Nikon macro and special lens test/review database

Index

NEW AND BETTER ARTICLE INDEX AT NIKON INDEX
(It is only the new index that will be updated. It doesn't have the ranking yet, but is better and more up-to-date)
(You might also want to check out some of my other index based on same concept: Olympus IndexPanasonic IndexFujifilm Index)

Nikon PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D

Image quality rating: 100,00%

Overall rating: 98,00%

Main points:
  • Very sharp
  • Hard to master
  • Special purpose lens


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Imagepower
'I was competely stunned by the precision this tool reveal'
SLR Gear
10/10
Ken Rockwell
'This is a very special purpose lens for people too lazy to haul out a view camera, or too cheap to spring for a real digital back for that view camera like the Phase One.'
Fredmiranda.com
9.8/10
'It's difficult to use. No one says this. In any review you find people rave about this lens for all of the qualities which make it great -- it's fast and it's sharp, among other things. But in my opinion, it's pretty damn hard to use. You really need to learn the technique and you can only do this by using it A LOT.'
Bjorn Rorslett
5/5
' Images are crisp and clear across the entire frame and colour rendition are amazing with rich, vibrant colours.'
Dxomark


Nikon 105mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor

Image quality rating: 95,90%

Overall rating: 93,37%

Main points:
  • Special portrait lens
  • Can be hard to master
  • Great bokeh


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Photozone
4.5/5
3.5/5
'The DC-Nikkor AF 105mm f/2 D is a very high quality, versatile tele lens. The resolution figures are excellent when using the Nikkor as a conventional lens. The Defocus Control (DC) feature gives you superior control over background and foreground blur - some portrait and still-life photographers will certainly desire such a detailed controlled over the bokeh (the out-of-focus blur) although it requires quite a bit of experience to master it. 'D200
SLR Gear
9.86/10
9.71/10
'The 105mm Æ’/2D AF DC provided excellent results for sharpness with just slightly soft results when used wide open. Stopped down to even Æ’/2.8 results were dramatically sharper, and by Æ’/5.6 it's as sharp as it gets'D200, D3X
Ken Rockwell
5/5
5/5
'This lens does it all. It's fast, super-sharp, and designed for the best portraits you've ever taken, as well as general use as a super-fast, super-tough and super-sharp short telephoto.'
Fredmiranda.com
9.8/10
'This is the finest portrait lens I've ever used and I can't stop gushing about it. The picture quality is fantastic and it's increasingly more exciting to use everyday.'
Bjorn Rorslett
4.75/5
'In fact, the 105 DC gives a true stellar optical performance and is one of the finest Nikkors ever made.'


Nikon PC-E NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED

Image quality rating: 95,00%

Overall rating: 92,00%

Main points:
  • Very sharp
  • Hard to master
  • Special purpose lens


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Photography Life
'The PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED can be a very powerful and valuable tool in a photographer’s bag. It has many different uses – the lens can act as a normal 24mm lens for wide-angle photography, can swing left and right or tilt up and down and can be shifted in different directions at the same time (with some limitations, as described on the first page). The shifting capability gives photographers the ability to control converging lines, while tilting and swinging allow changing the lens plane to either bring everything in focus, or to selectively apply focus to certain parts of an image. These unique features make the 24mm f/3.5D PC-E a very specialized lens. They also add to complexity of using such a lens. It took me several weeks to fully understand how to work with PC-E lenses and even after using them for a while, I still had occasional issues with focus and depth of field.'
ePhotozine
4.5/5
4.5/5
'During testing this lens has proved itself to be an exceptional quality optic capable of producing high resolution images, with great contrast and also with the added creative benefits of tilt and shift lens movements.'D700
Imagepower
'I can recommend this current version nonetheless to anybody who is into landscape and architecture photography'
SLR Gear
9.5/10
9.5/10
'Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where if you think you need this lens, you probably know almost everything about it and the only real consideration is the sticker price. For getting shots with a unique perspective, or a depth of field impossible with conventional lenses, there is no substitute - the only choice involved is 24mm, 45mm, or 85mm.'D3X
Fredmiranda.com
9/10
'This is a great lens that I use for portraiture as well as the common "miniaturization" landscapes. Excellent optics, probably the sharpest 24mm I own, and I have the 24-70, 14-24, and 24/1.4.'
Bjorn Rorslett
5/5
'On th D3, I obtained very sharp and crisp images with vividly saturated colours like with so many other ED-glass designs. Set wide open there is a slight corner fall-off on the FX format, much less so with a DX camera. Sharpness is excellent all the way up to f/16 on the D3 and even f/22 appears to be very useful.'D3
Dxomark
Luminous landscape
'The Nikon 24 PC-E lens is very exciting for Nikon owners, especially those with full frame DSLRs or film cameras. For the first time in some ten years Nikon owners have a lens which rivals and in fact may exceed the capabilities and optical performance of the Canon 24 T/S. Indeed almost everything in this article is relevant to the Canon lens as well as the other perspective control lenses in both the Nikon and Canon line-ups.'


