Photofocus

I thought I might be past this part of my life – but I guess you’re never too old to fall in love. Yes it’s true. I love the Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens. It was a timid relationship at first. I had never worked with a macro lens at 105mm. I was used to 180mm macro lenses. Would 105 be enough? Well she turned out to be more than enough for me. The 105 focuses down to 1:1 and does so quickly and easily. Once you get close, you can manually adjust or simply lean the camera in or out for fine focus on macro subjects.

Bottom line, this is probably my new favorite all around lens and here’s why. It’s truly exceptional! (Look up my past reviews and see how many times I have used that word. I can tell you not often.)

On a full frame camera like the D3, this lens performs spectacularly. It’s not only a great macro lens, but at 105mm it’s perfect for portrait work, particularly head shots. And if you’re a landscape shooter, it’s just enough of a telephoto to help you isolate some details or to make a series of shots for a panorama.

The VR really works and in both macro and portrait situations, (but probably means more to portrait photographers) this can be a great help to anyone who doesn’t want to use a tripod.

The lens isn’t exactly light, given it’s a fast f/2.8 lens, but it’s not unusually heavy. The build quality is top-rate. The bokeh is beautiful and smooth and this puppy is SHARP! I don’t know if it’s the Nano-Crystal coat ED glass that reduces flare or what, but from f/4 on, it’s easily the sharpest prime lens I’ve ever used in this focal range. And it ain’t at all bad at f/2.8.

I love the fact that it uses internal focusing. When shooting macro shots this is a big deal. You can’t have the lens protruding into your subject as you focus. And speaking of focus, I continue to be amazed at how fast and quiet this lens is.

The 105 micro is clearly a superb all-around lens, capable of producing great images in a wide variety of situations. If I am not out shooting birds, then you can pretty much assume I’ll have this lens on one of my cameras when you see me out and about. In fact, if I could only have one lens, this would be the one. While it’s not exactly cheap at $930, you get what you pay for. In this case, it’s worth every penny.

Very highly recommended!

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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store