Can anyone help me identify this little spider?

[WasK]

... my simple photos can't be compared with your wonderful photos ...
Cheers,
Eric

Oh, I'm not so sure about that. You're photos demonstrate excellent anatomical detail. I've been thinking about getting a ring flash to try for close-ups. After seeing your picture gallery, I think I will try to hunt one down on Ebay and give it a try. Cheers, WK

 

[WasK]

How is that 180mm Sigma compared to the 105mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor? I've been thinking about the Nikkor for my D100 & N90s, but that Sigma looks pretty darn good. How sharp is it at 100%?

Hi John. I think I've seen your photos over on K.com and Nikonians. If you're the same "Axe", great stuff!

Regarding your Q - first of all I must admit that I've never had my hands on a micro Nikkor of any sort so I can't really give you an answer based on first-hand experience with these lenses. However, the obvious difference between the 180mm Sigma and 105mm micro Nikkor is working distance. For this reason, I think the 180 provides an advantage when trying to photograph skittish critters. Also, the Sigma line is significantly less expensive than comparable Nikon lenses. From what I've seen posted on various photography forums, the sharpness difference between these two lenses is negligible, and therefore easily overshadowed by the ability of the photographer.

If you are considering a 105mm macro lens, you should have a look at the Tamron 90mm. As far as I can tell, this lens is best in class for optics.

Regards,
WK

 

[Axe]

Thanks WasK. Yeah, I've posted some over on Nikonians, and FredMiranda, and occasionally on KS. Mostly I post on Photosapien.com these days - although recently I've been too busy to post anywhere. I've got about 3,000 photos on the HD I need to sift through.

I just noticed you guys have a non-arachnids forum here, and there seems to be quite a few hots lovers here on the site. I've got a friend moving back here to FL in a coupla weeks and starting up a new venomous collection (and he's recently become quite the spider nut too), so you can be sure I'll be posting a few photos here of some nice ones as well

I've heard a few good reports about the Tamron too. What is the working distance on the Sigma 180mm? (Right now I'm just using a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 MF Macro with a 2x teleconverter. Works for photos resized down for the web or printed as 6x4's, but not great at 100% on-screen or 8x10 prints - even at ISO200).

 

[cacoseraph]

ok, i lied earlier... i said you take nice pics

obviously nice isn't good enough...

the spider looks like it's made out of glass!

amazing as always!