AF-S Micro Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8 G ED VRAt the time of writing, the Nikon Z system contains only two macro lenses: the high-quality, physically large and a bit expensive Nikkor Z MC 105 mm f/2.8 VR S and the physically small and relatively affordable Nikkor Z MC 50mm f/2.8. Both lenses are sharp and focus continuously from infinity to 1x, but a focal length of 50 mm is a bit too short for work close to 1x, while the 105 mm is just about right for hand-holding as well as tripod-mounted work. On the other hand, among the Nikkor lenses in F mount, two AF-S Micro Nikkor G lenses can be used in both AF and MF mode on FX Z cameras with the help of an FTZ or FTZ II adapter:
While the 60 mm lens is a bit too short in focal length, like the Nikkor Z 50 mm, and more suitable as a close-up lens than at magnifications close to 1x, the 105 mm G is the most direct ancestor of the Nikkor Z 105 mm, provides a reasonable working distance at 1x, and is known as an optically good (albeit not perfect) lens. The addition of VR makes it useful for hand-held shooting (mainly as a portrait lens and generic medium telephoto). The 60 mm G was never updated to VR. The main advantage of these two G lenses over the Nikkor Z 50 mm and 105 mm is that both G lenses are easy to find on the second-hand market, and cost around 50% less than the Nikkor Z 105 mm. While the 60 mm G is substantially larger than the Nikkor Z 50 mm, especially once mounted on an F to Z adapter, and not much cheaper than the the latter lens, the 105 mm G is moderately larger than the Nikkor Z 105 mm once mounted on an adapter, but still a feasible alternative in size and weight. The Nikkor Z 105 mm is a total redesign of the 105 mm G, is likely optically better than the latter, and is probably also faster in AF. AF speed, however, depends on which Z camera the lens is used on, and several F-mount modern lenses are known to provide a faster AF when used on top-of-the-line Z cameras, compared to F-mount DSLRs. Illumination levels also strongly affect the AF performance of the 105 mm G. Nonetheless, the 105 mm G lens remains one of the best Nikon macro lenses in F mount. Whether the improvements of the Z lens are worth its much higher price is debatable, and each photographer who intends to use Z cameras in photomacrography is likely to be confronted with these choices. An additional factor that may affect your choice between an adapted F-mount macro lens and a native Z macro lens is that some camera features are only supported with native Z lenses. One such example is the configurable focus limiter, which in the Z8 (and quite possibly in other Z models) is only available with native Z lenses. Other factors are involved in this choice, besides the sheer price, size, weight, capabilities, and optical quality. For example, the 105 mm G with FTZ/FTZ II adapter is larger than its native Z counterpart, and the adapter itself is moderately expensive. If the 105 mm G is the only F-mount lens you are likely to use on a Z camera via one of these adapters, the G lens may not be especially attractive. On the other hand, if you will use multiple adapted F lenses on Z cameras, sharing one or two adapters among these F-mount lenses may make better sense. The latter was my choice, for example. I own both an FTZ adapter and an FTZ II adapter, and use the former when it is desirable to use a lens equipped with the equivalent of a tripod collar, and the latter when the lens is to be used hand-held. The FTZ is discontinued, and differs from the FTZ II only for its lens foot (albeit not Arca-compatible, so it requires an Arca-compatible plate bolted underneath). The FTZ can still be found at reasonable prices on the second-hand market. I have failed to find reasonably priced third-party F to Z lens adapters (either "dumb" or "smart") equipped with an acceptably solid tripod shoe. The only available alternatives are Chinese smart adapters that cost roughly the same as the Nikon ones, offer (at best) the same capabilities, and may or may not be compatible with specific legacy Nikon F lenses. Compatibility of these Chinese adapters with future firmware upgrades of Z cameras remains an open question. These adapters are usually equipped with a USB port for upgrading the internal firmware, but this is no guarantee that the makers of these adapters will continue to offer firmware upgrades for an indefinite length of time. It would not be the first time that Chinese makers of photographic equipment "abandon" their already sold equipment to its destiny just months after selling it (e.g. Godox does just that with their studio strobes and controllers, by not updating their firmware utilities to keep them compatible with the periodic updates of the Windows operating system). One should not forget that, in addition to these G lenses, a few macro lenses were offered by Nikon in the AF (not AF-S) series. This includes AF models of the 60 mm and 105 mm f/2.8 and 200 mm f/4. They only work in manual focus mode when mounted on an FTZ/FTZ II adapter, but are electronically recognized by Z cameras. This automatically provides focal-length information for the sensor-based VR of Z cameras to work correctly, and for automatic correction of certain lens aberrations. These advantages are not available on the numerous Nikon macro lens models that lack a CPU and electrical contacts on the lens mount, although some of these lenses are optically good enough to be used on Z cameras.