Nikon 200mm f/4D ED-IF AF Micro Nikkor 

Image quality rating: 95,00%

Overall rating: 93,90%

Main points:
  • Lag of VR with length
  • Great sharpness


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Photozone
4/5
3.5/5
'The Micro-Nikkor AF 200mm f/4 D ED is an excellent lens with no real weaknesses. The resolution figures are very good to excellent. You may argue that the new AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR is somewhat sharper but the AF 200mm f/4 offers a longer working distance of 26cm vs 14cm - a good argument in favor of the old lens when it comes to nervous critters in macro photography.'D200
ePhotozine
'Despite its obvious quality, this lens does seem to be a little long in the tooth. More suited to specialised macro duties on a tripod than as a general purpose macro lens, it prove extremely hard to hand hold and get decent results.'
Imagepower
'As a conclusion the AF Micro-Nikkor can be described as one of the most useful tools Nikon provides for absolute macro addicts'
SLR Gear
10/10
9.67/10
'By any measure, the Nikon 200mm f/4 is a truly superb lens, delivering exceptional sharpness, low distortion, and uniform exposure across its aperture range. It is large and quite heavy though, and its autofocus performance is on the slow side. If you're looking for superb macro performance and tack-sharp images, you can't do better within the Nikon line.'D200
Ken Rockwell
5/5
5/5
'The 200mm f/4 D AF Micro is among Nikon's sharpest and most distortion-free lenses ever. It's also built like a tank. If you want one, just get it. It's unbeaten for use as a regular telephoto as well as for macro.'
Fredmiranda.com
10/10
'This lens has outstanding optics, both in the macro range and at large distances. Images are astonishingly sharp on axis and at the corners, even wide open and stopped down. There is a slight softening at F16, and noticeable softening at F22, though the latter aperture is useable when DOF is needed. The macro image quality is a match for a 60mm F2.8 AF micro lens. The bokeh is smooth due in part to the long focal length and round (not angular) out of focus highlights. '
Bjorn Rorslett
5/5
'I consider this one of Nikon's premier lenses.'


Nikon PC-E Micro NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED

Image quality rating: 93,75%

Overall rating: 85,00%

Main points:
  • Very sharp
  • Hard to master
  • Special purpose lens


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
ePhotozine
5/5
4.5/5
'This lens is a specialist optic constructed without compromise, capable of producing images with outstanding sharpness across the frame. The tilt and shift movements are a joy to use, as the controls feel precise and well laid out. If this kind of lens has tickled your fancy, you will not be disappointed. It may be worth hiring a copy before you buy tough, as it pays to be sure when dropping nearly £1400 on a lens as specialist as this.'D700
ePhotozine
4.5/5
4/5
'Improvements over the existing optics are significant in both the operational and optical areas while the added focal length in this new range of PC-E lenses will be most welcomed by some. The ‘E' in the PC-E title stands for the Electronic operation of the aperture, making use of the lens a lot simpler than the older fully manual versions.'D700
Imagepower
'Summing up I would state that the PC-E 45/2.8D ED might be one of the most underrated of the current line of Nikkor lenses'D3X
SLR Gear
'This is one of those cases where if you think you need this lens, you probably know almost everything about it and the only real consideration is the sticker price. For getting shots with a unique perspective, or a depth of field impossible with conventional lenses, there is no substitute - the only choice involved is 24mm, 45mm, or 85mm.'D3X, D300s
Photoreview
9/10
'An interesting feature of this graph is that resolution remains high right up to the f/43 aperture. This is quite unusual in normal and zoom lenses - but necessary in a lens that is designed for use at small aperture settings.'
Bjorn Rorslett
4.75/5
'Delivered with tilt/shift axes perpendicular to each other, the 45 PC-E signals its quality by a golden ring in front and a sturdy construction elsewhere. The nano-coating technology improves image contrast substantially and the ED glass makes - as usual - colours vividly rich and vibrant. The propensity to flare and ghosting is reduced but not entirely eliminated in this design. Sharpness is as expected high straight from the wide-open setting and beyond f/11-f/16, where diffraction starts to soften the imaged details.'D3, D700
Dxomark


