Camera lens review - AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED macro lens is a quality piece of glass that results in extremely sharp photographs. With a reproduction ratio of up to 1:1, it is considered a real macro lens. The Nikon website has all the technical specifications listed, so we won't rehash them here.
Looking through photographer message forums, it's common to come across a few gripes that refer to the high cost of this macro lens. However, the $755 USD price tag it currently sells for at Amazon, is what you would expect to pay for good quality. Considering most photographers only purchase one macro lens, choosing quality the first time round, will save you the frustration of having to buy again.
Listed below are the reasons why Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED is considered a quality macro lens, as well as any disadvantages we've noticed since purchasing it a few months back. At the end of this review, you can also view extra examples of macro shots taken with it, so you can see the quality for yourself.
Advantages of Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED macro lens
The main advantage of this lens has to be the vibration reduction (VR) control. Actually at the time of writing, it is the only true macro lens that offers a vibration reduction.
Why is this important for macro photographers?
The short answer: It allows a photographer to get more of the insect or flower in focus, while at the same time hand holding the camera.
The long answer: Vibration reduction allows a photographer to hand hold their camera at a much slower shutter speed (up to 4 stops) than would otherwise have been possible. Shutter speed often effects how sharp an image will be. A general rule of thumb would be to ensure your shutter speed is faster than the focal length of your lens. For example, if you were using a macro lens with a 105mm focal length, then your camera's shutter speed should be at least 1/125 or 1/160th of a second or faster. However, when you have a lens that has vibration reduction, it is possible to set a slower shutter speed of say 1/60th of a second and still get sharp shots when hand holding your camera.
How is a slower shutter speed useful in macro photography?
When it comes to correct exposure (whether a photo is too light or too dark), shutter speed and aperture work together. If you're not sure what aperture is, you can find a good article called: What is aperture mode. Basically the lower your f number (aperture), the less of the shot that is in focus. Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens (and other macro's) take this to the extreme. Photographing an insect with an aperture of f/7.1 might only get the head of the insect in focus. Take the image below for an example.
The macro photo above was taken with an aperture of f/7.1. Luckily for the photographer, it was also taken in sunlight and he was able to keep the shutter speed at a fast 1/1000th of a second.
If this same shot was to be taken under the shade of a tree, the shutter speed would most likely need to go down to 1/20th of a second to achieve a correctly exposed photo. Of course this would cause an extremely blured shot due to camera shake (unless you have very steady hands). Lowering the f number to say f/5 would allow the photographer to raise his or her shutter speed to around 1/60th of a second. For those that use Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens, the vibration reduction makes this possible. Without it, the photographer would need to lower their aperture to around f/2.8, from which only the insects eye may be in focus.
The photo on the left was taken in a shady area. The photographer wanted to keep as much of the insects head in focus as possible so he upped the aperture to f/11. In setting the correct exposure (not too dark, not too light), he found the shutter speed had to be 1/60th of a second. Normally this would be too slow for a focal length of 105mm. However, Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens and its vibration reduction, helped make this hand held shot possible.
Another advantage is that it comes with an excellent lens hood and pouch for storage when you're not using it.
Disadvantages of Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens
The only possible disadvantage that has been seen so far, is that this lens is slightly larger and heavier than other macro's we've tested. To help keep it steady, we recommend getting used to holding it with your left hand positioned under the lens. Other than that, it's the best macro lens for Nikon SLR photographers who enjoy photographing the small stuff in life.
Examples of other photographs taken with Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED macro lens
Click the thumbnails to view the larger image
The best place to buy Nikon's AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens
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Review of Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens
The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens was the second telephoto zoom I had purchased, after not being happy with the cheaper Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM that I bought earlier. You know what they say, buy cheap, buy twice. The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens is definately worth the extra $300. Having said that, the $550 USD price tag is still affordable for the average DSLR photographer, making this lens excellent value for money.
For those who are after technical details, you can find these on the Canon website: Specifications for Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.
Listed below are the advantages and disadvantages, as well as example images taken with this lens, as seen through the exeriences of a fellow photography enthusiast.
Advantages of Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens
One of the main advantages of this lens, is obviously that it is a telephoto zoom lens. 300mm focal length is a good zoom for general photography such as close birds, landscapes, architectural buildings and zoo images. Example photographs displayed on this page demonstrate the many possible uses for a telephoto zoom lens.
Another important advantage, is that it isn't too heavy when compared to a 400mm telephoto lens. Anyone who has seen one of those huge white 400mm lens, can imagine how heavy they would be. The Canon EF 70-300 IS USM lens, is about a third of the size and weight of the 400mm, making it feasable to carry around at the zoo all day without getting too tired.
Optically, it's a very sharp lens with excellent image quality. The photograph of a boat below was hand held with a focal length of 300mm. You can click on the photo to see the sharpness of the larger image. Most photographs taken with this lens, has similar sharpness and quality.
