| Moderated by: chrisbet, | Page:   1 2 3 4   |
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| Nikkor 105mm f2.8G AFS VR Macro F mount -not DX - Page 2 | |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2025 16:50 |
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11th Post |
Bob
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chrisbet wrote:Seems quite a rare lens - London Camera Exchange have a couple in stock around the £280 mark. I bought one from Park Cameras - it cost me £294 incl p&p. It's in lovely condition, and when I get my viewfinder correction lens I will be able comment further.
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| Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2025 18:35 |
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12th Post |
Eric
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Bob wrote:So far, I am more than impressed. I'm still waiting for my -2.0 correction lens for the viewfinder, so I will wait until I have tried that until I comment further. I have also downloaded the Nikon handbook for the lens, and edited out the non-Engish bits which makes it alot smaller Lenses and cameras ….they all have quirks. We just have to decide if we can live with them. Optically there was nothing wrong with my 105. I just felt a bit let down by the fall off in VR functionality (even though the likelihood was I would never use it that close). It was a bit like buying car not getting the claimed mpg. I then noticed it was heavier and fatter than my 60mm, not as versatile as the 60mm which doubled as an 50mm…..and I suppose the 105 just didn’t survive the honeymoon…me being a grumpy groom. 
____________________ Eric |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12th, 2025 16:10 |
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13th Post |
Bob
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This shot was taken with the Canon PowershotSX179 IS Click here to comment on this image. Click here to comment on this image. This was taken with the D600 and 105mm AF-S 1:2.8G ED VR from the same position, about 12m away  Click here to comment on this image. D600 and AFS 105mm 1:2.8G ED VR  Click here to comment on this image. Powershot SX179 IS  Click here to comment on this image. D600 AF-S 105 1:2.8G ED VR  Click here to comment on this image. I am somewhat confused by this lens. Focused at infinity, it is very difficult to get a truly sharp image. I must however concentrate more on positioning the single focus point and keeping it on target while I squeeze the trigger. Nevertheless, there seemed to be colour fringes around the flowers under the bird feeder taken with the D600 - chromatic aberration? On the other hand I am almost pleased with the dragonfly shot. The pigeons taken by the Powershot are in colour, while the D600's have been edited to monochrome. Our resident lovebirds are at it every evening  I find it difficult to believe that the camera might be faulty - it has a repair to the beak over the lens where it has connected with something hard. The flash unit has probably been replaced, and the viewfinder lens is not fully central in the moulding -only fractionally. There is dust in the lens next to the mount - is this indicative of wear? all those moving parts :(
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12th, 2025 18:59 |
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14th Post |
jk
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In my experience and I have that same model of lens and the earlier version (without VR and AFS) both work really well and are very sharp. I never used the VR version on my D600 as I had a D850 as well. I sold my D600 and D800 when I got my Z9. It could be that the D600 + 105mm need to be calibrated (one of the issues with DSLRs that mirrorless does not suffer from).
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12th, 2025 20:25 |
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15th Post |
Eric
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Bob wrote:This shot was taken with the Canon PowershotSX179 IS Bob I am a little confused myself. According to the exif for each of those images, there are significant setting variations between the images. For ALL the D600 images the exposure compensation is -0.7……why? The Canon shots have exposure compensations of 0 for the feeder image and -1.1 for the pigeon image….again why? The full numbers comparison…… The D600 feeder image settings are : 1/320th @ f16 and iso 2000 exp comp -0.7 The Canon feeder image settings are : 1/25th @ f8 and iso 100 exp comp 0 The D600 pigeon image settings are : 1/1000th @ f8 and iso 640 exp comp -0.7 The Canon pigeon image settings are : 1/500th @ f5.9 and iso 100 exp comp -1.1 I don’t understand why these settings vary so much, if you want a fair comparison? I haven’t worked out a basic “stops variation” but the number of stops differences between these images looking at these figures would seem to me to be significant. Leaving aside the lens performance, if the camera sensors are working with widely different settings, that alone could account for drop off in IQ. It could certainly muddy the water.
____________________ Eric |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12th, 2025 20:32 |
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16th Post |
chrisbet
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I note you took the bird feeder image at f16 and ISO 2000. In Photographylive's review of the lens they note a loss of sharpness at f16 due to diffraction - https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-vr-105mm-f2-8g-macro-lens/2 It would be interesting to see the same image taken at f5.6 1/125 and ISO 100 - an equivalent EV.
