First impressions about the Micro Nikkor 105 f 2.8 AFS VR ED G
Phew, if this trend continues, the name of the lens will become longer than the reviews!
Technical data can be found nearly everywhere thus I will be short about them, here are the main ones (within brackets the same data for the previous 105 f 2.8 AF/AFD):
14 lenses in 12 groups (9 lenses/8groups) with an ED element and a "Nano" coated element (none of these).
Filter size 62mm (52mm).
Nine bladed diaphragm (seven bladed)
Minimum focusing distance about 31cm (31cm)
Maximum Reproduction Ratio (on reflex 35mm full frame) 1:1 (1:1)
Working distance 15cm (13,4cm) useful. Since the new lens is IF, it does not extend when focusing at close distances, allowing this little gain in working distance with respect to the previous model.
Actual focal length at 1:1 is about 77-78mm like the previous model.
It is a G series, no aperture control via a ring on the lens barrel (present obviously on the previous model).
It has a nice rubber ring around the lens bayonet, to protect against dust and moisture.
Here are my first impressions after a couple of days of use:
It is a stubby lens for its focal length, and rather heavy but it feels solid and well balanced on my D200. AF is reasonably fast and very quiet, if there is enough light, focusing precision is also good. It comes with an huge hood which nearly doubles the length of the lens. I find myself using more often an old screw-in HN23 hood that is less imposing and lets more free distance from the subject.
I didn't carry any scientific test, but to my eyes there are no significant differences in sharpness between the 105 Vr and the previous model (or with the 105 Sigma). All are very good. My opinion is that you should not trade your 105 af (Nikon or Sigma) to get the AFS if you only want a significant gain in sharpness, because there isn't. Anyway sharpness is very good, or beven better. No USM was applied to the photos.
These are my usual fossil fishes ;) 4cm long at ISO 200 1/60s f 6.3 with flash
and here a 100% crop:
Here is one of my favourite books at 1:1
and the 100% crop:
And what is this? Well, did you notice that little hair in the right upper corner?
What is the real strength of this lens is contrast and colour rendition. Here the new 105 AFS VR wins hands down against the older model, and even more so against the Sigma. Also rendition of out of focus areas (bokeh) is excellent, thanks to the nine bladed diaphragm.
ISO 200 1/60s, f22 RR about 1.3:1
a 100%crop
Another couple of 100%crops from a 1:1 shot of the same subject with the same settings as above:
The grasshopper here is a Schistocerca gregaria, thus it is a fairly large insect (about 10cm whole length), however the head is less than 1cm high, and the 100% crop of another shot (below) reveals a lot of detail:
And the VR?
It works, not at closest distances neither on tripod, but it works when needed :
VR ON handheld
VR OFF
A 100% crop of the original image.
VR ON
VR OFF
In conclusion, l recommend this lens if you want a better contrast, saturation, colour rendition, and bokeh, and if you need the VR. For my work I shot BW, but it happens that I sometimes have to take handheld photos of medium-small sized fossils in museums and exhibits for my records and think the VR is very handy for these situations. When I have to take detailed images for my papers instead, then I put the lens on a repro stand, obviously. But I do macro also on the field as an hobby ,and in this case the colours and bokeh of the new 105 AFS VR are really pleasant to me.
UPDATE: Since the 105 Micro Nikkor AFS accepts converters, I tried this lens with the TC 14EII .
Autofocus becomes a bit slower and some contrast is needed to gain focus, but with some care, it works, but as obvious, I find myself using manual focusing when trying to go beyond 1:1 as in the spider picture here below:
Spider with a droplet of water, 105 AFS VR + TC 14EII 1/60s f20. The spider is less than 1cm of body length.
Despite the small aperture it was impossible to have enough depth of field, so I decided do focus on the little eyes and let the rest to blur gradually. It seems that the quality of the combo is very good.
UPDATE November 13, 2006
The 105 AFS VR goes a little beyond 1:1. If you focus to the marked limit (314mm) you get a correct RR of 1:1 as marked. Here an example:
The framed area on the Dx format of my D200 is of 24mm at minimum marked focusing distance, corresponding to a reproduction ratio of 1:1. The actual focal length of the lens is 78.5mm
But the focusing ring allows a little more rotation, you can go closer until a focusing distance of about 299mm. There the framed areas reveals that you can get a RR of 1:0.91 as for the example here below:
The framed area is about 22mm corresponding to a RR of 1:0.91. The actual focal length shortens to about 75mm.