What is your favorite 105?

[robert_bouknight1]

100/2.8E, 100/3.5 Canon LTM, and 105/4T Nikkor.  Poor quality photo, sorry, poor available light this AM and I am in a bit of a hurry.  I should have included a 105/2.5 for comparison, but the 100/2.8E is definitely smaller and lighter than the later 2.5 versions.  On the Z adaptor it is actually slightly shorter than the 100 Canon adapted.  The 100 performs well but not quite as well as a 105/2.5 2nd formula in my experience.

Usually when packing a small kit, I take only one adaptor, and that has been Leica M-Z in the past.  I paired the 100 Canon with a Voigtlander 40/1.4 M.  Now that I have the 28 & 40 Z pancakes, the V40/1.4M may get left behind.  I might pit the adapted 100E against the Canon (again) or 85/1.8G.  The 85 will "win" but does not fit in a pocket as well as small 100s would.  Off topic, I have not compared the 40Z to the V40/1.4 yet.  If I can take a 2nd lens, the 28Z is my first choice of the pancake pair, but the 40 makes a good compact one lens solution.  OTOH, maybe an 85, 105, 24-120 or 24-200Z lens is in the future for me.  Larger/heavier lenses are fine when I am concentrating on photos, but lenses that get out of the way are nice when photography is a secondary activity.

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by robert_bouknight1

[mark45831]

I have the pre Ai, Ai-s 2.5, Love putting these classics on my Z7, the 2.8D is nice also, the Z MC is very nice, I dont have the Ai-s 1.8, still just a tad bit $$ for me to buy that lens, would love to throw it on a Z body.

[Matthew Currie]

I have a late pre-AI 105/2.5 (the "gauss" type, single coated), which has done great service for many years, and produces what I think are very nice images even now, though it's less useful to me these days on DX, being a bit long.  The later 2.8D is more useful because of its close focusing, and I take that out quite often to chase bugs.

[JDMvW]

 

My old non-AI Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 is still one of my all-time favorites.

 

Not only me:

Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket

 

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by JDMvW

[roland_vink]

The 100/2.8E is a very good little lens. It's the smallest F-mount telephoto lens that Nikon made - even smaller than the AI 85/2, and it is very light weight. But it is not equal to the AI 105/2.5.

The 105/2.5 lenses made since 1971 hass a Xenotar type optical design while the 100E uses an Ernostar structure. Both types perform very well at far distances but the more symmetrical Xenotar offers significant improvements at close range.

The 105/2.5 lenses since 1973 are multicoated on all surfaces, the 100E has simpler coatings and may just have single-layer coatings (they look very similar to the Nikkor-Q 135/3.5 from the 1960s). When shooting into strong light, the 105/2.5 has better contrast and colors, and is more resistant to flare.

The 105/2.5 is 1/3 stop faster than the 100E, it's not much faster but in some situations it could be the difference between getting the shot.

The 105/2.5 has smoother background rendition than the 100E. That is also aided by the slightly curved aperture blades of this lens up to the AI version which gives our of focus blurs a nicely rounded appearance. Strangely, the AI-S version got straight aperture blades like the 100E but even here the AI-S lens has slightly nicer bokeh.

Also, the faster aperture combined with the slightly longer focal length gives the 105/2.5 a larger entrance pupil of 42mm, compared to about 35mm for the 100E. That gives the 105/2.5 greater ability to blur the background and to highlight subjects with selective focus.

The 105/2.5 is built to professional standards while the 100E has more of a consumer build.

None of this is to say the 100E is a bad lens. It's a very good lens built with different objectives in mind. Where a compact and lightweight lens is needed for travel or hiking, the 100E is an excellent lens. But optically the AI 105/2.5 is superior.

 

[iosif_astrukov]

105 DC is my personal favourite and only for portraits

[rodeo_joe1]

I'd forgotten about the 105mm f/2.8 AF/AF-D Micro-Nikkor.

Not impressed by my sample. It suffers from Nikon's favourite (so it seems) aberration of LoCa - spherochromatism - call it what you will. It's just plain ugly to me.

Here's the AF Micro-Nikkor (right) showing its colours - uninvited Magenta and green - against Sigma's 105mm 'Art' macro. 

[canabananadial]

On full frame I'd choose the 105mm F2.5 Sonnar or 105mm F2.8G Micro, depending on the subject.

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by canabananadial

[rconey]

The new 105 f2.8 Z is very nice, better than the zeiss 100 f2.0 I used to have in F mount.

Now for FUN, the 105 f1.8 Ais is great for walk around. Wide open it has chromatic aberration, but a nice look.

Edited December 23, 2022 by rconey