At least two Nikon DX macro lenses in F mount are/were also marketed, but I have no particular interest in
these lenses and don't know much about them: The AF Micro Nikkor 70-180 mm f/4.5-5.6 D ED is another legacy lens that remains interesting for certain uses on Z cameras. It is limited to a 0.76x maximum magnification, but within its magnification range it remains the only true macro zoom available for Nikon cameras. Its range of focal lengths is also particularly useful in photomacrography. This lens was never popular among Nikon photographers during its production years, but its moderately scarce availability on the second-hand market make it today somewhat more expensive than when it could be purchased new from Nikon. Still, it is affordable if you specifically need/want one, and it is priced at the same order of magnitude as the legacy AF Micro Nikkor 200 mm f/4. The choice between these two lenses is essentially between a true macro zoom that reaches "only" 0.76x, and a 200 mm fixed-focal-length macro lens that reaches 1x. The Nikkor 105 mm G in practice
The above figure shows that the 105 mm G mounted on FTZ adapter and Z8 camera makes quite a large piece of equipment. As mentioned above, the Nikkor Z 105 mm is less bulky, but not by much. Figure 1 also shows the usefulness of the FTZ adapter in providing a lens shoe (as opposed to hanging the weight of the lens and adapter from the camera's lens mount). A shorter lens shoe could be used, but the long shoe shown in Figure 1 gives a higher versatility. Some weight and bulk could be shed by removing the camera's L-shaped bracket when not in use. The 105 mm G is equipped with three sliders on its left side, from top to bottom:
The distance and magnification scales are visible through a transparent plastic window. From top to bottom, three scales are available:
The focus distance is the distance between subject and the sensor plane. The working distance, on the other hand, is the distance between the most anterior part of the lens (usually its filter mount) and the subject. Most lens manufacturers specify only, or mainly, the focus distance. In photomacrography, however, it is more useful to know the working distance at a given magnification (or at least, at the maximum magnification provided by the lens). The lens mount is equipped with 10 electrical contacts and the mechanical aperture lever. Focus is internal, with both the rear and the front optical surfaces remaining immobile. The optical scheme was redesigned in 2006 and uses 14 elements in 12 groups. The preceding update of this lens is from 1993, and uses 10 elements in 9 groups. The 2006 model added also VR II, AF-S (AF Silent-wave, ultrasonic motor built into the lens), one internal ED glass element and a nano-crystal coating (on the rearmost optical element). In comparison, the AF-S Micro Nikkor 60 mm G uses 12 elements in 9 groups, of which 2 aspherical elements, one ED element, and one nano-crystal coating. Unlike the AF Micro Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8 D, which is largely made of plastic, the 105 mm G is mostly made of metal also externally, and feels very solid. The focus ring of the 105 mm G is physically coupled to the internal focus mechanism via a friction coupling. In other words, this is not a focus-by-wire lens. AF does not cause the focus ring to rotate, and there is no risk of damaging the AF mechanism by holding the focus ring with the left hand while autofocusing. The distance scale behind a plastic window rotates with both AF and MF, and the internal focusing group moves accordingly. As typical of G lenses, there is no physical aperture ring and the aperture must be adjusted on the camera (usually with one of the control dials). The diaphragm has 9 blades, and the shape of the diaphragm aperture is quite well rounded at all apertures (f/2.8-32). VR is provided by a group of two optical elements located close to the rear end of the lens. This lens is Nikon's first VR macro lens. 105 mm G and teleconvertersAccording to Nikon, the 105 mm G can use the AF-S teleconverters TC-14E II and III, TC-17E II, and TC-20E II and III. Also according to Nikon, with this lens and these teleconverters AF is not possible. These teleconverters allow AE (automatic exposure) and VR. These teleconverters increase the effective aperture of the lens by 1, 1.5 and 2 stops, respectively. One of these teleconverters can be mounted between the 105 mm G and an FTZ/FTZ II adapter, allowing a maximum subject magnification of 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x, respectively. It is not possible to mount a native Z teleconverter at the rear of an FTZ/FTZ II adapter carrying a 105 mm G. This is prevented (among other things) by an extra tab on the front mount of Z teleconverters. With F-mount teleconverters, one could get around this limitation by filing off the extra tab. I have read reports that, at least with certain combinations of equipment, a Z teleconverter with removed extra tab can electronically detect that a lens (or other equipment, like an FTZ/FTZ II adapter) not sanctioned by Nikon for use on these teleconverters is attached, and the