258306 105mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens for Nikon DSLR Camera , Black

What a beast of a lens this is. I use the lens for everything, not just macro, as it's the sharpest lens I've ever used. Even at 100% on a 24MP sensor, the images are usually close to perfect. The times they are not are unlikely to be the fault of the lens, as it proves itself much of the time. The optical stabilisation (vibration reduction) works very well for stationary items. I haven't had results quite as good as some reviews have suggested, but on a good day I can take the shutter speed down to around 1/30th and get a lovely sharp image, but often I need a higher shutter speed than that. The OS definitely does improve things though and is very worth having. I've read many comments about the OS being noisy - But I don't understand why that's a problem. It's a low noise that you can barely hear and nobody further than a few feet away would even notice. Like any mechanical thing, you're going to hear it when it's sitting right by your face. So don't be put off this lens from comments about that. Auto-focus is accurate and consistent after calibrating to your camera (it's imperative to set the fine tune correctly for the sharpest images, if you have that option on your camera). Focusing is quiet and fast, and the lens does not rotate as focus adjusts. Manual override works well too, with a nice feel that isn't too loose or too tight. Resolution is excellent. I haven't done scientific tests but in the real world, I'm very impressed with the clarity and resolution of even distant objects. I have found one of the best tests of this is to look at distance buildings in your photos at 100%, and see how clear the bricks are. Although I'm not sure of exact numbers, the sweet spot for this lens seems to be around f9, and the images are faultless at this aperture. Even shots taken down to f4 are excellent, but you will notice a lack of clarity if you're pixel-peeping distant objects. I haven't used it much at wider than f4 so cannot give any accurate info about the quality wide open. For macro, the lens's intended use, the images are fantastic. Even down to f22, when you need more depth of field with macro work, the quality is very good. It's a heavy lens and you really notice this when using it on a tripod, as if you don't have the tripod head screwed tightly in place it's easy for the weight of the lens to pull the camera down and you risk damaging it. This isn't a fault of this lens of course, but is something to be careful of when in use. One thing to note with this and any other lens that has some sort of vibration reduction, is that it's only helping keep the camera effectively steady. If you're shooting anything that's moving, even just a little, you need to take that into account when calculating what shutter speed to use in the same way you would when using a non-OS lens. I highly recommend this lens, even for pro use.

When I first got this lens, I reviewed it and was perhaps I was a bit overly critical of it. I gave it four stars and pointed out all of its faults. And if you want to be critical about it, you do have things you can pick on if you want. However, one year on and many pictures later, I am now very happy with this lens. It takes beautiful pictures and it has lovely bokeh. I am now really glad I got it. I was originally critical of the noises generated by the Optical Stabilisation mechanism. However, I find now that in practice, as a photographer, this really makes no difference to me ‘in the field’. I just ignore it whirling away and nobody else seems to pay attention either. (If you need to go totally silent, you can always turn OS off, but your camera’s mirror will still make that clunking noise when you take your picture and that is louder!) I was also critical of it for having variable aperture without making it clear. I was unhappy with maximum aperture closing down when you got closer to your subject (i.e. for head shots). I really wanted that f/2.8 throughout, so was originally disappointed to find that it closed down to as much as f/5.6 when you got very close to your subjects. However, in the field, when you close up too much on your subject, the depth of field becomes so shallow that you really wouldn’t use such wide apertures anyway. In fact, I often find my depth of field is just too shallow and I need to increase the aperture a bit to have more of my subject correctly in focus. So that criticism turned out to be a bit of an academic point after all. The one point I did make about the lens case being WAY TOO BIG for the lens and being therefore totally useless still applies. One year on and my case is still at home, and I have never felt the need to take it out. Totally useless case. Overall though, this is a great lens and it almost lives attached to my camera these days. This year I have taken loads of pictures in the park of the spring flowers and whatnot, so have made good use of it. If, like me, budget is an issue for you and you are agonising over whether to go for this one or to go for the more expensive Nikon 105mm, I would suggest you to go for this one. The Nikon lens is about twice the price, and even second hand it is still significantly more expensive. And since this lens is already an awesome lens, the difference in image quality -if any- would be bound to be very marginal. You would be paying a lot of extra money for very little extra performance – if any. I know this one looks cheap in comparison, and so normal logic would dictate that the reason it’s cheap must be because it's rubbish, but this is not the case here. This lens is awesome. So if the Nikon lens is any better, it could only possibly be ever so slightly better. So save your pennies and go for this one. And if you feel compelled to spend that extra money anyway, get something else for your set up (bounce flash, filters, etc.) So, if you do decide to go for this lens, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed it. It's a great lens. Happy shooting! (All the sample pictures were take with this lens, although I do have the habit of sometimes cropping where appropriate during post-processing, so some pictures may be slightly cropped pictures.)

A lente chegou antes do prazo previsto

What a performer! I've been leery of buying "off-brand" equipment ever since I got into the photography game. I've always leaned toward matching brand to brand, because they know their business and nothing else can compare, right? Finally, though, I branched out a bit and trusted the recommendation of friends whose photography I respect, and I bought this bad boy to pair up with my Nikon D7100. One word - WIN! I've shot with Nikon's 105mm macro before, and it's no slouch, to be sure, but this lens isn't either, and it comes in at a lower price point (especially if you catch it on a sale for $569 like I did). I bought it without testing first, based on the aforementioned friends' recommendations, and right out of the box, I knew I had a winner. Compared to the Nikon, it just feels more solid. It seems like it weighs about a pound more than the comparable Nikon, in fact, which may be off-putting to some, but tends to give me more confidence in the build.... Where it differs from the higher priced Nikon is in the max aperture (f22 vs f32 on the Nikon), the focus speed when not limited to specific ranges (the Nikon locks a bit faster when hunting through the entire range), and the noise level from the stabilization (this one is much more noticeable. Not overbearing, but definitely louder). I can say this, though. I know when I'm going to be shooting macro vs. standard, so limiting the focal range with an easy to reach switch takes away the disadvantage in focus speed, and the noise from the OS practically disappears into nothingness once you're acclimated to it, so that's 2 of the 3 comparisons that, to me, don't make a difference in the world. As far as the aperture, will I miss the 1 stop difference between f22 and f32? To be honest, I'll never know, but I doubt the difference will be worth $230 to me at this point, so I'm going to risk saying "nope" to that. Picture quality is spot on, and comparing shots in my catalogue from both lenses doesn't show any difference to my eye, even when zooming in to full screen. Pixel peepers might be able to find something, but digging through all the detail that I can handle nets stunning results from both lenses, both in macro and standard ranges. The sharpness is spot on, distortion is minimal, and the bokeh is dreamy! Macro shots, product shots, portraits... for the price of this lens, even at $669, it's hard to justify another 100-200 bucks to brand match in this instance. I'm "all-in" for this lens!

Very nice and it arrived on time

ماتشتغل على كاميرات كانون D6 II و كانون D5 اضطريت اني اغير الكاميرا الى R على شان تشتغل الكاميرات القديمه تشتغل عادي معن الكاميرا مخصصه االجيل الي قبل R بس ماتشتغل على المذكور

The delivery was as promised and smooth. Comes in original pkg.. And the lens is very good for Macro photography. It’s super sharp , good bokeh .. become my favourite lens for macro..