90 ~ 105mm (ish) macro lenses

[connloyalist]

With the weather around here turning having turned cold and bleak (seeing the sun between 1 November and 1 April in these parts can be an unusual occurrence), I am considering adding a 100mm -ish macro lens to my collection. At the moment I own a 50mm OM macro, but nothing in the 100mm range.

As far as I know, there are a number of lenses in this category. In no particular order:

Canon FD 100mm 4.0
Pentax SMC-M or SMC-A 100mm 4.0 (I am assuming they are optically identical)
Tamron 52B 90mm 2.5
Tamron 72B 90mm 2.8
Kiron 105mm
Minolta 100mm 4.0
Several Vivitar models
Several Soligor models

Undoubtedly I am missing a few from this list. Ideally I would like to keep the weight below 500 grams. I have read pros and cons of several of these. Canon apparently is front heavy. Tamron 52B has the flat rear element thing which is sometimes a problem? If memory serves one of the Vivitars is highly regarded but I forget which one.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Regards, C.

[caspert79]

Most of them are good. My personal choice out of your list would be one of the Tamrons, because they are fast and thus more versatile (you could use them as portrait lens as well).

Two personal favorites of mine are the Tokina AT-X 90mm f/2.5 macro and Minolta AF 100mm f/2.8.

The Minolta 100/4 is also seriously good, but maybe less suitable as a portrait lens.

[D1N0]

Vivitar has a Kiron 105, Tokina 90, and Komine 90 The Tokina is the Bokina valued for it's bokeh The Kiron is supposedly the sharpest , although others say the Tamron is sharper. The Tamron's bokeh is almost as good as the Bokina's as well. The Komine is just ok a good lens but not spectacular, but it does do 1:1 like the Kiron/Kino variant. Tokina and Tamron don't without an adapter.

[cooltouch]

Of the 100-ish macros you have listed, I own 4 plus another -- the Vivitar 135mm f/2.8 Close Focus (only Vivitar 135 with a 62mm front thread diameter). The ones I own are the Canon nFD 100/4, the Takumar SMCT 100/4, the Tamron 90/2.5, and the Kiron 100/2.8.

Of the five listed above, the "legendary" Kiron is the least sharp, so I don't really recommend it. However, of the five, it's the only one that focuses down to 1:1, so . . .

My personal favorite, and the one that I most often turn to because of the flexibility of the Addaptall-2 mount, is the Tamron. It is a very sharp macro, perhaps the sharpest of the lot. It also has the advantage of often being very reasonably priced on the used market.

If I could find a Bokina at a decent price, I wouldn't hesitate to add it to my collection.

[Lloydy]

I have two macros in the 100ish range, and l adore both of them, and without pixel peeking ( which I don't do ) I wouldn't rate one above the other, other than the fact that one is considerably faster and more modern than the other.

The Tamron SP 52BB 90 / 2.5 Macro is superb, at the moment I have three of them. One is for sale, one is 100% mint and boxed, one is my user lens. It really is a very versatile lens that is sharp and good in every respect.

My other lens is the SMC Takumar Macro 100 / 4, which is slow and older - the coatings are almost certainly less sophisticated than the Tamron, but 'work with it' and do a bit of PP and all will be forgiven. It's a fabulous lens, but it's not a 'walkabout' lens like the Tamron, it's a lens that has to be used with thought ( and a tripod ! )

I wouldn't be without either lens, both will deliver superb images. But they are different, they are what they are. I'm lucky to have both.

[visualopsins]

Check out the Nikkors! http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html#105Micro

[Alun Thomas]

I have 3 older macro lenses in that focal range, the Tamron, the Bokina, and the Komine.

The Tamron is slightly under 500g, does 1:2 at that weight, and is quite compact. I have to admit, I haven't used it much. If you have a recently released camera, maybe the blue spot thing isn't such a thing now, it is an interaction between the lens and sensor. To be fair I don't know, but this could be the case.

The Komine lens is ~550g and does 1:1. It's my preferred lens of them all. Generally, a macro lens for walkaround work really only needs to be close focus, the flatness of the field almost becomes immaterial. Now, I haven't tested the Komine for flatness of field, but they did market it as a macro lens, which leads me to believe it would be reasonably flat, and have acceptable resolution across the frame. Komine didn't get a good reputation for no reason. For walkaround work I found it more than acceptable.

The Bokina is ~660g and does 1:2 at that weight. I also haven't used that one a lot. Mainly because I am happy with the Komine lens for general close focus usage. It does have a very good reputation.

I have had the Kiron lens in the past, it weighs about the same as the Bokina and does 1:1, and has a good reputation, but again, I never did much with my copy.

Another option is the Cosina made 100/3.5, at just over 200g, another lens I have previously owned. The build quality is rubbish, but the pics you see online don't lie. It does 1:2 and uses a diopter to get 1:1. Might be worth considering.

[kypfer]

My Tamron Adaptall-2 #52B 90mm has followed me around since the '70's, through four changes of mount, and is still perfectly good, so, for it's purposes, I see no reason to change it

[calvin83]

Get the Tamron 72B if you need a lightweight lens reach 1:1 of its own. Laowa 100/2.8(for SLR) or 90/2.8(for MILC) is good if you need 2:1.