teleconverter reacts by locking the camera and displaying an error message on the camera's LCD screen, until the offending equipment is removed. I tested the 105 mm G with the old Nikon TC-201 teleconverter, which doubles the focal length of the lens and turns it into a 210 mm (at infinity, less than this at close focus) f/5.6 macro lens that reaches 2x. Focus is only manual (naturally, since the TC-201 lacks electronic connections), and sensor-based VR only works if the proper focal length is manually configured in the camera menu. I also tested the 105 mm G with the modern Nikon TC-20E III and TC-17E II, in spite of Nikon stating that autofocus is not possible with this lens and these teleconverters. AF does mostly work, with some racking, with the 105 mm G on TC-17E II, FTZ/FTZ II adapter, and Z8 camera. The TC-17E II adds 1.5 stops to the lens speed. AF works significantly less reliably with TC-20E III, which adds two stops to the lens speed. From my limited testing, it appears that the TC-20E III gives the best image quality (especially in the image periphery) with the 105 mm G, among the three tested teleconverters. I don't have a TC-14E III available at the moment, but I should expect that AF on the 105 mm G works even better with the latter teleconverter, which adds only one stop to the lens speed. It is physically impossible to attach the 105 mm G to some legacy Nikon teleconverters, like the TC-301. The Nikkor Z 105 mm f/2.8 is not compatible with Nikkor Z teleconverters. The AF-S 105 mm G is much more versatile than the newer Z lens in this respect. Nominal and effective apertureOn the Z8 (and, I believe, all other Z cameras), the 105 mm G on FTZ/FTZ II displays the effective lens aperture, rather than nominal. Starting at infinity focus, with a fully-open f/2.8 aperture, the effective aperture at 0.5x becomes f/3.5, and at 1x f/4.8. The expected apertures for an ideal, nominal f/2.8 thin lens at 0.5x and 1x are f/4 and f/5.6, respectively. In turn, this means that the effective aperture is 1/3 of a stop faster than expected by the thin-lens model at 0.5x (corresponding to a nominal lens speed of f/2.5), and 1/2 of a stop at 1x (nominal f/2.4 lens speed) (see Wikipedia). These deviations from the behavior of an ideal thin lens are probably caused by a combination of two phenomena:
If one plugs these nominal lens speed values into the DOF (depth of field) and COC (circle of confusion) formulas, it can be seen that the lens, at a given magnification and nominal aperture, provides a moderately smaller amount of both diffraction blurring and DOF, compared to an ideal thin lens. Weather sealingThis lens is not weather-sealed. It has a rubber gasket surrounding the rear bayonet mount, but other key parts of the lens barrel are not sealed. This lens should not be exposed to rain and drizzle. If you need a weather-sealed macro lens for a Z camera, you should choose the Nikkor Z 105 mm f/2.8 instead. Size and weightWeight of this lens is a hefty 790 g. Externally, the lens is 115 mm long from filter mount to mounting flange, with a diameter of the focus ring of 83 mm. This is therefore a lens that fills even a big hand, and a major increase in size and weight, compared to the AF Micro Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8 D that preceded this lens. In comparison, the 60 mm G is significantly smaller and lighter (73 x 89 mm, 425 g). It uses the same 62 mm filter mount as the 105 mm, which looks way too wide for the rather small front optical element of the 60 mm. The 60 mm is still marketed by Nikon at the time of writing. AF and camera focus limiterThe usefulness of AF in this lens, for me, lies not so much in single-image macro shooting, as in capabilities like automatic in-camera focus bracketing, which requires AF to be available and activated. AF can be useful in single-image shooting in the close-up range and farther from the subject, especially in the distance range covered by the ∞-0.5m focus limiter setting of the lens. This distance range corresponds approximately to the magnification range 0-0.35x. Nikkor AF-S lenses autofocus faster than the earlier AF lenses with "screwdriver" AF. However, the 105 mm G takes its time (a couple of seconds) to rack focus from infinity to 1x. It is a macro lens, and I am not aware of any truly fast AF macro lenses in Nikon F mount. Additionally, even on a Z8, AF with this lens requires a reasonably high level of subject illumination. Thus, AF with this lens when used as a telephoto or portrait lens in low light may not be sufficiently fast and reliable. A native Z lens like the Nikkor Z 24-120 mm f/4 S is likely a better choice for these applications, in spite of its lower lens speed. Note that the 105 mm G has no focus limiter setting for the magnification range 0.35x-1x, which could conceivably be useful to limit focus hunting in photomacrography. On the other hand, in photomacrography the typical modus operandi is disabling AF, then setting the desired magnification by manually rotating the focus ring, and finally focusing by gradually approaching the subject with the camera and lens as a whole, without changing the focus setting.
