Nikon 105mm f/2 AF-D DC NIKKOR Telephoto Lens - U.S.A. Warranty

2023-11-15T15:51:18

Purchased this lens to mate with my Nikon D3 and D700. I have been shooting for quite some time and can say that the best photos I have were taken with this lens. Appears to be much sharper than my 50mm f/1.4G from F/2.8-f/2. This is my favorite lens at the moment at much to my surprise I find the 105mm focal length to be quite versatile.

Adam B.

Originally posted at

2023-07-20T17:29:25

There is a certain quality about the images that other 100-ish lenses can't replicate. Great lens. Glad I got one as they're now discontinued. The one I got was used and in virtually perfect condition. This is a metal lens. Sturdy. Get one.

Lester H.

2021-07-30T11:57:38

One of my companies - Images Linked - was lucky to recently buy a new 105mm f/2 before it is phased out. Best portrait lens my company has purchased. Images Linked has been busy over the years with rock & jazz band portraits, animal portraits along with old object portraits (like restored WW1 & WW2 aircraft, custom mortorcycles at national shows, etc). I wish my company purchased this lens 5+ yrs ago. This 105mm f/2 will be used at all the weddings, concerts & animal portraits, etc.

Paul G.

Originally posted at

2020-07-07T18:49:56

This lens is not for casual shooters, or even some advanced hobbyists. This is pro portrait lens, and a VERY special one at that. Treat her with respect, patience and deliberateness and she'll give you some of the best, most unique images you've ever seen. Treat her like any other modern lens however, and she'll burn you. Here's a cheat sheet for this lens: 1. The first and most obvious thing: The DC ring. Just match it with whatever F-stop you're using up to 5.6. You'll just end up with bad-looking soft focus on your subject if it's mismatched. And like everyone else says, the DC results are subtle, but definitely there when you compare two shots with it and without it. I sort of liken it to a whammy bar on a guitar, it'll knock it a little out of whack, but the result is worth it for style points :) 2. While this is a very sharp all-around lens, all of its best traits are geared toward portraiture. It renders skin absolutely beautifully, it's like in-lens photoshop. Comparing it to what I get out of my Nikon 70-200 2.8, it's definitely more refined, which can actually be mistaken for being less sharp, but it's just a way for the lens to render skin tones more accurately and delicately. 3. WIDE OPEN at F2, do not shoot anything that's over 10 feet away. It's not worth it, the lens is too soft at that aperture. HOWEVER, for face portraits at close range, *nothing else* will beautify your subject in-camera like this lens. 4. Yes, it's a screw drive lens. It's *slightly* louder than an AF-S lens. Honestly, if you have a problem with how much "noise" this makes, then stop shooting in silent theaters with this. As for the AF speed, it's actually *very* snappy on my D4S, and a little slower on my D800, but still pretty decent. I wouldn't suggest using this on a lower-end DSLR that has the screw-drive motor. I'm under the impression that the pro bodies have more powerful screw drive motors, so take that as you will. 5. The hood. Look, no one's really happy about that built-in lens hood. It's very nicely crinkle-coated and all that, but it's surprisingly loose on the lens barrel, which means that it gets wedged stuck sometimes. I wonder how hard it would've been to just make the hood slide smoothly on the barrel, but whatever. As I said, this is a special lens, and it'll be good to you if you're good to it. The optics are near-perfect when you use it properly. If you do portraits, go for it.

STEVEN H.

2019-05-08T18:34:40

I couldn't understand why the lens alone was the same price as the lens and accessory bundle. I took a chance. Could not be more pleased. The lens is wonderful of course and the accessories are a significant addition.

ROBERT T.

2018-03-22T10:49:27

This review is based on my own experience, I have several lenses and this review is based in comparasion with some of the top quality lenses like the 70 200 f2.8 and others. This lens focuses relatively slow, This is not a weather sealed lens like other nikons, This doesn’t have any stabilizers so you shake it you f...it, The focusing is a little noisy ( old technology ), When taking photos at very contrasty subjects this lens produce a lot of chromatic abberation, It is really hard to focus correctly at the precise point you’re trying to focus, If you’re working under pressure this lens is going to make you sweat because you will notice that not all of your shots will be properly focus (and I’m not touching the DC control yet) The DC controls are something you have to practice a lot with before you go to any job LIKE SERIOUSLY PRACTICE WITH THIS BABY, You may want to calibrate this with your camera but this donot apply for everyone, With all that said here is the good stuff When you can make this bad boy work, it is Absolutely Wonderful!!! It has a few elements (internal lenses) so the quality of the images can be Astonishing, (I like the look of the images better in this lens than the newer ones that have to many elements but that’s a personal taste) The micro contrast is gorgeous and rich!! When you master the DC controls you can create PIECES OF ART without going to photoshop to apply filters etc.(yes master this lens!) It’s a f2.0 yes is not the fastest today but 2.0 at 105 mm is pretty decent in my opinion, This lens has a built metal hood that can be screwed to stay in please or collapsed for storage so you don’t get unwanted flare. There are a few more things to this lens I could say about like how nice it looks, how great the aperture, manual auto focus and Dc( defocus control) works and ultimately and te most important(I think) the Quality of the images you can produce with this beautiful piece of Engineering are worth all the practice it takes to master it, and every penny!! And just a mention: I bought this lens used first and I thought it was broken it was a bad or damaged lens, I was so disappointed because all of my lenses are new and this was my first lens that was used, so I sold it and bought a new one (literally new) and surprise surprise !!! It was the same sh...t !! So what I did was to calibrate, practice, and mastered, now I know what can I do and what can’t be do by this baby. But I loved

