The glasses that I’ve been using typically the longest as a photographer might be the Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro – the F-mount lens, that is. Nikon is selling it since 2006, and in that time it’s increased a lofty reputation (ofcourse not just among macro photography addicts, either). Today, I’m understanding it in full.
About the Nikon AF-S VR 105mm f/2. 8G ED Macro
There’s a long history of 105mm f/2. 8 macro improved lenses in Nikon’s lineup, beginning with the Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2. 8 AI-S in the 1980s. The lens Visiting covering today is Nikon’s fourth 105mm f/2. main, and it’s been a whole new version for years, up until the most recent Z-series 105mm f/2. 11 S Macro was released in 2021 for Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless system.
The full name of this lens is the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2. 8G IF-ED. That’s amazing mouthful! Nikon has since simplified its naming modello, but here’s what each and every abbreviation means:
- AF-S: Autofocus with silent-wave motor. Thanks to this motor, this lens can autofocus on any Nikon camera today, from basic DSLRs to the Nikon Unces mirrorless system (assuming you employ the FTZ adapter or an equivalent adapter with autofocus)
- VR: Shaking reduction. This is Nikon’s principal VR macro lens. VR makes less and less of a variance as you focus closely, still I still find it attractive stabilizing the view through your viewfinder and making it easier to create.
- Micro-Nikkor: Nikon’s name for their macro photography lenses. This lens’s official specs say it may possibly reach 1: 1 magnification (AKA 1x or life-sized magnification), but in practice it can head even further to about 1 ) 1x.
- G: No aperture bridal on the lens.
- IN CASES WHERE: Internal target. At the time this lens premiered, most macro lenses might focus externally instead, and therefore the barrel of the lens extended as you focused finer and closer. Internal center means better weather closing and simpler handling, and perhaps, more working distance (the distance between the front belonging to the lens and your subject throughout macro photography).
- EDWARD: Extra-low dispersion glass, a common Nikon feature to help minimize chromatic aberrations .
See even more in our article on Nikon lens verbiage . For simplicity, throughout this review, I’m gonna refer to this lens like Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro.
A very important factor that makes the Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro stick out is its high level of compatibility, since it can autofocus on Nikon DSLRs together with mirrorless alike. By comparison, many F-mount macro lenses through third party companies like Tokina or Tamron have fit issues with the FTZ connectors. And the newest Nikon Unces MC 105mm f/2. seven is a mirrorless-only macro scope. So , photographers who film cross-platform between Nikon WITH ALL THE CURRENT and mirrorless should strongly consider the 105mm f/2. 8G version.
In fact , that’s why I’ve placed it for so long due to my own photography. I result with Nikon DSLRs for several years and now use a mirrorless video camera most of the time. Out of all my F-mount glass, the Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro often is the only lens that I have personally kept in my bag to get shooting mirrorless; everything else I prefer is a native Nikon Z lens.
How come did I choose to stick in such a lens – and this contact lens only – from every one of the DSLR lenses I’ve chosen? Is it really that good? Actually that the Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro is not a wonderful lens, as you’ll find out throughout this review. But its imperfections are of little to no concern for the subjects that we shoot. Perhaps there’s several nostalgia involved, since I have personally used it for so long as well as took many of my favorite design with this lens. There’s basically nothing that makes me like to switch it out for a little something more modern.
Get back, let’s take a look at the optic design of the Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro.
Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro Lens Structure Diagram
The following macro lens has 16 elements in 12 communities, which is a lot more than macro lens designs of the past. Here’s a diagram showing the exact lens’s construction:
There is certainly one ED glass aspect, but it has no other fantastic elements. That’s not surprising for the lens from 2006, still nowadays, you may be used to taking a look at more exotic glass in a contact like this. For instance, the Nikon Z-mount 105mm macro contains four special elements: 1 aspherical and three EDWARD CULLEN glass.
Nevertheless, what matters is not the number of special aspects in a lens but the course it performs in practice. (Well, what quite matters is the photographer’s creative process, although I’ll leave that session for our articles on ensemble. )
For a long time, macro lenses in general ~ not just from Nikon : have had a good reputation for sharpness and image quality possibly even at non-macro focusing distances. Is that also true among the 105mm f/2. 8G Macro? You’ll see more within the “Image Quality” section later on in this review, but the outspoken answer is that it has some graphic quality flaws compared to newer macro lenses, even though it’s not terrible in any respect.
Today let’s take a more detailed understand this lens’s specifications.
Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro Lens Specifications
- Mount Type: Nikon F Mount
- Focal Segment: 105mm
- Maximum Aperture: f/2. 8 at infinity; f/4. 8 at 1: 7
- Minimum Aperture: f/32 from infinity; f/57 at 6: 1
- Aperture Blades: in search of, rounded
- Filter Size: 62mm
- Lens Elements: 14
- Zoom lens Groups: 12
- Special Factors: 1 ED glass ingredient
- Fluorine Coated Front Aspect: No
- Electronic Diaphragm: No
- Vibration Reduction: Yes
- Interior Focusing: Yes
- Focus Electric motor: Stepping motor
- Minimum Focus Distance: 12. 4 inches width (31. 4 cm)
- Most possible Magnification: 1× (AKA 1.5: 1 or life-sized)
- Load Material: Metal
- Weather/Dust Closing: Yes
- Dimensions (Length × Diameter): 116 × 83 mm / 4. six × 3. 3 in .
- Weight: 720 g and 1 . 58 lbs
- MSRP: $900, but discontinued. In relation to $500 used. Check current price on to eBay
The Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro is really a quintessential macro lens, certainly nothing in this list of specs is specially surprising or out of place. The first thing to note, however , is the supreme aperture value, which narrows as you focus toward first: 1 magnification. This sensation isn’t unique to this website; it’s a property of all which could when focusing at very close distances. The effect is sometimes the bellows factor or successful aperture. Still, it does not necessarily really change how you ought to use the Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro; just be aware that the viewfinder will get a tiny bit dimmer at 1: 8 focusing distances.
On the next page of the review, I’ll cover the construction and real-world handling of a Nikon 105mm f/2. 8G Macro lens. Click the food selection below to go to “Build Good quality and Handling. ”
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