Nikon 135mm f/2D AF DC Nikkor

Image quality rating: 91,25%

Overall rating: 91,50%

Main points:
  • Special portrait lens
  • Can be hard to master
  • Great bokeh


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Photozone
4.5/5
3.5/5
'The DC-Nikkor AF 135mm f/2 D is a very high quality, versatile tele lens. The resolution figures are excellent when using the Nikkor as a conventional lens. The Defocus Control (DC) feature gives you superior control over background and foreground blur - some portrait and still-life photographers will certainly desire such a detailed controlled over the bokeh (the out-of-focus blur) although it requires quite a bit of experience to master it. 'D200
Imagepower
'To be honest in my opinion it's nothing more than a gimmick'
SLR Gear
9.5/10
9.25/10
'one of Nikon's jewel. Work in portraits? this is your lens then. the "DC" means it has the magic for bokeh control.. and the bokeh is as delicious as promised. The lens also has that sturdy nikon-classics build.'
Pop photo
'With Defocus Control on, our test images showed not only a shift in focus, along with a slight overall lowering of contrast. (Much of the time, lower contrast is desirable in a portrait.) The overall DC effect is a slightly softer, even creamier state of defocus, clearly an improvement. '
Ken Rockwell
5/5
5/5
'This lens does it all. It's fast, super-sharp, and designed for the best portraits you've ever taken.'
Fredmiranda.com
9.7/10
'I had wanted this lens for a long time so my disappointment was more extreme than it may be for others on finding it wasn't really *that* good.'
Bjorn Rorslett
4/5
'This lens is unique in having a control for manipulating the degree of residual spherical aberration. This feature allows over- or undercorrection so as to give softness of the image either in front of, or backwards of, the plane of focus. The corrective control is quite subtle in its effect and you need to experiment a lot to get the system to work to your advantage.'


Nikkor AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Image quality rating: 91,15%

Overall rating: 90,53%

Main points:
  • Sweet spot between f/5.6 to F/11, but you don't loose much outside the range
  • Very nice bokeh
  • Just as good as portrait lens as macro lens
  • Use the focus limiter when used as a portrait lens