ANTONIO M.

2017-02-02T12:17:45

Bokeh is fantastic on this lens. Build quality is like a tank

Tuan P.

2015-03-01T19:00:00

I finally decided to get this wonderful lens and I am extremely happy that I did. Fabulously sharp, handles well on my D800E, and the built-in lens hood is a bonus.

David R.

2014-05-12T21:00:00

One of my most prized possessions from years back was a Nikkor 105. In 1974 it was the sharpest thing going. Now, many years later, I have gotten my hands on a lens that is certainlt its egual, if not better. This lens is a bit heavier than the old Nikkor,but with the ability to have selective focus for background or foreground, the versatility only increases. The bokeh is beautiful, and on my d610, it may well become my favorite lens for general photography.

Walter C.

2014-04-28T21:00:00

I used this Nikon 105mm f/2 AF-D DC for the first time with a Nikon Df a few weeks ago at the WonderCon 2014 convention in Anaheim California. This lens was just amazing! It was tack sharp and had a beautiful creamy bokeh. The autofocus was fast but did hunt around a few times when shooting inside, but this really was not much of an issue. This lens is made in Japan and built like a tank! If you are doing portraits get this lens.

Bartak P.

2014-04-27T21:00:00

I used this Nikon 105mm f/2 AF-D DC for the first time with a Nikon Df a few weeks ago at the WonderCon Convention in Anaheim California. This lens was just amazing! It was tack sharp and had a beautiful creamy bokeh. The autofocus was fast but did hunt around a few times when shooting inside, but this really was not much of an issue. This lens is made in Japan and built like a tank! If you are doing portraits get this lens.

Bartak P.

2014-01-27T19:00:00

An excellent lens that appears to bring about love and hate in equal measure from the internet. It rewards slow and deliberate techniques. The lens is not designed for high speed photography. Much less of a learning curve than Imagon's or Canon's FD 85mm soft focus/portrait lenses. Autofocus is fast but not blazingly so, reflecting the screw-based AF. The lens is well made but that means that it is fairly heavy. Not excessively so but enough that you will know that this is not a "plastic fantastic" piece of kit.

Chuck

2013-11-02T21:00:00

I'm having a hard time taking this bokehlicious prime off of my camera. I suspect it will be a fixture like my first copy of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" that didn't exit my car for almost a year. I have found this to be most useful as a portrait lens but it's not a one trick pony. I also like using it for casual nature photos and indoor low light shoots. The resulting output is always consistent and very sharp in spite of the fact that there is no VR on this lens. The defocus ring is a cool feature that works nicely as well. It takes a little getting used to but yields great results. The only drawback I have found is that the autofocus in low light can be a bit slow. After focus is locked, things always go well though. I will be enjoying this lens for a long time because the build quality is fantastic.

Ronald R.

2013-09-10T20:00:00

This is the only Nikkor lens I have used that reminds me of the Leica glass I used to use. The results are unique. No it is not the "sharpest" lens made and the DC feature is somewhat obsolete with the advent of Photoslop, but pictures delineated with this tool at f2.0 are unlike any other.

Librarian7

Originally posted at

2013-06-25T21:00:00

Thought I'd add on to my prior review. Upgraded to a D7100. Shot two swim meets with the D7100/105 DC. I like this combo a lot. Imagine shooting with an impossibly light 210mm f2...with the 1.3 crop mode that's what you get. Focus is bang on every time. With 7fps I'm getting about 4-6 shots coming off the blocks (still in the air). With JPEG I'm not having any issues with buffer size either incidentally. The sharpness of the lens works well with the pixel density. Need 1/2 as much AF fine tune vs the D7000 (7 vs 13). Seems to focus more accurately and more quickly too. My portrait focus hit rate seems better. It was a bummer to take the hit trading in the D7000 but I'm very happy with the results I'm getting here.

FREDERICK D.

2013-06-24T21:00:00

Awesome lens. Solid construction. And razor sharp.

LUCAS G.

