Nikon AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/3.5G ED VR Lens Black

I love this lens. I was going to give this lens a miss after reading various unfavourable reviews around the net but after I read the reviews on here esp the person who tried one on the Nikon course and then bought it, I decided to take a chance and try it and am so glad I did. The lens is very light in weight and feels so nice and well balanced on my camera (D5300) also is very sharp and gives great results and is very easy to use. I previously have bought the Nikon 105mm macro but it weighs a ton and hand held is a tiring compared to this and in macro there’s no real difference in sharpness or anything else. In normal use yes the 105mm is better but I much prefer the 85mm it’s nicer and lighter and gives results that I am very happy with. Think I will probably sell the 105mm when I get round to it.

Excellent quality pictures. I'm still getting the hang of using the lens, so will update with further information. I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed if you are thinking of getting some Macro shots and buy this lens.

Considered getting a cheaper alternative but had the loan of this one at a Nikon workshop and this made my decision. My images are razor sharp now that I have got the hang of manual focussing. Worth every penny

A cracking good lens and a good introduction to macro photography at an affordable price.Build quality is light and plastic, however its good and not unlike like the the 18-55mm kit lens in weight and feel, just a little heavier.It doesn't feel as heavy or robust as the DX 18-200mm superzoom.Some of observations on this lens after a couple thousand shots.1) Stop down to F8-11 for sharpest results. Set ISO to 100 and you are in for some wonderful, punchy pictures that have pop and presence.2) Tripod is a must for macro.3) Auto focus is god awful at macro level. You will understand when you get round to using it. Unless you have a really contrasty subject with clearly defined edges, the lens bounces in and out without finding anything to focus on. Manual focusing is and will become necessary.4) Bokeh is pleasing.5) Depth of field is ultra shallow at macro levels even stopped down to optimum aperture. This is to be expected and we are talking focusing zone in fractions of a millimeter.6) The 52mm filter thread allows it to be used in conjunction with a Raynox clip on macro lens and the two make a perfect combo. This makes the magnification even more powerful, up to 1.5X over the 1:1 ratio this lens provides as standard. It makes for mega macro pictures, its like looking down a low power microscope.As a portrait lens, the bokeh is more pleasing than DX zoom kit lenses and marginally faster. The VR is always welcome in any DX lens.4/5. Recommended and a solid option for DX macro.

Received this lens today and what an amazing lens: On my D7000 this lens is sharp at F3.5 and very sharp when stopped down to F5, the quality of the macro images has to be seen to be believed, and the VR is great for those hand held shots. Another good thing is that one can use this lens for portraits, true it's not an F2.8 lens, but at F3.5 the difference is small as far as the bokeh is concerned. I'm really glad that I got this lens and it doesn't cost the Earth!

After tonnes of research and only owning kit lenses / non-specialist prime lenses I decided to buy this lens without try it and FINALLY I can just concentrate on getting the shot instead of working within the limitations of the lens. Autofocus and Image quality are spot on and a lot more of my shots are usable, I haven't had a shot for which I went to editing and found distortion or quality problems.

Love this lens I was debating for a long time before I decided to purchase the 85mm over the 105mm as it did not have great reviews but am trilled I choose it. I didn't realize how close this lens is and if I had purchased the 105 I cant imagine how far back I would have to go to get some of the super shots I am getting with the 85 so If you are in the same predicament as I was you have far more opportunities with the 85mm. Happy shooting!

This macro lens was a christmas present for my daughter who had wanted a macro lens since she purchased a new nikkon camera.She reports that it does everything that she had wanted and more.A good value lens.