____________________ If it is broken it was probably me .... |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12th, 2025 21:44 |
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17th Post |
Bob
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Thanks Chris I have had a look at the link - it has jogged some of the grey matter which remains and is very informative. It's a step beyond Michael Langford's film photography books which I still have. Eric: I agree it's not a fair comparison, and at the moment I am not fully up to speed with the ISO function. I have been concentrating on image sharpness, and altering the ISO settings to get what looks like the right exposure. I will address this more thoroughly, While I was looking at these shots in NX Studio, I was able to view the exact location of the focusing point at the moment the shot was taken. I discovered that the focusing point was not where I thought it had been especially with the bird feeder. So there is an issue of technique. Apart from the ISO settings in the dragonfly shot, and bearing in mind Chris's suggestions, your comments would be appreciated.
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2025 09:56 |
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18th Post |
Eric
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Bob wrote:Thanks Chris I have had a look at the link - it has jogged some of the grey matter which remains and is very informative. It's a step beyond Michael Langford's film photography books which I still have. It can be a nightmare evaluating BOTH a new camera and lens at the same time…got several Tee shirts. I would say your issue is not locking down the camera to default settings to give it a fair chance of delivering what you want. The settings you choose will have more impact on the lens performance than you might expect. Chris is always right….I wouldn’t dare disagree with him.  All lenses have a ‘zone’ of maximum sharpness. Typically they are sharpest from 1stop down from maximum (in the case of your f2.8 lens that would be f5.6) to 3 stops down (that’s f11 for yours). Now the apparent sharpness doesn’t drop off a cliff…so f16 and f22 are still usable but rarely as sharp as f5.6-f11. The very best lenses may give you a wider zone of sharpness and probably a better performance wide open at the maximum aperture. (In my experience these are usually the lenses with f1.8 or f1.4 max apertures) So keeping in the f5.6 to f11 zone would be my starting point to test a lens….after all it’s the most likely range you will need to use the lens in UK lighting anyway. I would also say, if the lens doesn’t deliver at f8 it won’t get any better at any other settings. Having fixed your aperture for the test using Aperture Priority you need to set a sensible iso for the lighting. In film days you never considered 400 or 800 ASA on sunny days…..more likely 100 or less! In digital terms, for your camera, I would apply the same logic….but slightly higher numbers to film. Sunny day 400 or less! …..Dull days 1000 but ideally below 2000!…..Dark miserable days ………go to the pub! OK a bit of a joke but actually ….NOT. If the weather/lighting push you and your camera out of there comfort zones, you are unlikely to ever be happy with the results, which makes the exercise pointless. Once you have set the aperture and iso the camera will dictate the required shutters speed, provided the selected metering mode is suitable for the use (ie matrix as opposed to spot metering) and no other settings are interfering. Of course if the lighting is poor and you can’t wait for the sun, you need to be mindful of slow shutters speeds introducing camera movement. Even with VR when hand holding I still prefer to use the inverse law ….shutter speed = 1/focal length As previously mentioned, it seems on your images, the D600 was set (I am guessing inadvertently) to -0.7 exp comp which will mess with your setting choice. Nikons exposure is usually very good and for general photography like the bird feeder and dragonfly it needs to be set at 0. The pigeons on the wire being backlit +1.0 (could be +1.5) exp comp. Hope that helps.
____________________ Eric |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2025 10:47 |
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19th Post |
chrisbet
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Lol, Eric - it has been known ... I use (as does JK , I think) -0.7 comp when shooting in Italy / Spain but certainly not in even sunny UK! Another point that occurs to me is the DOF - it may be worth taking some shots of say grass or something that shows clearly the in focus range of your settings. It is possible that the camera focus is actually in front of or behind the focus point set on the lens. In the image below you can see the dof clearly on the sand in front of and behind the horse's hooves. - right click on the image to open in a new tab and then left click on the image to zoom in. The white specks are flying sand particles! This was taken with my D90 with single point focussing on the horse's chest - see how the dof is actually mostly behind the focus chosen by the camera.  Click here to comment on this image.
____________________ If it is broken it was probably me .... |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2025 11:12 |
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20th Post |
Eric
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Bob…one thing I would say about that 105macro lens. Although it’s suppose to perform as a general lens as well as a macro, I never felt comfortable using it in that way. Your comment about not getting sharpness at infinity reminded me that I too felt the lens didn’t deliver in that situation. I found I was shifting to other lenses covering 100mm for my “peace of mind”. It did perform well as a macro lens, allowing some distance between skitty bugs this was even using f16!!!…..  Click here to comment on this image. But then again this was with a 200-600mm zoom + 1.4teleconverter = 840mm handheld (too lazy to change lense)….  Click here to comment on this image. And this was one the wife took with her Panasonic bridge camera!!  Click here to comment on this image. And then recently with my Fuji….  Click here to comment on this image. So you have to question whether you NEED a dedicated macro lens ….thats why I don’t have one any more!
____________________ Eric |
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