2013-05-06T21:00:00

Great portrait lens. Great for formal events, i.e. weddings and dances. Also great for family events. Slow focusing, but the image/glass quality is undoubtedly the best Nikon has to offer.

M

2013-03-19T21:00:00

I must confess: My original plan was to have this glass in my hands and then convince myself that I really do not need this. Well, guess I am wrong. I do not need this, but I WANT it! It is well built, a dream to handle and produces the bokeh beyond all my expectations. For those who care--It is tack sharp too, even when wide open. You can read all the technical reviews of this incredible lens you want online. I am not going to bore you with another one. I can just offer you one warning: "Once you play with this puppy, you are not going to send it back!"

ASIANTREASURES A.

2013-01-25T19:00:00

This lens is tac sharp. Takes some getting used to but it is a go to lens for us when we do portraits attached to our D3S or D800.

Gene

2012-12-30T19:00:00

This is my Favorite Lens for Portrait work, if I have sufficient working distance. I have owned the 85 mm f1.4 as well as the 200mm F2 lens, and I prefer to use the 105 mm DC lens. It is easy to pack and carry everywhere, and has given me more keepers /month than any other pro-quality Nikon lens. Best uses are for outdoor portraits in my opinion. The Bokeh is pure magic!

Thomas

2012-11-08T19:00:00

There really isn't anything more than I can say that hasn't already been said about this lens. Do yourself a favor and buy it now.

ROBERT M.

2012-05-13T21:00:00

I've had the 105 DC for awhile & at first I used it on my D300 & had issues with it front focusing. So i didn't use it much. Than I bought a D3s & it is spot on on that camera & produces lovely images. You have to play with the DC on the lens to get the hang of using that nuance to the lens. However, it is fine without that feature & that is how I use it most of the time. It produces stunning images.

Fred

2012-05-06T21:00:00

Awesome results! Very sharp, even at f2.0! Get one while you can!

jyen

2012-04-09T20:00:00

I use this lens almost exclusively for portraits. The glass is clear and crisp and it is very fast. This lens works great on FX frames, but it also works very well on crop sensors as long as you remember the 1.5X. I like the versatility the defocusing control gives you, but to be honest, I rarely use the defocus control unless I really want to soften the focus of a subject. I highly recommend this lens! You will not be disappointed if you know what you are doing. This lens paid for itself in the first hour of use!

T2Photo

Originally posted at

2012-03-03T19:00:00

This is a great Lens. Things I love about this lens are: Picture Quality - Excellent, Very Sharp w/ great Color and Contrast. Build quality - Excellent, Very Ruged Looks and Feel F2 - Fast Lens DC Control; Dont really use but Nice to have Available Built in Hood - I like this Feature. Very Handy. I use this on a D80 and this Lens gets the best out of it. Produces some stunning Photos. Don't have any dislikes on this Lens, except maybe the Price.

ThoNett

Originally posted at

2012-02-25T19:00:00

Amazing lens. Very sharp with incredible bokeh. Color rendition seems to subtly enhance skin tones. Great lens for portraiture. The DC feature works very well when subject to camera distance is reasonably close. Full length on DX and the DC effect does not seem as noticeable (but it is still a terrific 105mm). Auto focus is very fast on D7000. Needed to use focus fine tune - seems that this lens presents some challenges to modern AF systems. My sample lens / camera combo had front focus issue out of the box (lots of in-focus hair and noses and blurry eyes). I'm happy now. I don't know that I could recommend this lens for cameras without AF Fine Tune.

FREDERICK D.

2012-01-08T19:00:00

This lens is very sharp and the IQ has a three-dimensional quality. The DC feature worked just great.

ALEJANDRO Y.

2012-01-08T19:00:00

Does a beautiful job on outdoor portraits. I have used it handheld on some model portfolios and on a tripod for outdoor groups.

GUY T.

2011-12-25T19:00:00

I used this lens on Nikon D7000 for general and macro photography. At close-up it has a very nice bokeh! The color rendered is excellent even with jpeg.

ACY

2011-11-25T19:00:00

Nikon's sturdy composite build is great when you need a rugged field lens, but this 105 doesn't have many field applications. The weight and sluggish focus control negates the outstanding bokeh control. It's a soft lens on the open side, which again negates the extra price one would pay for f/2 control. It's a good lens in controlled conditions, but if that's how you shoot, you could get so much more for your money with something else. The back focus is the only selling point, and for me it turned out to be nothing more than a novelty spec (I'd rather just achieve a soft background the old fashioned way). The glass has difficulty in low light, and in some settings, renders the camera useless (because without focus the shutter won't release). The focus mechanism is way too loud...so if you're using this with a DSLR in movie mode, well, don't. Look at the 85 f/1.4 as a possible alternative (amazing lens).

riggraam

Originally posted at