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
byThom
5/5
4/5
'Personally, I find the lens everything I need at this focal length. The tiny bit of softness in the corners disappears quickly as you stop down, and isn't an issue for me to begin with. But no real distortion, chromatic aberration, or vignetting make up for what little shortcoming it does have. Fast AF response.'
Nikon Glass
'The AFS 105mm VR micro lens is sharp, has great bokeh, simplified VR, a usable limiter switch, and weather sealing on the plus side. On the negative side we have some possibility of AF hunting when up close, some "focus breathing", and a heavy package. Overall a very nice lens!'
Photozone
4.5/5
4.5/5
'The resolution is excellent straight from the max. aperture setting and the peak performance is reached between f/4 and f/5.6'
ePhotozine
'There is not a lot I can criticise about this lens considering the optical performance along side the build quality and features. I think it will find a lot of friends amongst both professionals and keen amateurs alike. The only downside to the lens is the price, which is a bit steep for a type of lens that many will already have in their kit.'
CameraStuffReview
7.2/10
'The Nikon 105 mm 2.8 VR Micro delivers sharp images from corner to corner at f/4.0. Because of the high purchase price, we expected a somewhat higher resolution at full aperture of the Nikon 105 mm 2.8 VR Macro. It turns out that the resolution is limited by the camera body, and not the Nikon 105 mm macro lens.'D700
CameraStuffReview
8.9/10
'The Nikon 105 mm f/4.0 VR Macro delivers sharp images from corner to corner. The distortion is low and the vignetting already after 1 aperture stop invisible. From the relatively high maximum initial aperture, f/2.8, in the macro range at maximum reproduction ratio only f/4.8 remains.'D3200
SLR Gear
9.59/10
9.24/10
'All in all, this is a superb optic, particularly if you're a macro fanatic. (Many is the time we've lamented the lack of VR in our old 105mm f/2.8: Shooting bugs or fungi on the forest floor, there's rarely enough light to deliver sharp hand-held photos.) Highly recommended, if you're in the market for the ultimate macro lens for your Nikon SLR body!'
Lenstip
'Nikkor 2.8/105 VR is undoubtedly a very fine instrument, which will enable us taking very sharp photos. The problem (problem for Nikon, not to its customers) is that there is a great competition in the class of macro lenses of focal length 100 mm.'
Camera Labs
'Nikon's Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 is a very good macro lens: it delivers great performance near and far on both FX and DX-format bodies, and enjoys the benefit of Vibration Reduction to minimise shake. '
Pop photo
'ome users have griped to us about the lens' inability to deliver its four stops of VR sharpness at close-focus. But in our opinion, that's a moot point. We can almost guarantee that 95 percent of users shooting at 1:2 and closer will be working from a tripod, obviating the need for VR. If you're not on a tripod, you'd better have plenty of aspirin on hand, because staring at that hugely magnified viewfinder image as it swings wildly in and out of focus with every breath you take is bound to be migraine-inducing.'
Ken Rockwell
5/5
5/5
'Perfect for use as a general-purpose medium tele on FX digital, DX digital and film cameras. It's also the best macro lens today short of the 200mm f/4 Micro'
Fredmiranda.com
9.5/10
'Lens is sharp, colors are rendered perfectly. Works as an outstanding portrait lens with great bokeh (where VR is a plus) and obviously as a dedicated macro lens.'
Bjorn Roslett
4.25/5
'Is the 105VR Micro a good lens? The answer likely depends on how you intend to use the lens. Obviously a lot of engineering efforts have gone into the new design and for many this will be a dream lens, in particular for portraiture or the casual close-up snapshot . I'm lukewarm and have no immediate plans of purchasing one for myself'
Dxomark
4.25/5
SimPho
'The image quality of the VR 105 mm is close to the one of the VR 200 : the reference !'
Gadget-Hack.Com
'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'
Georg Nyman
'As usual, I was interested in the optical performance of the AF-S 105mm lens, not only for macro but also for general photography as its focal length makes it pretty ideal for several other areas of interest – portraiture, landscape details, some scenic photography and all those areas, where a light telephoto lens is of advantage.'
Moose Peterson
'If a good friend didn’t have the lens and put in my hand, I doubt I would own it now. But I’m so glad I do! '
Underwater photography guide
'The Nikon 105mm VR lens is one of my favorite lenses for underwater use, especially when I want photograph small fish, skittish subjects, isolate the subject, blur the background, or shoot supermacro with a wet diopter. The lens is very sharp, with excellent color rendition and contrast at all apertures, from center to the corners'
Ming Thein
'A very easy to use macro lens with great optics; stick the focus limiter on and it works as a portrait lens too, with fast focusing thanks to the short focus throw from 0.5m (the limiter distance) to infinity. It’s sharp at f2.8 but noticeably better at f4.'
Chris Scuffins
'The Micro Nikkor 105mm has quickly become one of my favourite lenses to use. It has the right mix of great build quality, but without being too bulky or heavy, with a useful focal length that’s perfect for portraits and macro work. The great image quality and Bokeh, together with the help of VR make a very versatile lens to use. It’s just a shame that sometimes the autofocus can’t always keep up. If you are wanting a lens purely for macro work, you may want something a bit longer, like the Nikon 180mm f4.'
Camera Stuff review
9.3/10
'As clearly shown in the above tables, the Nikon 105mm macro scores - particularly in terms of resolution - better using a Nikon D800E compared to  a Nikon D700, which - given the large difference in megapixels-  is not surprising. But thanks to in-camera correction of chromatic aberration and vignetting in jpg files, this lens also scores better for these parameters using a Nikon D800E. 'D700, D800E


Nikon 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Micro Nikkor

Image quality rating: 90,63%

Overall rating: 91,09%

Main points:
  • Excellent macro lens
  • Might consider the longer 105 to get further from the subject
  • Could be use as portrait lens
  • Better than the old version


