Digital Photographer - USA (2019-07)

CreamoftheNikoncrop

Withhigh-endbuildquality,ring-type

ultrasonicautofocus,anautofocus

rangelimiterswitch,Vibration

ReductionandNanoCrystalCoat,it’s

Nikon’stopMicrolensoffering.seals.

Price: £849/$897

Nikon AF-S 105mm

f2.8 G IF ED VR Micro

Nikon makes anumberof

DX and FX format‘Micro’

lenses, but thisfull-frame

compatible 105mmisthe

flagshipmodel

Nikon’s extensiverangeofMicroNikkor

lenses includesold-school60mm,105mm

and200mm‘AF’lensesinwhichautofocus

isdrivenfromamotorincompatiblecamera

bodies.therearealso40mmand85mm

AF-sDX(Aps-Cformat)options,andFX(full-

frame)compatibleAF-s60mmand105mm

lenses.theAF-s105mmf2.8giFeDvr

Micro is thepickofthecrop,andtheown-

brand Nikonlenswe’dchooseforshooting

on DXaswellasFXcamerabodies.Likethe

Canonlensontest,theNikonfeaturesa

singleeD(extra-low Dispersion) element and

anopticalimagestabilizer.However,unlike

thestabilizersoftheCanonandtamron

lenses,it’sastandardratherthanhybrid

design,onlyabletocounteractangular

vibrations.it’slesseffectiveinmedium

tolong-rangeshooting,withamodest

3-stoprating,andisrelativelyineffective

forhandheldclose-upshooting.unlike

the Canon lens, there’s no optional tripod

mounting ring. Build quality doesn’t feel quite

as good as in the Canon lens, but the Nikon

does feature a weather-sealed mounting

plate and Nano Crystal Coat for minimising

ghostingandflare.the autofocusrange

limiter switch only givesanoptionforlocking

out the short end of therange,andtherefore

gives no benefit in close-upphotography.At

apertures of f4 to f11, sharpnessinthecentral

regionoftheframeisexceptional,although

extremeedgeandcornersharpnessare

comparativelydisappointing.sharpnessalso

drops off a little more thanusualforamacro

lens at both ends of theaperturerange.

Barrel distortion is evenlessnoticeablethan

in the Canon lens but colourfringingismore

apparent towards imagecorners.

Left

f16, 0.3xmagnification

It’s a standardratherthan

hybridstabilizer,theNikon’s

VR systemiswellworthhaving

at a focusdistancethatgives

0.3x magnification

Far Left

f11, 1.0xmagnification

At f11,centre-sharpnessis

excellentbuttheNikon’s

corner-sharpnessisless

impressive,throughoutthe

aperturerange

group test