Macro photography with a Nikon dx body?

Ok so macro photography is something very new to me, but has always seemed very fascinating and fun.

To start off I have a Nikon D5000 so I can't even really consider any AF-D lenses if I want to still have auto-focus. I've been looking into things such as the 85mm f/3.5 DX and the 60mm f/2.8 FX. To be completely honest, I don't know if either of these would do the trick for macro photography or even how good/bad of an idea it would be to use a full frame lense on a dx camera.

Any kind of advice on what I should be looking for with this sort of thing would be awesome as well as knowing possible third party lenses that would do the trick for this like Sigma or Tokina.

If possible, I'd like to stay in the price range of $600 or less.

The focal length of a macro lens determines two things.

* the distance from the camera to the subject when in the 1:1 macro range
* the depth of field at any given lens aperture is shallower the longer the focal length of the lens

NOTE: When shooting macro photos, it is usually done with the lens in the manual focus mode. If you want to use the macro lens at a specific images to subject ratio, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 or 1:4, the focus will be set at those settings and then the camera is moved toward or away from the subject in order to focus the lens.

All advanced photographers use full frame (FX) lenses on their APS-C sensored (DX) lenses with their cropped sensor cameras.

Since you are building your camera system, it may be best that you buy the best quality lenses within your budget, even if you may have to spend an additional 25% or so. Since I bought my first lens (in 1970), I have owned 8 different camera models. I still have the best of the old lenses and I use them from time to time.

The deal is this.

Many of the most popular lens focal lengths are FX lenses, so it is important that they are able to be used an ANY Nikon camera. I currently have four Nikon cameras. An old Nikon F2 which I can use in Class 1, Division 1 hazardous areas (industrial), a F4 which can use both manual focus and auto-focus Nikkor lenses, a D300 used when I need more "reach" using the the lenses I have and a D800e, which I use either when I need a high resolution image or when shooting in very low lighting uses ISO settings 6400 or higher.

Tokina makes the best third party lenses. The Sigma ART lenses are the best of the Sigma lenses, but can cost more than a Nikkor lens of the same focal length.

Spend some time on the links below to see which lens fits your budget. The first link shows what each focal length "sees"

When doing macro, manual focus is best. Get the lens that satisfies the minimum focusing distance you will be shooting from and at the magnification level you need.

This may not directly answer your question but hopefully my recent experience may help to inform your decision. I use Canon gear but that has no real bearing!
My first foray into macro was with a 50mm f/1.8 lens and 12mm extension tube. I already had the lens and the genuine Canon extension tube was bought used from Ebay for £15. A good cheap way to "dip my toe in the water".
Having been bitten by the macro bug (!) I took advantage of my 25yr service award to buy macro lens and after considering the options decided something around 100mm was for me.
I decided that image stabilisation would be useful (more on this later!) so that reduced the choice down to the Sigma 105mm and the Canon L series 100mm. I went for the latter and am VERY pleased with the results.

More on Image Stabilisation…
The manufacturer claims 4 stops stabilisation but in the small print you see this reduces as you get close so at minimum focal distance stabilisation is 2 stops. Still useful but…
This stabilisation only corrects movement in the x and y planes (ie up and down) NOT in the z plane (ie in and out). Thus any movement towards and away from the subject is critical for focus but is not adjusted by IS so you need fast AF correction when hand holding.
Another thing much talked about is minimum focal distance to get 1:1 reproduction. A 100mm lens means that you get a longer minimum focal distance for 1:1 than with a 50mm lens. BUT… That distance is measured from the sensor to the subject and a lot of that distance gets filled with a longer lens and an long lens hood. As a result the distance from the tip of the lens to the subject barely changes between a 50mm and 100mm lens. YOU are further away but the bug still has a camera lens in its face!