Well it’s been awhile now since I got this Tamron 90mm 2.8 macro lens and I wanted to blog a little about it and my experience using it.
First off its a true 1:1 magnification 90mm prime macro lens. To achieve true 1:1 magnification you’ll need to have the lens barrel fully extended all the way out as seen in the picture. Once you do this you’ll have to move the camera back and forth on your subject to get in focus. This is not as easy as it sounds! The Tamron 90mm fully extended and close enough to focus on a subject is approximately 3 ¾” away from your subject. That’s only if you want “true 1:1 macro”. Now 3 ¾” is pretty darn close to your subject and the focal-plane is as thin as a few strands of hair at a large f-stop say, f/2.8 – 4. Sometimes that works great and the bokeh (background blur) is wonderful but I find a smaller f-stop is easier to work with like F/11-16 even F22 to get the best focus on the whole subject.
A tripod is a must and would be even better if you have a Joby Gorillapod tripod for those shots were your on your knees and very close to the ground. You’ll also need a remote shutter release to get the job done. Using your on camera flash wont work for you since you are so close to your subject. When I need to use my flash I use my SB600 off camera in commander mode and this works great.
The Tamron 90mm 2.8 macro lens is as sharp as a tack and very light on the D90. This lens also doubles as a great portrait lens also so you get a true macro lens and portrait lens in one lens! Below are a couple of shots I got in the back yard messing around. I hope you get a chance to discover the tiny world of macro with your D90, It’s a blast…
1/250, F/9, 90mm, 0 EV, No Flash
1/125, F/20, 90mm, -4/3 EV, No Flash