[Manichaean]

[caspert79]

[Manichaean]

[RokkorDoctor]

[jamaeolus]

Olympus OM 90mm f2 Macro. A bit expensive, but worth every penny.

[stevemark]

Not too long ago I have compared the following "mid-range" macro lenses at infinity (!) on 24 MP FF A7II (results not published):

Canon FD 4/100mm Macro
Konica AR 4/105mm Macro
Minolta MC-II, MC-X and MD-I 4/100mm Macro
Minolta MD-III 4/100mm Macro
Minolta AF 2.8/100mm Macro
Nikkor Ai 4/105mm Macro
Nikkor AiS 2.8/105mm Macro
Nikkor AF 2.8/105mm Macro (early version)
Pentax Super-Macro-Takumar 4/100mm Macro
Tamron SP 2.5/90mm Macro (52B)
Komine (Admiral/Vivitar) 2.8/90mm Macro
Kiron (Vivitar) 2.8/100mm Macro
Novoflex Noflexar 4/105mm Macro

Out of these, the MD 4/100mm Macro was - by a small margin - the best. No CAs, sharp corners wide open, no visible distortion. The Tamron SP 2.5/90mm Macro was nearly as good, but quite a bit faster, of course.

Canon FD 4/100mm Macro, Nikkor Ai 4/100mm Macro and Konica AR 4/105mm Macro were slightly less sharp and had some (few!!) lateral CAs in the corners. Same for the Minolta AF 2.8/100mm Macro (and similar to the Minolta MD 2.5/100mm btw which is sharper than the corresponding Nikkor 2.5/105mm [Xenotar]).

Compared to the Minolta AF, the Nikkor AiS/AF 2.8/105mm Macro again has slightly more "blur" and lateral CAs.

Kiron and more so Komine have a visibly reduced corner resolution at f2.8, and the (old!!) Noflexar (a simple triplet only!!) is clearly the worst of the bunch, at least at infinity.

I can't comment on the macro performance. I have tried to test it at 1:2 with "real world" objects such as yellow flowers, but wind and moving flowers made it impossible to get reliable resuilts. I leave that to the experts here at mflenses ... !


My personal favourite is the Minolta MD 4/100mm (which I recently used for professional shootings of golden / silver religious objects on 43 MP FF); however the Tamron is more versatile (f2.5) and smaller (Minolta focusing feels more precise). Both go to 1:2 only.

If you need a lens going to 1:1 you may choose the Nikkor AiS 2.8/105 - but be aware of issues with focusing (often comes with hard or completely blocked focusing mechanism. VERY difficult to clean). Optically better, with reliable focusing mechanism, and CHEAP is the Minolta AF 2.8/100mm, preferrably in its firts full metal version. That's a real sleeper - this lens works well with 43 MP FF sensors as well (especially in the f4.5-f8 range).

Maybe this helps ...

S

[blotafton]

I don't have much to add but I'm waiting for a Tokina AT-X 90mm 2.5.

The only lens to compare it with for me is a Canon 100mm 2.8 macro USM.

I regret not getting a Tamron 90mm when they were 50 euro not long ago.

[cooltouch]

I bought my Tamron 90 macro over 30 years ago, and paid about 90 USD for it. That was a pretty good deal back then, back when 90 bucks was still worth a fair chunk of change. I just checked US eBay, and you can still pick up the 52B (the model I have) for $65 or less. So it's still priced reasonably on this side of the pond at least.

[marcusBMG]

+1 the tamron adaptall 90mm is the best value, best price/performance, most easily obtainable, and no mounting issues - get an adaptall mount to suit. A faint blue spot caused by reflection off the flat rear element is really only a very occasional issue. There isn't really any problem getting one here in the UK for comfortably less than a hundred, if you get lucky close to 50 is achievable. My own ad hoc comparisons with the komine made vivitar 90mm, vivitar 105mm, an elicar 90mm, a "bokina" tokina made 90mm indicate that the tamron yields nothing to these lenses, though I can add its a bit softer at f2.5 especially corners.
The optics and performance of the two models (52B and later 52BB) are the same. The choice between them is really one of handling and feel. The earlier 52B is more of a classic metal 'n glass lens, chunkier heavier feel and focus is a bit stiffer - can tend to be on the stiff side with some actually. The later 52BB is more plastickey and has a lighter feel focussing. The 52BB has an issue occasionally with a sticky iris not fully stopping down - there are threads on this.
The 72B that succeeded the 52B has the merit of being 1:1 macro, but is much less common and usually at least double the price.

[visualopsins]

[Doc Sharptail]

Of all the lenses mentioned here, I've had only the Vivitar 135mm f 2.8 close focusing, and wouldn't mind finding another.

I can relate to wind induced motion blur- it occurs at shutter speeds far faster than I had originally anticipated.
It seems every time I finally get properly lined up on a "good" macro shot, the wind puffs up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Patience seems to come slow to me when I most need it

-D.S.

[ZuikosHexanonsandVivitars]

[calvin83]

[kymarto]

[connloyalist]

Thank you all for the insightful answers, very helpful. I am planning to primarily use this lens indoors, at least for the next few months during which sunshine is a rare occurrence around here. Come spring I might well take it outside, hence the preference for something not much heavier than 500 grams.

Regards, C.

[stevemark]