If you like blurred backgrounds, the Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM lens has nice smooth bokeh. With the first examle below, the focal length was 300mm, while the aperture was set to f/5.6. This created a nicely blurred background behind the bird.
With the second example, you can see how this lens renders sunlight as nice circular bokeh. Again, the focal length was 300mm, while the aperture in this case was f/7.1.
The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens also has two modes of Image Stabilization. One for when you hand hold your camera normally, and another for those who enjoy panning. Although it is recommended to keep your shutter speed at a faster ratio than the focal length of your lens (1/450th of a second for 300mm focal length), it is possible to keep it quite slow with image stabalization. The photograph below was hand held, with a 300mm focal length and a shutter speed of only 1/125 of a second.
Disadvantages of Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens
An aperture of f/4.0 isn't considered a fast lens. Therefore, it's not a good lens to use in low light conditions (an aquarium or museum for example). The more natural light the better.
Like most Canon lenses, the hood needs to be purchased separately.
If you're used to carrying around a kit lens, then this one can seem bulky at first. It is larger and heavier than an all purpose one.
Other examples of photographs taken with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens
Click the thumbnails to view the larger image
Conclusion
From someone who has tried two Canon telephoto zoom lenses, the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is definately good quality for the price. Personally, I've found it quite effective in getting sharp images, even when hand holding the camera. If the professional L models with the red rings are still out of your price range, then this lens is the next best thing.
The best place to buy a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens
Review of Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens
The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens is by far, a favorite all round lens.
If you're out on a photography trip and only have room for one lens, this is the one to take.This article won't be re-hashing the technical details of this lens, as they are already listed on the Canon website: EF-S 17-85MM f4-5.6 IS USM Secifications. Instead, it will be my personal review, as a fellow photographer who has been using it constantly for just over one year.
Listed below are some advantages and disadvantages of the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens, as well as numerous sample photographs taken with it.
Reasons why I often recommend this lens to fellow photographers, especially as a first purchase for those new to Canon DSLR camera's.
1. It is considered one of the best value for money, all purpose lens. Before purchasing the lens myself, I researched close to 50 message forums and chat rooms discussing DSLR photography equipment. Rarely did I come across any photographer who didn't like this lens. Personally, I've found it to be useful in many different circumstances. For example, the ultra wide angle is perfect for landscapes. When set at 17mm focal length, you can get in much of the scenery from left to right, in one single shot. The image below was taken with a focal length of 17mm.
Another advantage of a wide angle lens, can be seen where the photographer has limited room to work with. For example, if you were photographing a person sitting in a small area, you would be able to get the whole person into the photo, yet still be positioned quite close to them as you take the shot.
This is also useful for times where you're photographing larger objects or animals, such as horses and elephants. You don't need to be very far away to get the whole animal into the shot.
If you're into qwerky disproportioned style of photography, the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens is great for that as well. The photo below shows what I mean by this. I won't go into details here, as we already have an article for this at: Big Head Photo Tips.
At the other end of the focal length, 85mm gives you a quite a bit of zoom for objects further away. I recently went on a whale watching cruise and was happy with the resulting images. Especially considering the rough conditions and the distance the whales were to the boat. Of course, a 300mm lens would have reached further. However, as I said earlier, if you could have only one lens, the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a great all purpose.
2. The Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens offers Image Stabilization (also spelt stabalisation). One of the advantages of this, is that you can hand hold the camera at a much slower shutter speed than would otherwise have been possible. For example, I've found that when photographing slow motion water, it is possible to hand hold the camera for up to 2 seconds without any sign of camera shake. Take the image below for instance where I hand held the camera with a shutter speed of 2 seconds. I agree, this is extreme and normally 1/4 of a second would have been sufficient for this type of shot. The point being however, that if I can hand hold it for 2 seconds, then 1/4 of a second where needed, is easily achieved with Canon lenses that offer Image Stabalization.
Another advantage of the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens, is that the image stabalization option can be turned either on or off. If you have your SLR camera sitting on a tripod and intend to use a remote release for example, then it's easy to to turn off image stabalization. Turning off image stabalization when it's not needed, will result in sharper photo's. We talk more about this in another article: When to use vibration reduction and image stabalization.
3. Furthermore, the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM is a real USM Lens. What this means, is that it will focus quicker than a non USM. This is useful for times when you're capturing a moving object like a bird in flight, or a child on the run.
4. It's also a reasonable size and weight. Actually it's quite small and light to carry, compared to many other Canon lenses. You could easily carry this one around all day and not tire.
Disadvantages of Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens
If there were to be a disadvantage of this lens, it would have to be the fact that it's not too easy to achieve a blurred background. At f/4-5.6 aperture, you do need to be close to the subject with your lens zoomed out to 85mm focal length, while the objects behind it, need to be a good distance away to achieve any type of blurred background. However, once this is achieved, the blur is nice and round as you can see by the image below.
