Need Advice on Nikon Macro/ Micro Lens?

[bigfrank]

Originally Posted by sk66

I have an opportunity to buy an older Nikkor 105mm 2.8 D lens. The price is "reasonable" at $500.00, but a bit more than I'd like to spend on such a limited lens.
I'd rather get something as fast but with autofocus and possibly I.S. More versatility would also be good, but not at the loss of sharpness and speed.
Macro is NOT my primary interest in photography. Price limit is in the $500 range.
Any suggestions?

I have been researching all of the Nikon 105mm Nikkor lenses for the last few weeks. The newest model (AF-S VR) was way out of my price range of around $800+-, I didn't want a full manual focus lens (AI-s) but that was my personal choice. They work fine. I just wanted to to have auto focus available. I landed on the AF model and bought it on Ebay. Ended up getting it for under $400/shipped with supposedly very little used, filter and both caps. Bought it from a photog place, so it should have got checked our by someone that knew what they were looking at/for. At this price, I believe it was a good buy and a good value. I used the 60mm version of this lens awhile back and loved it. Only went to the 105mm version so I could get a bit more distance between myself and my subjects since I bought it mostly for macro work, and specifically for bugs. It is also supposed to be a great portrait lens. The 60mm version can be a bit less money and works perfectly also.

[dakwegmo]

If you're going to be doing macro work with it, then the auto focus and VR in the newer lens are worthless. I have VR turned off and use manual focus whenever I'm shooting macros. The 105mm 2.8/f is a great portrait lens though, and that's where the VR and autofocus comes in handy. If you're primarily going to use it for portraits, I'd skip the older model.

[jdepould]

I'm using the 105VR right now. IQ is excellent on both DX and FX. I've been using manual focus, but the VR has been indispensable.

[dblaveino]

I just bought the AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED yesterday!

And it has been AWESOME!!! The price was right, and the price on the 105mm was just a little too much. Although I was able to try it at the store, and if I had the extra money I would have done it. But this 60mm is more than I could have asked for, super crisp and able to get that 1:1 magnification...

Check out my flickr for some sample shots!