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Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro
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Full frame sized imageLenses that create APS-C sized image are designed for digital only. They cannot be used on cameras that have image sensor larger than the APS-C format. These lenses are not suitable for film cameras either. Ultrasonic AFLenses with ultrasonic focusing mechanism tend to be quiter and faster than traditionally focusing lenses. One or more Low Dispersion lens element is usedLow Dispersion lens elements help to reduce chromatic aberration. Built-in image stabilizerImage stabilization helps to reduce blur caused by hand shake, especially at high focal length or in low light situations. Image stabilization can give 1 to 3 stop advantage over none stabilized lens, based on the reciprocal rule. Metal mountCheaper lenses are usually equipped with plastic mount, while more expensive, professional lenses have metal mount. In general, metal mounts are more durable, and a good thing to have when lenses are changed a lot. When a camera is used mainly with one lens, the material of the lens mount is not that important. Internal FocusingInternally focusing lenses don't change their size while setting focus. The front lens is fixedThe fixed front lens is not rotating during zoom and/or focusing. This allows the photographer to use petal shaped lens hood. Fixed front lenses also make the use of polarization filters a lot easier. Not SealedWeather sealed lenses are protected from dust and water. While they are not water proof, these lenses can be used in rain and other humid environments. Some sealings only provide protection against dust or water, not both. Sealing is only available when the lens is used on a similarly weather sealed camera body. No drop-in filter supportDrop-in filters are used in those lenses where either the front lens is too large, or the field of view doesn't permit the use of traditional filters at the front of the lens. Usually bright tele and ultra-wide angle lenses support this filter type. |
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The VRII function minimizes camera shake by offering the equivalent of a shutter speed 4 stops faster at near infinity to 3m (1/30x reproduction ratio) shooting. The SWM enables fast and quiet autofocusing, and quick switching between autofocus and manual operation. ED glass element, Nano Crystal Coat ensures superior optical performance by virtually eliminating internal lens element reflections. The IF design provides a constant lens length and eliminates rotation of the front lens element, facilitating the use of circular polarizing filters and the Nikon Close-up Speedlight Commander Kit R1C1 and Nikon Close-up Speedlight Remote Kit R1. 1:1 of maximum reproduction ratio and up to 31cm closest focusing distance, Two focus modes are available — M/A and M.
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Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro Specification
| Available mount(s) | Nikon F |
| Application(s) | Portrait, Closeup |
| Category(s) | Telephoto prime, Macro |
| Multiplier | 1× |
| Stabilizer | yes (4 f-stop advantage) |
| Focal length | 105 mm (prime) |
| Lens construction | 9 elements in 8 groups |
| Angle of view |
35mm: 23.3° digital: 15.3° |
| Number of blades | 7 |
| Maximum aperture | f/2.8 |
| Minimum aperture | f/32 |
| Minimum focusing distance | 31.4 cm |
| Magnification | 1× |
| Filter size | 62 mm |
| Size | ∅ 83 × 116 mm |
| Weight | 790 g |
| Notes |
features close-range correciton |
| AF speed | N/A |
| AF sound | |
| Internal focusing | yes |
| Internal zoom | N/A |
| Fix front lens | yes |
| Mount type | metal |
| Weather sealed | no |
| Drop in filter | no |
| Ultrasonic AF | yes |
| APS-C sized circle | no |
| Low dispersion lens element | yes |
| Hard case | not included |
| Soft case | CL-1020 (included) |
| Lens hood |
HB-38 (included) printable lens hood |
| Tripod adapter | not included |
Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro Reviews
Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro in the news
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Other reviews
- Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro review at www.ephotozine.com (English)
- Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro review at www.digineff.cz (Czech)
Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro Owner Reviews
Most useful owner reviews from Amazon
Excellent lens and great value too.
Mar 28, 2006
Ok, I have had this lens a couple of months now.
What at first seemed like a very good lens is now one I consider
exceptional. In fact it is now my favorite for several reasons.
First of all this lens consistently produces beautiful, even toned and complimentory Bokeh to my images. Bokeh is that term used to describe the elements of a photograph that are out of focus.
This lens has an extremely short depth of field and performs best on close subjects after f/5.6.
My observation of the VR function is this.... that Nikon intended that feature to be more useful when this lens is used for portraits. Up close and for sure when using the wider apertures depth of field is so brief that you need to stop down to capture the breadth of a bumble bee or the center of a flower completely in focus.
In either application this is destined to be a favorite Nikkor lens for many of us. For me it is already!
Focus is very fast and quiet. Build quality is solid! Hefty when held alone or nicely balanced on the D200 with MB200 battery dual battery holder.
I like the lens shade a lot and the packaging is as always, first rate. Comes with 5 year extended warranty, velvet pouch and front and rear caps.
If I could only take one lens this would be it without hesitation.
Matches up extremely well with the SB800 flash units.
I predict this will become a legendary portrait lens.
Good luck!
Serious Flower Power
May 31, 2006
Pros: Excellent image quality, excellent build, excellent VR implementation
Cons: pricey, shortens focal length when focusing close, max aperture goes down to f/4.8 at closest focusing distance
Impressively, the Nikon 105/2.8 VR shows center and corner sharpness through the entire aperture range. The sweet spot is said to be between f/5.6 to f/11, but inspecting 100% crops did not reveal much loss of sharpness at the larger apertures. This probably has a good deal to do with the ED glass element and Nano Crystal coating showing its worth, but it is also probable that the lens outresolves the 6-megapixel APS-C sensor on the test body (a Nikon D50), so any decrease in sharpness is not as apparent.
Likewise, color and contrast are also consistently well rendered through the range of apertures. The only flaws in this gem are flaring and chromatic aberration, which shows up in high contrast scenes from maximum aperture (f/2.8) and is minimized by f/5.6. This is, however, typical of many large aperture lenses at maximum aperture.
Bokeh is one of the best traits of this lens, pretty much up there with some of the best Nikkor lenses, like the 85/1.4 AF-D. Out of focus areas are smooth, and the 9-bladed diaphragm helps to render out of focus point lights as circles rather than harsh geometric shapes.
My complete review, with sample photos and more detail on VR effect, AF and effective aperture, is on my webpage, check it out!
The reason for switch!
Feb 20, 2008
Late last summer, I wondered why Canon and Nikon had such control over the DSLR market. I had been a Konica Minolta 5D user. I went to a camera store and tried the Canon 30D and a bunch of lenses... okay... Nice... Then tried with the D200 with among others the 105VR. I love to shoot macro/close-up and shooting with this lens just blew me away in the store. I knew then that I had to change and began the task of selling off all my gear and making the move to Nikon.
The 105VR is such a a useful lens. VR is not that useful at macro level focusing. But this lens also doubles as a very good short tele, and VR is VERY helpful in those situations!
In this crop of lenses for Nikon mount (Tamron 90, Sigma 105, & Tokina 100) there is two areas where it excels: 1) the 105VR is constant length and when you are this close to things, it makes a difference; 2) AF-S (quiet focusing). The others really do extend quite a bit, you'll be surprised it you are not used to it. Optically it is superb as sharp or sharper than the competition. Solid construction, large snap on shade. This lens is a winner.
Too Pricy for the Non-Professional? NO!
Mar 30, 2008
I ordered this lens and developed buyer's remorse while awaiting delivery. It is expensive, I'm an amateur, and I thought maybe I was spoiling myself beyond justification. When it arrived, I popped it on my D40x (just to see what it could do before returning it) and snapped off a few pictures of my daughter.
Wow. One look at those casually set up shots and I knew this lens wasn't going anywhere. The detail is so acute, the skin tones so alive, the bokeh so elegantly superior to my other lenses that I feel like I've suddenly elevated my whole game. We had a classic Vermont ice storm the next day, and I went out and shot close ups (twigs encased in ice, frozen buds, etc.) and the results were equally impressive.
It's a beefy lens, but one I don't want to be without, so it's time to upgrade my camera bag.
The price may give you pause, but the results won't. It's an excellent value.
A hidden jewel of Nikon
Mar 3, 2009
This is a hidden jewel of Nikon that many do not know about and hardly ever talked about. It is a first macro lens with VR that when used as a portrait-head-shot lens, gives amazing bokeh. I've used two copies of this lens already and have never encountered any focus problems on either one of them, nor have I heard any focus problems from anyone else using it. Once it is in the right range (1-2m and infinity), focus is relatively fast. It is not as zippy as the legendary 24-70mm Nikkor, but fast-enough nevertheless. Once it locks on focus, you have supreme confidence that you'll have a super sharp picture. The VR works wonderfully at longer range, giving you about 3 stops of non-shake advantage (Nikon literature claims 4, but in my practice I get about 2-3). At close range less than 1 meter, your VR advantage reduces to about 1 stop. This 1 stop may not be significant when shooting bugs, jewelry, and such with macro flash, but is very helpful when you try to get focus. In macro mode, one should always shoot with flash systems or in a controlled lightbox environment anyways. Auto-focus at less than a few inches away is precise and spot-on, and is such a joy to use compared to your traditional manual focus macro photography. The depth of field is very shallow, and goes higher than f/2.8 when close-up at that range. Doing macros, you should always increase your f-stop anyways with ample lighting + lighting equipments.
If you're shooting your clients' diamonds and jewelry pieces at less than a few inches away, and then switching to their headshots at several yards away... you can do it all with this lens without any filters or switching lenses. This macro lens is a joy to use on APS-C to get a repro of 1.5X. On the FX bodies such as the D700, it is a superb medium-long head-shot portrait lens. IMHO the bokeh this lens produces is actually softer and creamier and more eye-pleasing than what Nikkor 85mm F/1.4D produces. It's very easy to produce creamier bokeh than Canon's 85mm f/1.2L shot at f/1.2! I can't believe people are just starting to discover this many years after Nikon released this lens. This has become my favorite lens for head-shots and shots where bokeh is of high importance.
