Nikon Z 105mm F2.8 MC - My personal Review

 

Those of you that looked into my short photo school for beginners know how much I care for the right focal length. It should be selected not just because of the distance to the subject or lens sharpness. Why then 105mm for a macro lens?

Some claim that 105mm is not ideal for macros. It is too narrow and does not show the surrounding. Moreover, it leaves a very shallow DOF to work with. Indeed, the traditional macro was more at 60-80mm. There is another fine Nikon Z macro at 50mm. One argument for a telephoto lens is the distance to your subject. You have to go really close to get a true macro magnification. Photographing life insects is easier from a distance. Actually, others want an even longer telephoto lens for macro work.

If you do macros, you might also like manual focussing. The lens does it by wire, which means that there is a slight delay and imprecision between turning the huge focus ring and the reaction of the lens. Due to this, some prefer old style manual lenses, even though almost none of them comes close the quality of this lens.

But I selected this lens because I wanted to use it not only as a macro lens. I already have a very good 50mm lens. So, I took the lens through the German Museum in Munich which just reopened parts of its exhibition after the recent modernization and is always worth a visit. And it proved to be a great tool for this job.

The portrait above is showing a mountain climber in old clothing. There is another climber in modern equipment aside him. Both are part of the chemistry exhibition. I am showing this here to demonstrate how well this lens is suited for portraits. You need to stay about 2-3m from your subject, however, with this 105mm lens. For portrait, I use F4 mostly, but this lens is sharp already wide open at F2.8. Usually, DOF is too narrow. But in low light, it is good to have this option.

For portraits of people in action, the AF of this lens is a bit on the slow side. It is accurate and reasonably quick, but there are better options like the 85mm F1.8, another great portrait lens in the Nikon Z series.

Using a telephoto lens for macro or micro has more advantages than just keeping away from insects. It does also yield a more neutral perspective than a wider lens. This will prevent distortions of a subject. Moreover, it will yield a smoother background more easily. 

This photo is not really a macro. But you cannot do it with other lenses easily. Either they are too slow for the low light, or they cannot focus close enough. Options would be the 50mm with a macro ring, or the 24-200mm above 100mm from a tripod. But none is as easy and sharp as this 105mm lens. And you cannot use tripods inside a museum.

The lens is also great for simple shots of subjects further away. If the objects have a similar distance, you get a reasonable sharpness all around the frame from border to border. Still, you get a nice blurry background and a very nice transition from sharpness to blurriness. Have a look at the image below!

The overall impression of this telephoto range is always a closer look at details. Even if you step away several meters from your subject the feeling is a like a concentrated inspection of the subject, not an overview. 

Some do street photography with it. Others don't like that because they want the intimacy of a closer distance. For this kind of photography, the 85mm lens recommends itself if you are more a spectator than an intruder like me. But the 105mm can also be used.

Just keep in mind that the lens will have a very shallow DOF. So, select the focus point carefully. I used single point focus in many shots for this reason. If you have enough light, close the lens down.

Below is a telephoto image done with the 105mm MC. Of course, the extra-ordinary quality of this Nikon Z treasure is apparent in this image too.

In summary, this is a versatile lens and you should not use it only for macros. It is too expensive for such restrictions. The lens is sharp wide open across the frame. The contrast and IQ are superb as well as the Bokeh. I could not see a trace of chromatic aberration. The handling of the lens is nice too. Although the lens is quite large, it is not heavy. I enjoyed using it.

The only downside of this lens is that you get used to this quality. Highly recommended!