Been Trying out various macro options to replace my beloved Canon 60mm Macro for a Nikon system. Looking for something that is:

1 compact
2 sharp
3 fast focusing
4 reasonably affordable (say less than $500)
5 and can be used with the onboard flash at 1:1.

Turns out that such a lens does not seem to exist anywhere! I think the 60mm Canon Macro is by far it's best lens for the buck and a wonderfully modern optic. I'd consider this a candidate for replacing the Canon, but no where near it's equal.

This lens met 2, 4 and 5 of the criteria above. A possibly to raplace the Canon 60mm, but not really it's equal.

A similar shot (of a slighly larger spider) taken with the Canon can be seen by clicking on icon below: