What's the best lens to use for my Nikon D40 for close ups?

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Question:

I recently purchased a Nikon D40 with a 55-200mm lens!. The actual lens says "Nikon DX!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-5!.6G ED"!. I have no idea what that means =] but I keep reading things on the internet that say 55-200mm "SLR" or "VR" lens that are used for the best close-ups!.

Anyways, I wondered what lens I need, OR, how I use my current lens to take close ups of things such as flowers, where the flower is in focus but the background is blurred!.

I read the manual, did what the instructions told me to!.!.!. and messed around with the camera to figure it out, but I'm not doing something right!. Is there something I need to know (such as specific settings and how far back to stand from the object) about the ISO, flash, focus mode!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.anything in particular, or do I just have the wrong lens for these types of shots!?

I'm new at this and I would rather figure it out myself than have to pay money for someone to show me or a photography class!. Thanks for any help!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

A dedicated macro lens will give the best results, but they're expensive, in the hundreds of dollars!. Extension tubes or an add-on closeup lens are much less expensive!.

For experimentation, the add-on closeup lens is cheap and practical!. You can get them at your local camera store, and they screw onto the front of the lens, like a filter would!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

You need to buy a macro lens (really expensive though)!.
You can also buy a macro attachment (around 20 dollars), and it does a great job of taking pictures up close!
VR means vibration reduction!.!.!.if your pictures come out blury, a VR lens helps to stabilize the image!

It's not you!.!.!.it's the lens!. Your lens doesn't take close ups (macro) shots!. You need an attachment or a macro lens!. :)Www@QuestionHome@Com

a Macro Lens is the best for close-ups!. Or if you don't want to spend money, sometimes there are pre sets on the camera!. Like a symbol such as a "Flower" is for photographing flowers and "figure running" is good for photographing action shoots such as sports and etc!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

Hey , these guys have some really great macro lenses and there is even one with two lenses!.

http://www!.prophotosales!.com/photo/B001E!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You will need a lens designed for macro work!. They have very close focusing distances and are designed specifically for close up work!.

Probably the best option is to find a good used Nikon 105mm macro lens!. Vibration reduction is of little use for macro photography, because you should be using a tripod anyway!. Same thing goes for autofocus!. You should be manually focusing!. The depth of field in this type of photography is VERY narrow!. You need to adjust the focus very carefully, and quite often the autofocus grabs the wrong thing in the image!. I don't even bother trying to autofocus anymore!.
Www@QuestionHome@Com

Check out the 60mm 2!.8 macro lens that is made by Nikon!. It costs about twice as much as your 55-200mm but you'll find it is a nicer lens!. For a shot that leaves part of the frame out of focus, you'll want a wider aperture!. The lower the f-stop f3!.5, f4!.5, etc; then the wider the aperture!. And f22 will have a more narrow aperture and leaves more of the frame in focus!.
VR doesn't work well with macro!. What you'll need most with close up shots is a tripod to keep your shot steady!. Www@QuestionHome@Com