Any macro lenses free of CA?

[FlyPenFly]

I got rid of the Nikon 105mm VR because it had quite a bit of CA close up on highlights. In it's stead I got a Nikon 60mm AF-S and it still seems to show significant CA. This was while it was stepped down to F8 or more, I also tried a few wide open. Adjusting for CA in LR3 didn't seem to have any effect.

Is the 100mm or 50mm Zeiss Makro any better?

The center of this watch dial is supposed to be just pure white like in this pic(although even this shows a slight magenta tinge) :

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But in many of the photos, it showed this sort of color pattern:

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There were a number more that showed the same problem and I simply had to turn those into B&W or Sepia.

 

[fishbio]

Check some objective reviews such as at photozone.de They report on ca's for the lenses tested.

Larry

 

[rvink]

Cosina-Voigtlander 125/2.5 APO-Lanthar is probably your best bet. Uncommon and no longer in production, lenses with Nikon mount sell on ebay for $2500.

Cosina-Voigtlander 90/3.5 SL-II APO-Lanthar is another option. Not quite a macro lens - it gets to 1:3.5 by itself and 1:1.8 with a dedicated closeup lens. I'd probably use an extension tube instead to preserve the working distance.

Also Leica 100mm Apo Macro Elmarit R Lens f/2.8 converted to Nikon mount. Only goes to 1:2, and required a dedicated closeup lens or extension tubes to go closer.

The old AI or AIS 105/4 micro is also relatively good, but not sure how well it compares to the 105VR micro.

Not sure if you can read this without being a member, but worth a read:
http://nikongear.com/live/index.php?/topic/33982-example-of-stacks-from-popular-close-up-lenses/

 

[nuclearjock]

my 200 f/4 micro behaves pretty well.

 

[Komeko]

AF55/2.8mm micro no CA.

 

[Deleted member 638]

I got rid of the Nikon 105mm VR because it had quite a bit of CA close up on highlights. In it's stead I got a Nikon 60mm AF-S and it still seems to show significant CA.

You have to distinguish between Lateral CA (LaCA) and Longitudinal CA (LoCA). LoCA is also called "bokeh fringing".
LaCA can be corrected easily either in-camera (depending on Nikon bodies) or by software. LoCA can be largely decreased by stopping down. My Zeiss 100/2 doesn't show LoCA from f/5.6-f/8 onwards (see here). Capture NX2 has a LoCA correction feature that sometimes (not always) works to some extent.

P.S.: for those pictures you' should use a tilt lens, like the Micro-Nikkor 85/2.8 PC (or PC-E).