Noob Macro enthusiast

[Kingjames]

Hey guys,
My name is James I live in Australia,
Yesterday i purchased my first camera (yes I am serious I have never owned a camera before) im probably the biggest photography noob you will ever meet but i learn super quick as i work with technology everyday (Telecommunications salesman) anyway I purchased a Nikon D5200 with the standard 18 - 55mm kit lens.
I was experimenting yesterday with various things and I am very interested in Macro photography so I called my local camera store and and enquired about Macro lenses to suit my camera and not surprisingly they were very pricey at around $600-$1000 for different lenses.

Then I stumbled upon these Macro lenses from eBay that basically attach to the end of your standard lens and the are dirt cheap mostly around $30-$40 dollars, I know its too good to be true so does anybody know the pros and cons of these cheaper attachments and will the quality of shots be drastically affected? or would this be a good way to get familiar with this style of photography?

Thank you

James

[Rorschach]

As you said, they are too good to be true if you're looking at like for like performance - the cost saving is the only pro IMO.

How much the image quality will be affected will depend on the lens' optics - the chances are that the macro filter was made to fit a particular filter thread rather than tailored to a specific lens so how much the optics of the your lens and the one the filter was originally designed to work for will determine how drastically sharpness will be affected.

However, while you won't get the quality you'd get from a dedicated macro lens, it's not a bad way to familiarise yourself with it before you decide to take the financial plunge.

[Kingjames]

Thankyou I have decided to buy a genuine nikon 90mm macro lens my friend works in an electronics store and can sell it to me for cost price so will be $560

[JBomb]

Is there anything should be looking at stats wise to know which are the better lenses?
Or just recommendations on this site and other lens review sites??