Another possible disadvantage of this specific lens, is that you do need to purchase a more expensive flower style lens hood for it. With some of my other lenses, I've gotten away with using a cheaper no brand hood. However, due to the utra wide angle, the hood does need the cut away pieces as seen in the image below.
Examples of photographs taken with a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.
Click the thumbnails below to view the large size.
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens - sweet spot f/11 to f/13 (aperture setting)
I purchased this lens early on in my photography experience and am glad I had a shop assistant who pointed me in the right direction. As it's turned out, I couldn't be more happier with the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. Especially when it comes to photographing small objects, insects and flowers.
Shown below are a few examples of the types of images, as well as the quality you can expect to photograph with the canon 100mm macro lens. As you can see this is one of Canon's sharpest lenses, as recognised by many professional photographers. Numerous SLR camera magazines and books have also listed it amongst one of the best for portrait photography as well.
If your after technical details, the Canon website has these listed already: Specifications for Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. Anyway as promised, here are a few examples of insect and flower close ups, so you can judge for yourself.
- Butterfly macro / close up
- Dragonfly macro / close up
- Purple flower macro / close up
Hints and tips for using a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens
It does take some time getting used to the shallow depth of field, especially when using an aperture setting of f/2.8. Firstly I found many of my photographs had too little depth of field, or in other words contained too much blur and not enough of the image in focus. You can solve this problem in 4 ways:
- Firstly, you can get used to the exteme depth of field. Many macro photographers have come to expect an image where the object isn't totally in focus. Instead, giving a more abstract view of the insect or flower, as shown in the photo below.
- You can crop the photograph using an image software program like Adobe Photoshop, so that only the main focus is seen in the end result. Of course doing this, your final image will be much smaller than the original which may make it impossible to print in certain sizes.
- When taking the photograph, try and get as much of the subject within the exact same distance from the macro lens. For example, the image of the macro dragonfly above, is largely in focus due to both the body and head being the same distance from the lens. If I had photographed this insect head on, the body would have been blurred, with only the head in focus. The wings in that specific photo are not in focus, due to one being closer than the point of focus (body) and the other being futher away in distance.
- Another way to handle the shallow depth of field is to increase the f stop, to say f/11 for example. This will ensure more of the image is in focus and create less blur in the background.
On the other hand, the shallow depth of field can be a fantastic tool if your photographing things like flowers, where you may want to single out one from a bunch. Take this image below for instance. The Canon 100mm macro lens made it easy to single out one orchid that is seen clearly in focus, yet blur any nearby background elements. If blured backgrounds are often a priority when you're out taking photographs, then this lens is definately for you.
Other notes and conclusion:
The sweet spot for the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, seems to be around f/11 to f/13 (aperture setting). This sweet spot is where you will see the sharpest photographs being taken. If you own a Canon DSLR camera and are serious about photographing the small things in life, then this macro lens will be a very useful addition to your collection.
If you own this lens yourself, or have any questions concerning the Canon 100mm macro lens, feel free to leave your comments and reviews so other photographers can read a more indepth viewpoint, from a wide range of experiences.
Other examples of photographs taken with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens are shown below.
Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image.
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Review of Digital Optic close up / macro filters - approximately $40 per set of 4
Digital Optic close up filters are a brand often seen on ebay. Close up or macro as they are also known, are filters that magnify the subject +1, +2, +4 or +10 times its original size. Like all filters, they are screwed onto any digital SLR lens and are compatible with a wide range of camera brands including Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Olympus, Kodak and many others.
We recently purchased a set to use on a Nikon D40 and were quite surprised by the results. Considering the price difference between an expensive macro lens compared to a $40 set of close up filters, they did a great job of capturing small objects clearly and in detail. We definately recommend the macro filters for those photographers first starting out in insect or flower photography.
Shown below is one of the first photographs we took with a +10 close up / macro filter attached to a 18 - 55 mm lens. As you can see, similarly to a real macro lens, the depth of field is shallow. Hence the blur in the background and on the insects body. If you want more of the subject in focus, you would up your camera's f stop setting or aperture as it's also known to f/11 or higher.
Now for comparison, shown below is the same insect, this time taken with an expensive Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens.
As you can see, the real macro lens is obviously sharper. However, considering the much cheaper price of the Digital Optic close up / macro filters, they still do a very efficient job of capturing insects clearly. It's also important to note, that the sharpness in the second photograph could be due to a number of different reasons. For example camera shake or numerous settings etc.
Handy Tip: We found implementing one or at most, two filters at any one time was better than using all 4 filters at the same time.
Conclusion: Highly recommended for those who don't want to pay the price for a real macro lens, or for those first starting out in flower and insect photography. If you still enjoy this style of photography after 6 months or so, then you can always upgrade to a real macro lens later on.
Feel free to leave your own comments and reviews on this particular brand of filters. Or if you've taken any photographs with these filters, you can also leave the url to the image so others can see the quality of pictures taken.
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