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Photozone
4/5
4/5
'The AF-S 60 Micro Nikkor is a worthy successor to a highly regarded lens. It is able to deliver very sharp images (allthough, given Nikon's recent lens track record, some probably had hoped for even higher resolution figures), the bokeh in general is smooth, vignetting is no issue on a DX camera and the AF is as fast as you'd expect an AF-S drive to be.'D300
Photozone
4/5
4/5
'The Micro-Nikkor AF-S 60mm f/2.8 G ED is an excellent lens that delivers very sharp images straight from the maximum aperture down to f/11, where diffraction starts to reduce resolution. Typical for macro lenses it is practically free of distortion. CAs are moderate and decrease by stopping down (and are easy to correct in post processing anyway), while vignetting is surprisingly high at large apertures.'D3X
ePhotozine
4.5/5
4.5/5
'Resolution-wise it delivers sharp, contrasty images at all apertures and should satisfy even the most discerning photographer in this department. The lack of a focus limiter switch and pronounced falloff of illumination at wide apertures may pose issues for some, but so long as you are aware of these issues, they can easily be worked around.'D700
SLR Gear
9.88/10
9.38/10
'In its own right, the Nikon 60mm Æ’/2.8 AF-S is an excellent lens, providing excellent results for sharpness, tolerance to CA and almost no distortion. Light falloff is a little noticeable when mounted on a DX body, and very significant on a full-frame body like the D3, but only if you shoot wide open (or at Æ’/5.6 or wider on the D3).'D200, D3
Lenstip
'Those few mistakes which we managed to find don’t change the fact that we deal here with a splendid lens. The most important thing is that it provides very good image quality across the frame up from the maximum relative aperture. It is exactly the most appreciated feature in a macro lens. 'D3X
Photoreview
9.5/10
'Bokeh was particularly attractive, with soft out-of-focus elements and gentle transitions. Thanks to the sophisticated coating technologies, we found little evidence of flare in backlit shots and colours were accurately recorded. Image contrast remained high right up to f/18 with only a slight deterioration thereafter.'D700
Pop photo
'A version of this lens has been in Nikon's catalog continuously for almost half a century. Why? Because it's near-perfect for close-ups. That 7.25-inch working distance allows you to reach out from the camera to adjust typical macro subjects, whether small-scale products such as jewelry or copied objects such as maps or documents. Adding to this workhorse's utility: On a DX Nikon body, it delivers about the same angle of view as a 90mm lens -- great for portraits, too.'
Ken Rockwell
'This 60mm f/2.8 AF-S is super sharp no matter what you do to it.'
Ken Rockwell
'I wouldn't buy either one of these lenses, since I prefer 105mm and longer micro lenses. I prefer the extra working distance and more reasonable perspective offered by not having to jam a lens onto my three-dimensional subjects.'
Fredmiranda.com
10/10
'The image quality from this lens is exceptional. Among the best lenses i've used.'
Bjorn Rorslett
5/5
'The newest of the members in the long line of Micro-Nikkors also happens to be the best of them all in optical terms. Images are super sharp already from f/2.8 and keep their bite up to f/11, from which point a graceful decline kicks in. The f/22 result is very acceptable, but the f/32 isn't on the D3.'


Nikon 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Micro Nikkor

Image quality rating: 85,00%

Overall rating: 80,00%

Main points:
  • Flexible macro lens
  • Can save you time if you do a lot of macro work
  • Only macro zoom lens


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
byThom
4/5
4/5
'A macro lens should first and foremost be sharp at close distances. This lens passes that test with flying colors (see right column). Macro work at all focal lengths and apertures is tack sharp in the center, with only a hint of softness wide open in the corners at longer focal lengths. Indeed, the lens is so sharp that it's relatively easy to tell when your aperture is so small that diffraction effects are occuring. At apertures of f/22 and smaller, edges lose just a bit of their distinctness. Above f/45 (yes, with the variable aperture at the closest focus point you can get above f/45 with this lens), the diffraction effects are noticeable enough for me to avoid those apertures.'
Momentcorporation
5/5
5/5
'The Nikon Micro-Nikkor 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D ED is an incredible lens, and there is truly nothing like it. Having the possibility to zoom on a true macro lens is very useful. Having a constant effective f/ stop on the entire focus range on a macro lens is even more useful. Combining these two features and you have a very powerful tool. The optical quality of the lens is extremely good, the tripod collar on the other hand is puny at best. '
Photozone
3.5/5
3/5
'The Micro-Nikkor AF 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D ED delivered very good although no exceptional results (at conventional focus distances). The resolution is excellent at 70mm but the quality decrease towards the long end of the zoom range - a single ED element is obviously not enough to match the mid to long Micro-Nikkor fix-focals at their respective focal length. However, we are talking about an ambitious zoom lens here and flexibility simply comes with compromises. Vignetting and distortions are basically negligible and CAs are only an issue at 70mm.'
Imagepower
'You can always rely on this lens…'
Ken Rockwell
'This lens exists to allow you to change macro image size without moving your camera. This is very, very handy, especially for anyone chasing little animals around or any kind of macro work.'
Bjorn Rorslett
4.5/5
'A nifty feature of the 70-180 Micro is that the optical design actually prevents light fall-off when the lens is focused closer. So, the effective and nominal aperture are identical even at the near limit. No other Micro-Nikkor behaves like this.'


