much explains it right. thanks

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[milesyoung]

thanks! got it now, so by using extension tubes you increase your shooting distance to get 1:1 magnification

anyway going back to the topic, i think ill go with the tokina, better built and slightly longer focal length. 

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