For anyone interested I have posted BOTH parts of a very detailed assessment of the 105mm f/2.8G AF-S VR Micro NIKKOR
You can find it here on the PIXIQ blog and I have, as usual taken things further with some comments about macro lenses and stuff in general.
By the way, I have revamped some of the things I have written on this blog and posted them on the Pixiq site – it is all part of a coming venture which I will outline soon. At least there are new pics at this location:
This Nikkor lens has never, in any sense let me down in the three years I have used it. So, I thought it’s about time I gave it a full “users appraisal” since I have owned a disgraceful number of macro lenses of assorted makes and focal lengths over the years…that search for the Holy Grail.
I have not forsaken the blog I share with Niall and Andy…if it has seemed a bit less active it is because all sorts of elements of three lives have taken over. I will post something in the next day or so which is another collection of observations and comments under the banner An Italian tale.
I know things are crazy in Britain but life here in Berlusconistan is like waiting for a volcano to blow …and Italy has had a few of those both real and metaphorical.
I am trying to create a presence on the Pixiq site because it is linked to the publishers I work with at Lark and they are folk for whom I have great respect and as far away from some of the UK outfits I have worked for as you can possibly get. Potentially it is an interesting venture and if it grows I get paid…modestly but there may well be a return in the future. I shall have more to say on this in the next post where I offer some observations about how the hell one keeps going in such dubious times.
A host of commercial photographers post on Pixiq so I have tried to set out my stall in my own way by emphasising that I am a naturalist and passionate conservationist who uses photography to express what I see in and feel about nature and the world around me.
I know that a lot of very thoughtful people read this blog and would value any comments you have either positive or not on what Pixiq is doing. I like the intimacy of this blog and feel that one is among friends and kindred spirits…I am happy for you to post comment here or email me privately if they are too scathing!
Six months on from this review, I just sold my Sigma 70mm (which I regret) to help finance one of these! Your detailed and accurate review was instrumental in helping me make my choice. I had to return the first example to the retailer because it made a squeaking noise when focusing manually, but the replacement is excellent in every respect.
Thanks for taking the time to do the review(s)
Pat
Hello Pat,
Glad (and relieved) that you like the lens- that 70mm Sigma is also an excellent lens. I can sympathize because I once sold my Olympus gear and went Nikon buying the first Nikon AF 105mm which was not an impressive optic as far as I was concerned. I managed to find another ste of those Olympus macros and still use them.
Increasingly, I use this Nikon lens on f20- f22 with Camera set to Manual and shutter speed 1/250th and get a lot of hand-held insect shots using the macro lash as well… and I often use the AF which does manage to follow.
best
Paul
I’m just playing around with it just now, Paul, trying to get a feel for it. Shot some hand-held stuff yesterday and was quite surprised at the success rate.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8488797@N05/5638227568/
It feels great in the hand … unlike the Sigma 150 which I tried and, well, didnae like
I’m thinking of a 1.4 teleconverter, someone said the Kenco is great value for money, any thoughts?