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

I´ve been a Nikon user and a fan for years. This is a superior macro lens. The quality and clarity of the shots I´ve taken with it are wonderful.

Although I really enjoy this lens i realize its not for everyone. I know a few friends that have tried it and hated it. The AF is extremely fast and is a great pair with any FX camera. Great low light but be careful about tri pod use although I mostly use this handheld with D800 without any issue. The VR is really helpful on this macro.

Since I returned to photography after a few decades doing other things, I enjoy photographing the smaller things in nature. This lens is absolutely outstanding for macro photography.

I love this Macro Lens. It takes very crisp, colorful photos at a far enough distance away from bugs to not scare them off, (as much). I don´t use the auto focus while doing macro, but I do make use of the VR. The VR is a little noisy, but doesn´t seem to bother the bugs at all. The bokeh is also very nice, and having the ability to go to f32 is very awesome. My only complaint, (and it´s not even really a complaint), is that it´s a little front heavy. Overall this is a very sturdily built lens with amazing capabilities.

This lens takes amazing pictures, but extreme closeups are challenging. Depth of field, even with a narrow aperture, is limited at its minimal focal range, but it is certainly capable of superb photos! I rarely use a tripod, priding myself at having a steady hand when it comes to handling a camera. But when a single mm can make the difference in being out of focus, a tripod would probably be helpful. All the attached photos were hand-held.
The green spider on the sample photo included with this review is less than 1/2 inch in length, and I had to hold the camera by hand above him due to the location outdoors. I used manual focus, which is easier in a situation like this.
The blue flower (a spiderwort) was taken at near-minimal focal range at f/14, and the crop version of it shows the incredible detail that the lens (and the D800) picked up.
For photos that are taken from 2 or more feet from the subject, the lens is much easier to use -- auto focus works reasonably well, and a millimeter of body sway is not going to have much impact.
Lens is great for portraits, except that it can show too many details, especially for those over 40 (lol). Be prepared to do a little skin smoothing, because the lens can find every flaw.
Unlike some reviewers, this is not a lens I use every day -- I still prefer the versatility of the 28-300. But when you really want to get close, or want to be really super sharp, this lens is fantastic.
For the novice photographer who wants excellent depth of field in macro work, consider a good high-end pocket camera; the smaller sensor and the closeness of the lens to the sensor combine to make this kind of work easier, though the quality may not be as good.
I have to add that the D800, with its incredible 36MP resolution, adds a new dimension to macro work with this lens, because you can crop and enlarge even further with little or no loss of resolution. The two together are truly a great combination!
Incidentally, this lens provides even closer macro work on a DX camera due to the 1.5X crop factor. I´ve used it on my D90 very successfully!

This lens allows me to pursue areas I have alway wanted to explore. Outstanding combination lens for portraits and closeups. This lens needs to be tried to be believed.

I was skeptical of this lense at first because of the price, as I am new to photography as a hobby. It is definitely worth it. I am delighted to have purchased it! You can take nice macro shots from a reasonable distance. It also is good for portrait shots. It works works well with my D5200.

After having read reviews for this lens all over i wanted a lens which would be suitable for macro and portrait photography. Ive never done macro work before and was keen on getting this lens as it had some of the best reviews all around. Just got it in my hand yesterday and in spite of knowing this lens was heavy feeling it in my hands made me realize the actual weight it carried. This lens is heavy!! I use a Nikon D600 and after attaching the lens to the body it felt pretty ok. I took a couple of trial shots on general setting, manual, shutter speed around 250 and aperture about 3.3, i cant bel;ieve how easy it was to get great pictures even for a novice like me.
The perspective that macro offers was new to me and just after a couple of clicks the pictures were pretty unbeleiavable. I soon realized that at macro level the aperture def needs to be played around with to get the crisp shots. The bokeh is out of this world. on smaller subjects the focus hunting was pretty noticable and frustrating, and i quickly set it on manual and noticed it to be much easier to focus than autofocus.
I havent had chance to try portraits using this lens.
I would highly recommend this lens as the quality is awesome.
I am attaching a few first sample shots from this lens and remember i wasnt even trying to get a professional quality.

I recently added this lenses to my bag and am glad I did. Mounted on my D600, the 105mm macro is very sharp and has great contrast. Nice glass....the detail is excellent. As stated by others, it hunts for auto-focus sometimes. Anyone considering macro photography should have this model.

No regrets!