Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens

I purchased this for macro work, but find it takes incredible portrait photos. Quality and Durability were ranked a 4 instead of a 5 due to the care I think will be required to protect these TYPES of lenses. I think they will do fine, just know how to care and PROTECT these investments and they should take care of you. I chose the 105mm over smaller macro lenses based on the advantage to have some distance between the lens and the subject. One comment I will add to help another novice like me when purchasing costly equipment- research “Gray Marketing.” This is where a seller has purchased the lens over seas and sells you the same lens but at the cost that you the buyer lose on the USA warranty. It’s legal, and indeed You might find a deal on the front end, but it’s worth the inquiry to find out if the dealer is Authorized so you might be covered for the 1-4 years of a warranty. ^ good information to know. Would buy again.

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Bread and butter of any product photography studio. Also fantastic for portrait works. This produces a very creamy and buttery bokeh on out of focus objects. In my opinion if 50mm F1.8 is the essential standard prime, the 105mm is the essential telephoto to get.

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I originally purchased this lens specifically for my foray into macro photography. I have, however, found this lens to be so much more. To clarify, the macro ("micro" in Nikon-speak) results are truly beautiful. The 105 allows me a little more distance from my target which is very useful when my model is able to move away from me. This made me very happy that I didnt opt for the less expense 40, 60 or 85mm varieties. One day, I was just randomly using my new lens and turned it towards my young son. I was absolutely blown away! The quality of the results were beyond my wildest expectations. The portrait possibilities with this lens will stretch my abilities for years to come. I currently own 7 Nikkor lenses (including my 2 original kit lenses) but this is my absolute favorite. You will not be disappointed in this purchase. In addition, the deal that I got from Amazon saved me a lot of money. I think my wife is a little jealous of how much I talk about this lens. If you think your wife (or husband) can deal with the competition, get one of these lenses.

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Just bought this lens. Well built without a doubt. Fast focus. Great macro shots. If you are looking for a macro lens, this is it. Well worth the money. I use this lens on Nikon D5500 and D7100.

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This lens took amazingly sharp photos and I wish I could have kept it, but I bought a used copy and the focus ring kept spinning unlike my other lenses where it stops if you turn it far enough. This wasn’t a big deal, but if I’m paying that much for a lens, I don’t want any doubt that it’s gonna fail shortly after

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I LOVE this macro lens. I have used the Nikon 60mm macro, and the tamron 90mm, but none seem as tack sharp, and amazing as this one. The only downside is that i manage to manual focus this faster than it can focus itself. Its not too much of an issue, but if you were trying to capture tiny little fast moving bugs, it could be a problem. I just shoot wedding details with it, and they stay still. Its a great focal length, and love the 1:1 ability!

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This lens is extremely sharp. At f2.8 it currently has the highest DxO Mark rating of any tested lens on any camera body. Autofocus is surprisingly fast and effective for a macro lens, even at 1:1 magnification. Other macro lenses that I have used required manual focus at high levels of magnification, but I can shoot faster and more accurately with this lens using autofocus. So instead of taking 100 manually-focused shots while swaying back-and-forth in hopes of getting one in-focus picture, I can take a handful of braced auto-focused shots and be sure to end up with some good in-focus pictures. VR is also effective at close distances, which allows me to shoot close-up at lower shutter speeds (and lower ISOs). Another strength of this lens is its balance between working distance and depth-of-field. This lens provides 1:1 magnification at its minimum focus distance of 12 inches. 12 inches is a sufficient working distance to use a ring flash or the Nikon R1C1 wireless close-up speedlight system . Its also sufficient distance to bounce a regular speedlight onto your tiny subject in a pinch, either on-camera or off-camera. This lens also has an impressive f32 minimum aperture, which helps mitigate the shallow depth-of-field at the minimum focus distance. At f32, this lens provides a 0.42 inch DOF at its minimum focus distance of 12 inches. (BTW, youll need some good lighting to work at f32 and diffraction limits sharpness.) By comparison, the Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro has an f22 minimum aperture, which only provides a 0.21 inch DOF at its minimum focus distance of 15 inches. The Tamron 180mm f3.5 macro also has an f32 minimum aperture, but only provides a 0.32 inch DOF at its minimum focus distance of 18.5 inches. The Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro achieves 1:1 magnification with a 0.49in DOF, but its not as sharp and its minimum focus distance of 7.3 inches is too close for my taste. So among all F-mount macro lenses, this Nikon macro lens strikes the best balance between a viable minimum focus distance and a relatively large depth-of-field at that distance. You can also use this lens for portraits, although other lenses like the Nikon 135mm DC, Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII, and Nikon 200mm f2.0 VR will be better for that. If you want to take tripod-mounted studio close-ups at 1:2 magnification or less, then Id recommend a tilt-shift lens like the Nikon 85mm f2.8 PC-E instead because you can work around the narrow DOF by reorienting the focal plane.

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Ive been using this lens on a D610 for about a month now and so far I really like it. Ive been using it for true macro shots and as a short telephoto for birds I can get close to. On a tripod using live view, the auto-focus is pretty darned close to perfect even at macro distances. You might still need to override it and manually adjust it to your liking, but you might be satisfied with what the camera and lens give you also. When hand holding the lens and using the optical viewfinder, the auto-focus is pretty accurate too. I did however need to work on my hand holding technique. At first I thought the lens was back focusing, but after some practice with my hand holding technique, I found the lens works fine. I was just moving too much and ignoring the focus confirmation. Once I slowed down, relaxed, and made sure the green dot was visible, my hand held viewfinder shots got much clearer. This lens will hunt in dimly lit conditions. When light is good, I find it to focus quickly and accurately. I also found that with practice, it hunts less than when I first got it. Overall Im happy with my purchase!

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A little slow to focus. To the point that if it missed the focus and went all the way back to the other side of the range - you better just manually focus and then click button again so it will pick up autofocus faster. A little on the heavy side but what would you expect from that much glass? Pictures comes out OK, just make sure your insects have enough light. Works OK as a portrait lens but 105 mm will make you run far from your object. In any case, I think its the best Micro lens to have (especially if its your first one). Shorted lens just wont do any good if you shoot insects. They will wave (or flick you a bird) and fly away before you even think about shooting them. Shorter one will work fine on flowers or pattern shooting. But if you want butterflies or other ADD insects - get this one. Nikon never disappointed me.

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I am a portrait photographer who shoots mainly high school seniors. However, I am also an occasional second-shooter for weddings and I want to dive into newborn photography as well. I thought this lens would work great as both a macro AND a portrait lens. What I found was an absolutely amazing lens. The build quality is solid and heavy. As someone mentioned earlier, I like the weight...because it helps me get a more steady shot. But the weight of this lens may be a "con" to some. The focusing even at close distances is rather fast. I was surprised. The only macro lenses I have ever played with were Tamron. Its not too noisy...so it should be quiet enough for newborns. It doesnt search forever to focus. One way to help this is to focus from about a foot and a half away, and then get closer. It wont search as much. The focusing ring is VERY smooth, allowing for those fine adjustments...and there is no play when reversing direction (as mentioned in another review). Overall, I couldnt be happier with this lens. Its definitely worth every penny.

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