Given so much praises of this lens, there are obvious down-sides. One is that it is super heavy, and the other one is that it is not cheap, at about $899 now. It was sold for less than $650 brand new a few months ago before the rise of Japanese Yen and before Nikon raised all of their lens prices. Also, this is not a beginner lens as depth of field is extremely shallow. It takes a lot of skills and experience to use such a shallow depth of field. Moving your focal point by a few millimeters will in fact alter your focus point, so be careful when doing shallow DoF head-shots as you may accidentally shift the focal plane on your client's ear/nose instead of their eyes.
There are complaints that the size of your macro subject changes with focus (termed "lens breathing"), but the complaints are usually from old traditional photographers who still mount their cameras on tripods. With this lens, you have VR, so you can just hand-hold most close-ups and tilt your body forward/background to adjust for size/framing.
As with all pro Nikkor lenses, this one is heavy duty with superb built quality and unparalleled resale values compared to any other brand. If you have a lot of cash to burn, this Nikkor is one of the least talked about but one of the highest praised general-purpose portrait + macro lens to get.
Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro Sample Photos
Nikon D300 + Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AF-S VR IF-ED Micro
Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D AF-S VR IF-ED Micro Accessories
62 mm Filters
62 mm Polarizer Filters
- Zeikos ZE-CPL62 62mm Multi-Coated Circular Polarizer Filter 2.09 USD
- Tiffen 62mm 80A Filter 19.99 USD
- Zeikos ZE-FLK62 62mm Multi-Coated 3 Piece Filter Kit (UV-CPL-FLD) 6.89 USD
- Tiffen 62mm Linear Polarizer 0.00
- Sunpak DF-7060-CP 62mm Coated Circular Polarizer 11.95 USD
- Digital Concepts 62mm Circular Polarizing Filter 11.95 USD
- Quantaray - 62mm Circular Polarizer Filter
- Vivitar 62mm Circular Polarizer Filter 14.20 USD
- Adorama 62mm Linear Polarizer Glass Filter 14.95 USD
- Sony DCR-HC52, DCR-HC62, DCR-UX10, DCR-UX20 - 30mm High Resolution 3-piece Filter Set (UV, Fluorescent, Polarizer) - Silver 14.99 USD
62 mm UV Filters
- Zeikos ZE-UV62 62mm Multi-Coated UV Filter 1.15 USD
- 62mm Multi Coated UV Filter 62 mm UV Lens Protector 5.95 USD
- 62mm Tristar Optics UV & C-PL Filter Bonus Pack Plus Carry Pouch 29.99 USD
- Tiffen 62mm Haze-1 Filter 7.95 USD
- SUNPAK CF-7035 UV Ultra-Violet Filter 62mm 0.00
- Camlink 62UV 62MM UV Filter 4.43 USD
- Platinum Plus by Sunpak 62mm UV Lens Filter 10.00 USD
- Vivitar UV Filter 62mm 4.99 USD
- HOYA 62mm UV Haze Protection Filter 5.00 USD
- Bower 62mm Uv Filter 5.95 USD
62 mm Skylight Filters
- Tiffen 62mm SKY 1-A Filter 7.10 USD
- HOYA 62mm Skylight 1B Warming Filter 7.00 USD
- Quantaray - 62mm 1A Skylight Multi-Coated Filter 5.59 USD
- Promaster 62mm Skylight 1A Filter 5.90 USD
- Tamron 62mm Skylight 1A Lens Filter 8.25 USD
- Quantaray - 62mm 1A Skylight Filter 8.41 USD
- Hama Skylight Filter 1 A (LA+10), 62.0mm- HTMC Coated 9.99 USD
- HOYA 62SKY Skylight Filter 0.00
- Kenko KB-62ND8 62MM STANDARD COATED NUTRAL DENSITY 8X 0.00
- Tiffen 62WIDSKY 62mm Wide Angle SKY 1-A Filter 0.00
62 mm Lens Caps
- Fotodiox Inner pinch Lens Cap, 62mm 1.50 USD
- OP/Tech 07621 62MM FILTER CAP 1.95 USD
- Fotodiox Inner pinch Lens Cap with Cap Keeper, 62mm 1.95 USD
- HAKUBA USA INC 62mm Lens Cap for Camera Lens 0.00
- JJC Pro Center Pinch 62mm Snap-on Lens Cap with Leash fits universal lens (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sigma and etc.) 2.89 USD
- Snap on Plastic Lens Cap 62mm 3.45 USD
- Adorama 62mm Plastic Snap-On Lens Cap 3.89 USD
- Center pinch 62mm snap-on lens cap with keeper 3.95 USD
- The Camera Hunter 62mm Plastic Snap-on Lens Cap 3.99 USD
- Nikon LC-62 62mm Snap-On Lens Cap (4748) 3.99 USD