See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details with your camera.
Manual focus is fine, along with electronic focus indications.Ĥ.) Since it has no aperture ring, it's just about useless with manual focus film cameras. You'll have no AF, confused exposure modes, and no VR. You'll have Program and Shutter-priority modes, but lose Manual and Aperture-priority since you have no way to set the aperture on the camera or on the lens.ģ.) You're really pushing it with the oldest AF cameras like the N2020, N6006 and N8008. Even if you lose autofocus, these cameras have in-finder focus confirmation dots to help you.Ģ.) Late 1980s ~ early 1990s AF cameras like the N90s, N70 and F4 will focus just fine, but you'll lose VR. The incompatibilities for older or cheaper 35mm cameras are that:ġ.) It won't autofocus with the cheapest new AF film cameras like the N55, but if you focus manually, everything else works great. It will always shoot at f/32 on manual-focus cameras, but meter and focus at f/2.8, leading to 7 stops of underexposure. It also should work great with most 35mm AF Nikon camera like the F6, F100, F5, N80 and N75, but won't work with any manual-focus cameras because it has no aperture ring. It uses an AF-S focus system (introduced by Nikon in 1998) and uses a traditional mechanical diaphragm actuator pin introduced by Nikon in 1959. This lens will work perfectly on all FX Nikon DSLRs and all DX Nikon DSLRs. Use the FTZ adapter and everything should work great on Nikon's Z-series mirrorless cameras. I'd get it used at eBay or maybe at Amazon. Nikon uses the word "micro" instead of "macro." They mean the same thing. The 70-180mm macro or 200mm f/4 AF-D Micro lenses are much better for shooting macro all day. This may seem silly, but it's a critical issue for macro use, and a big pain when you focus manually as most macro shooters do. You can't move yourself and then focus, because the image size changes so much that you can't frame unless you're in focus. You need to use AF-C and move yourself in and out to frame. My biggest concern is that it's very hard to get precise macro framing because the image size changes greatly ( breathes) while focusing. This 105mm VR Micro is built as well as the $1,700 70-200mm VR, and except that this 105mm can't zoom, it does exactly what the 70-200mm VR does, but better.įor all-around use as a general-purpose tele, this 105mm is Nikon's best yet. This lens also has direct mechanical manual focus, far better than the laggy electronic manual focus of the all-plastic Z 105/2.8 Macro that costs about $997. It's much better made than the 105 AF-D macro it replaces.
For only about $450 used (if you know How to Win at eBay) it's a solid hunk of professional precision-made mostly metal lens. This 105mm VR is optically superb as well as a bargain. July 2022 Nikon Reviews Nikon Lenses All Reviews For portraits, the 105 DC is a much better idea for the same price. For serious macro, the 200mm f/4 AF-D Micro is still the world's best even though it's discontinued (but easy to get on eBay). The 105mm VR is not particularly convenient for dedicated macro because focus breathing causes the image size to change as one focuses. Not for: This AF-S lens won't autofocus on the oldest and crummiest AF 35mm cameras and won't work expose properly on any manual-focus 35mm camera.
It's also a great macro lens today, short of the 200mm f/4 AF-D Micro. Ideal Uses: Perfect for use as a general-purpose medium tele on mirrorless (with FTZ), FX DSLR, DX DSLR and most 35mm AF cameras. This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro-NIKKOR ( FX, DX and 35mm coverage, 1:1 macro, 62mm filters, 26.6 oz./752g, about $450 used if you know How to Win at eBay). Intro Specifications Performance Compared Recommendations
Home Donate New Search Gallery Reviews How‑To Books Links Workshops About Contact Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR G Micro-NIKKOR (2006-2021) Nikon 105mm f/2.8 G VR Micro (Macro) Review & Sample Images by Ken Rockwell