Nikon 105mm f/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor 

Image quality rating: 85,00%

Overall rating: 92,35%

Main points:
  • Very good optical
  • But not as good as the newer brother


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Photozone
4/5
'The Micro-Nikkor AF 105mm f/2.8 D may be a relatively old lens but it is still capable to deliver excellent results. Optically it is a near-flawless lens with high resolution figures, low vignetting, low CAs and non-existent distortions.'D200
Imagepower
'optical performance very good'
SLR Gear
9.5/10
9.07/10
'If you're a macro shooter, this is a superb tool, with the added benefit of a comfortable working range, thanks to its 105mm focal length.'
Ken Rockwell
'Nikon is big in the microscope and scientific world. They don't mess around when it comes to macro lenses! This baby is just about perfect optically and pretty well made mechanically for an AF lens.'
Fredmiranda.com
9.4/10
'This is a lens that is very well built and sharp. This out weighs the fact that sometimes the AF gets stuck on a focal range.'
Bjorn Rorslett
4/5
'A 'macro' lens capable of going to 1:1 by itself, the successor to the MF 105 Micro-Nikkor has very good, but not outstanding, image quality.'


Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor 

Image quality rating: 83,75%

Overall rating: 88,33%

Main points:
  • Excellent macro lens
  • Might consider the longer 105 to get further from the subject
  • Could be use as portrait lens


Test/reviewerOpticsOverallQuoteCamera
Momementcorporation
4/5
4/5
'With the release of the D3 and the D300 with their Live view mode, auto focus macro lenses are all of a sudden something a bit more interesting to own. The AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 is close to excellent, down side is infinity focus and softness wide-open, two things that you usually wouldn't look for in a macro lens. Other then that this is a solid performer. The amount of CA was surprising, this can however easily be corrected in Post Processing.'
Photozone
4/5
4/5
'Released back in '93 the Micro-Nikkor AF 60mm f/2.8 D is a relatively old design but it can still deliver excellent results. The resolution figures are excellent and both vignetting and distortions are nothing to worry about. 'D200
Imagepower
'While Nikon engineers are known to give resolution top priority, they carried contrast to an incredible peak with this lens'
SLR Gear
9.5/10
9.2/10
'Instead, performance was decidedly mediocre wide open, with the whole left side of the frame noticeably soft. Things did get sharper as we stopped down, but you really shouldn't have to stop down a prime 60mm selling at street prices close to $400 to get decent performance.'
Lenstip
'You don’t have to be a Sherlock Holmes to figure out from our test that the Nikkor 2.8/60 is a very good instrument, which is half the price of the new Nikkor 2.8/105 VR and still provides lots of great sharp pictures. 'D200
Ken Rockwell
'I wouldn't buy either one of these lenses, since I prefer 105mm and longer micro lenses. I prefer the extra working distance and more reasonable perspective offered by not having to jam a lens onto my three-dimensional subjects.'
Ken Rockwell
'I'd use this lens as a general-purpose lens, but not if my main interest is macro. Actually, for less money, the lens I really do use as a general purpose lens is my 50mm f/1.4 AF-D.'
Fredmiranda.com
9.3/10
'One of my favorite lenses. I use it most of time for taking portraits and macro. Purchased this lens for the sole purpose of MACRO. But interestingly I am using it more for Portraits. '
Bjorn Rorslett
4/5
'The latest version of the 'normal' Micro-Nikkors got an increase in focal length, and reaches 1:1 on its own. At the near limit there is scarcely any free distance left in front of the lens, so this isn't the appropriate item for doing close-ups of shy animals. It manages to go to life-size by shortening its already very short focal length. I don't like this lens and shy away from using it. For those utilising it, however, sharp images are obtained at apertures from f/5.6 to f/11. Beyond that range image quality deteriorates'


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