General macro question

[mikeLphoto]

hey guys,

ive been looking at macro lenses lately, mainly the nikon 85mm 3.5. do macro lenses offer higher quality portrait pictures as well? im on a tight budget and was wondering if i could kill 2 birds with one stone and hopefully get some excellent portraits as well as macro shots. im mainly looking for sharpness, clairty and just simple overall quality. i do a lot of senior portraits and was wondering if a macro lens could be a good different approach for headshots.

let me know if i need to clarify more...

[ZinhaEq]

I own Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR and I use it a lot as a long portrait lens. I must say it's very useful to have an excellent macro and portrait lens in one. I can't say its the most useful lens for the portraits, which is surely not for its heaviness and size, but it should give you still a very good results. So does the 85mm f/3.5 VR. But if you really really shoot a lot of portraits, then you should think about 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8 or 85mm f/1.8. These three are all worth their price.

[mikeLphoto]

Ya I'm also looking at the 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 as well. My budget is just really restricted so I'm trying to maximize what I can. A buddy of mine has both the 85mm 1.8 and 105mm macro, I've shot both and was extremely happy with the results, but I just cant make the price tag which is why the 85mm macro and 50mm seemed a bit more appealing. However, whats the difference between an 85mm 1.8 and the 85mm macro? What parts actually make a lens a macro? Are macro lenses just built to be sharper and clearer or how does that work?

[natek313]

Macro lenses are known for their short minimum focusing distances that enable the photographer to achieve a 1:1 ratio on the film/sensor. Basically, that means the actual size of the subject being photographed is the same size as the image projected on the film/sensor.

And yes, macro lenses are very sharp.

[ZinhaEq]

Macro lenses are used to magnify things up to 1:1, so the thing in the nature takes the same size on a camera sensor. For example 15mm long bee takes 15mm at 1:1 ratio on sensor. But macro lens isn't necessarilly better (sharper or clearer) than ordinary non-macro lens in other than macro circumstances. If you won't be shooting macro and if you mostly do portraits, then you should get ordinary, 35mm f/1.8 (or 50mm f/1.8, or even 85mm f/1.8) lens, which are more than great for their price.

[mikeLphoto]

Oh ok, when I first started looking into macro the only difference I noticed between lens specs was the magnification ratio and the focusing distance. And ya, I plan to do a lot of macro shots but was wondering if I could still get excellent results with portraits.
Thanks for the help, I'm gonna look into the 85mm and the 105mm macro more and see what I can do!
Thanks again!