Nikon 105mm with vr

[linda_roina]

<p>I have been trying to use this lens with little success. I've seen others use it with success but I can never get much in focus. I've played with the aperture, shutter speed, iso a SB800 flash and still not getting many keepers. I keep thinking something is wrong with this lens. I have a 17-55 and 70-200 and have no problems with them on my D300. It is probably user error but I am frustrated with this lens. Any suggestions would be helpful.</p>

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

<p>Linda, do you have a second camera body to try it on - just to see if it does the same on the second camera body. Also - how long have you had it. Can you return it to place of purchase? Or at least have them check it for you?</p>

[linda_roina]

<p>I have only had it 2 weeks. I do not have another body but my son has a D300 also and I will try it on his camera before sending in. </p>

[jose_angel]

<p><i>"... I can never get much in focus..."</i><br>

<br /> What does it mean? Don`t you get enough DoF on your pics? <br /> It`s a moderately long lens, DoF is shallow, especially at wider apertures and/or closer distances. Perhaps your problem is lack of sharpness or misfocus. Does it?<br /> Any pic would help.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>Can you be more specific about what your problem is and possibly post a sample photo?<br>

If you are getting at least some perfectly focused shots with autofocus and able to focus perfectly manually, your lens may be either front or back focusing. If this is the case, you can easily adjust/correct for this in-camera. If you cannot get perfect focus manually, your lens may need to be serviced.</p>

[arthuryeo]

<p>Are you using tripod?</p>

[glenn_c1]

<p>I suspect that since this is a macro lens you are using it to photograph subjects at much closer distances than your 17-55 and 70-200. At close distances, depth-of-field is <em>tiny.</em> A few millimeters; sometimes less. To begin with, you might try using very small apertures, in the range of f/22 - f/32. This will help. Use flash, to get short enough shutter speeds to stop motion, and use a tripod. Whenever possible, position your subject parallel to the plane of focus. These should all help significantly.</p>

<p>If you already know this, and the problem is actually with the camera or lens, then please accept my apologies for making incorrect assumptions.</p>

 

[Tony Rowlett]

This lens is extremely easy to use at just about any distance from the several inches of minimum focus (1:1 ratio) to infinity as long as your shutter speed isn't too slow. I can shoot hand-held at 1/50th (with VR on) and get sharp focus on non-moving subjects. And your auto focus should work like a dream for most things except twigs or other tiny tiny things that might throw off the auto focus and send it on a focus expedition all over the place. In that case you have to use manual focus. With the vibration reduction on, you're going to have to be riding a mechanical bull after about three martinis to get an out of focus shot. In other words, a _very_ high percentage of your shots should be in adequate focus.

[paul_garland]

<p>On my D300 it is the finest lens I own. Honest.</p>

[Mike D]

<p>At 3 feet to infinity, turn the VR on, raise the ISO to 800 and you should get some decent images, if not, you may have a defective lens. At less than 3 feet, turn off the VR, keep the ISO at 800, and use a sturdy tripod, no exceptions. If you still get unsharp images, something is not functioning properly.</p>

[linda_roina]

<p>OK, I am back with one of the bad photos.</p><div></div>

[glenn_c1]

<p>That looks like very normal depth of field to me. Parts of the left flower look to be in focus, but depth is not enough to get both flowers completely sharp, or even close. Out of curiosity, what aperture was this shot at?</p>

<p>I think you will need to try much larger apertures, if possible, or arrange your subjects so that they lie nearer a single plane.</p>

 

[christoph_hammann]

<p>That example picture is focussed on the rim of the funnel of the frontmost blossom, you can see single grains of pollen there. It's a bit underexposed if you wanted to show the stamen inside the blossom, a problem with lighting deep blossoms, too, that can be solved with a macro flash like the R1C1 set. The color temperature is rather cold, what did you set as color balance?<br>

Otherwise, nothing wrong with your picture.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>It's just the nature of the lens, in 3D subjects at close-up distances nothing seems quite sharp. You may want to consider an older 105mm Micro-Nikkor, the 85mm PC(-E) or a Zeiss macro.</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>I don`t know if your sample pic is a crop or a full image. Anyway, after checking the EXIF data I have some conclusions:</p>

<p>Your photo has been taken at f14; DoF at this aperture and a relatively short distance is pretty shallow to escarcely have the main flower into focus. Of course, the flower at the back is clearly out of DoF. I`m thinking on a focus distance around 50-60cms. If so, you can have a sharp DoF under 30 milimeters (I`m speaking without checking it on a DoF table).</p>

<p>Shutter speed 1/60seconds: for a 105mm it seems pretty slow to be used hand held, I don`t know if you shot this pic with a tripod. If not, there could be a bit of motion blur. A big of breeze could ruin sharpness, too.</p>

<p>Illumination is another point to have into consideration. Although seems to be a bit oblique I don`t see a "crisp" light source.</p>

<p>As Ilkka says this lens is not the winner on a macro contest but you must get much better results with it.</p>

<p>Check my sample below: tripod + cable release, 1/125 sec., two diffused light heads plus a third continuous light source, and although my intention was to use a middle aperture I needed to shot at f22 and to focus with extra care to have the switch marks and wood texture under acceptable focus. The switch is 20-30mm height. This was the hard part of the shooting session.</p><div></div>

[arthuryeo]

<p>Here are some on tripod ... CLICK on image to see larger versions.</p>

<p><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3575/3494116371_6cea2b171f_o.jpg"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3575/3494116371_3e7dc9dcdf.jpg" alt="" /> </a></p>

<p><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/2542374665_e176a658c9_o.jpg"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/2542374665_4b016a861f.jpg" alt="" /> </a></p>

<p><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1085/1442705667_b4fa983316_o.jpg"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1085/1442705667_8ee7f26bdf.jpg" alt="" /> </a></p>