Micro Nikkor AF-S DX 85mm f/3.5 G ED VR - Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict
Lens Reviews - Nikon / Nikkor (APS-C)
Article Index
Introduction
Analysis
Sample Images & Verdict

Page 3 of 3

Sample Shots

The following sample shots were taken with a D7000 and RAW-converted via CaptureOne.

Click on a thumbnail to view the original file (opens in a separate window).

Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/800s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/3.5
Exposure 1/2000s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 125
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/3.5
Exposure 1/800s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 125
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure 1/400s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 125
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/200s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure 1/400s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/160s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/250s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/320s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure 1/1000s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/250s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/3.5
Exposure 1/800s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/200s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure 1/800s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 125
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/500s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 125
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/320s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure 1/1000s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure 1/1000s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/1600s
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D7000
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length 85.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure 1/320s

Verdict

The Micro Nikkor AF-S DX 85/3.5 VR is an attractive option for DX shooters looking for a dedicated macro lens. It's rather light-weight and compact, delivers very sharp images wide open already, which can be considered distortion free (at least for typical macro subjects) and show only minimal traces of CAs. The bokeh is nice and smooth, just a tad underdeveloped for normal tele use due to the lack of speed.

All this comes with the added bonus of Nikon's VR II optical stabilization. VR won't really be of much use at life size macro shots but it's a long way from infinity to the minimum focus distance and for most of that scale the VR is a surely welcome and useful feature.

Optically, the lens only has one issue, which is surprisingly high vignetting wide open. However, this can be easily solved by stopping down to f/5.6 ... or in post processing.

Best of all, the lens is moderately priced, so if you're into macro photography and have no plans to move on to a FX camera soon, this is certainly one of the lenses to consider.

Optical Quality: to    
Mechanical Quality:
Price/Performance:
      
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