Nikon 105mm f/2.8G VR Macro: Real-World Sample Images

The headline feature of the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens is, of course, that it’s a macro lens (Nikon uses the term micro instead of macro with their lenses). And a macro at 105mm is an excellent option for things like flower close-ups.

I also owned the previous model, and while both are excellent optically, this newer one is an improvement in several respects. For one, it has much faster and better focusing. For another, this one has built-in vibration reduction; that comes in especially handy for hand-held photography.

Nikon has since discontinued this lens — its product page is archived, and the native Z-mount MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S took over as the current model in 2021. So if you’re shopping for one now, you’re shopping used, and there are plenty around. As an AF-S G lens it still autofocuses and meters normally on a Z body through the FTZ or FTZ II adapter, which is why so many of them are still in service.

I use it a lot for product photos and for flower photography, and if you’re wondering how it compares to the newer Z-mount version, I’ve written up a detailed comparison. It works quite well for portrait photography, but Nikon now has a better option for that: their 105mm f/1.4E ED lens. But aside from using it for macro, I’ve found the 105mm f/2.8 to be a surprisingly versatile lens. Being a prime, it’s obviously not going to be ideal or even useful for every kind of photography, especially general walking-around travel photography, but it works remarkably well in a wider variety of situations than I expected.

It has a maximum aperture of f/2.8 and a minimum of f/32. On the macro end, its minimum focus distance of 1 foot (0.314m), and its magnification is 1:1. It has 9 rounded blades, uses a 62mm filter (see the full Nikon filter size chart if you need to check other lenses), and weighs around 1.6 pounds (720 grams). It’s designed for full-frame cameras, but you can put it on a DX camera with an APS-C cropped sensor, which will have the effect of using a focal length of about 158mm.

One thing worth knowing before you look at the macro shots: the f/2.8 on the barrel only applies at normal focusing distances. As you focus closer, the lens loses light to the focusing extension, so the maximum aperture the camera reports climbs — around f/3.3 at 1:2.6 and roughly f/4.8 by the time you’re at 1:1. Nothing is broken, and through-the-lens metering takes care of the exposure automatically. It just means the depth of field and the light you actually have at life-size are those of about f/4.8, and that dialing in f/16 up close is effectively narrower still, so diffraction softening arrives sooner than you’d expect.

So here’s a small selection of photos I’ve shot with this lens to give a sense of how it performs in various shooting situations and at various settings.

Lens vignetting test shots with Nikon 105mm macro lens

First, though, here’s a panel of shots taken against a clear sky to illustrate the amount of lens vignetting at various apertures.

The short version is that there’s real corner darkening wide open — independent testing puts it at around 1.4 stops at f/2.8 on a full-frame body — and it’s essentially gone by f/5.6. Since most macro work happens well stopped down, it’s rarely something you’d notice outside of even-toned skies like these.

Nikon 105mm f/2.8G macro sample images