The Nikon Z8 has a firmware-configurable focus limiter, but it only works with native Z lenses. If an
in-camera configurable focus limiter is important for you, this could be a reason for preferring the
Nikkor Z 105 mm over an adapted 105 mm G. Lens shade
The HB-38 lens shade that comes with the 105 mm G is huge (above figure, right). It is so wide and deep that it is nearly impossible to use in the macro range, and its usefulness is restricted to the portrait and close-up ranges. This lens shade attaches to the plastic bayonet that surrounds the filter mount of the lens, and can be reversed onto the lens for storage. It must be removed or mounted in forward orientation to use the lens, because it blocks access to the focus ring when reversed. The filter mount of the AF-S 105 is 62 mm, but the front element has a clear diameter of only 44.5 mm. It is entirely possible to attach a 62 mm to 52 mm step-down ring on the filter mount, and a short (21 mm not including the threaded part at the base) cylindrical lens shade with a 52 mm attachment to this ring (above figure, left). The replacement lens shade as shown in the figure causes no darkening in the corners, but is very close to doing so. There is an evident darkening in the corners, for example, after adding a 58 to 52 mm step-down ring at the front of the lens shade. Of course, the replacement lens shade cannot be mounted in reversed orientation, and if left on the lens takes up some additional bag space. It is, however, a small fraction of the volume of the original lens shade. Since the replacement lens shade "eats up" a smaller portion of the working distance and is less likely to interfere with subject illumination, I almost always leave it mounted on the lens. In the rare cases when this replacement lens shade gets in the way of illumination or risks touching the subject, it is possible to unscrew the lens shade and leave only the step-down ring attached to the filter mount. This ring does help to prevent light from directly striking the front element, and reduces the risk of accidentally touching the front optical surface of the lens while handling the camera. A lens cap that fits at the front end of the replacement lens shade is also necessary. Almost all third-party metal lens shades have a female threaded mount at their front, of one of the common sizes for filters and lens caps. In my case, the required lens cap diameter is 58 mm, but different lens shades may require slightly different lens cap diameters, and the exact diameter of this mount is often not advertised. It is probably best to buy a lens shade of your choice first, and then, once you have tested it and made sure it does not cause vignetting or dark image corners, to measure the diameter of the required lens cap to mount at the front of the lens shade. Working distanceThe working distance at 1x is 154 mm. Focus bracketing with the 105 mm GThe Z8 supports focus bracketing (called Focus shift shooting by Nikon) with the 105 mm G on FTZ/FTZ2, with the possible exception of the Focus position auto reset setting (see below). Focus shift shooting and the procedure to configure shooting in this mode are described in my Z8 review. The subject I used for this test is an SD memory card held by a plastic laundry clamp. This clamp is partly visible at the bottom of the frame, and located a few mm closer to the lens than the SC card itself. I decided to intentionally not include the whole thickness of this clamp in the image stack, in order to limit the number of necessary images. I intentionally chose a dusty and worn out subject, in order to have some fine detail to examine. The light source is a Godox SL100 Bi, which is a 100 W studio LED source shaped like a studio strobe (i.e., not a LED flat panel) and illuminating the subject through a diffuser cube of synthetic cloth. I usually set the power of this light source to 50%, which is more than enough to allow a short exposure value at ISO 200. For the test discussed below, I set the 105 mm G to 1x magnification, its M/A / M slider to M/A, and the Z8 to AF-C (e.g. in the Control Panel displayed by pressing the i button). Then, with the camera in live view mode, I manually focused the closest part of the subject (the plastic clamp) by moving the subject to the right distance in front of the lens. To avoid potential problems, I further moved the subject a mm or so away from the lens. This wastes a few shots at the beginning of the sequence, but makes sure that the focus plane will completely sweep across the subject depth. Note that framing and focusing must be done before entering the menu and configuring Focus shift shooting. Once the menu is entered, live view will no longer be available for the duration of the sequence shooting. At this point, I entered the camera menu and navigated to Photo shooting menu > Focus shift shooting. I configured:
A few more settings are discussed here. I also repeated the test with VR switched ON, as well as OFF, with the lens slider. Both individual images and the resulting stacked images were slightly sharper with VR switched OFF. The latter images are shown below. 
The two above figures show a single image from the sequence of 60 shots, selected to show the oblique scratch/hair in the center of the 1:1 crop at best focus. The red/magenta halo around the white text is mostly axial chromatic aberration, but probably also a little flare, and the silkscreened text is actually in slight relief above the mottled black background of the card label. 
Stacking with Zerene Stacker, DMap method, largely (but not completely) removes the color haloes. There is also a considerable loss of contrast, although it could be largely restored in post-processing. The oblique scratch/hair is almost as sharp as in the hand-picked single image. 
Stacking with Zerene Stacker, PMax method, increases the contrast with respect to both DMap and the original images. However, there is a subjectively more visible loss of fine detail than with DMap, and this method produces a diffused whitish halo around the white text. The oblique scratch/hair displays roughly the same amount of detail as DMap. As a whole, among these three 1:1 crops, I find the two stacks (Figures 6 and 8) better than the single image (Figure 4) at showing the fine three-dimensional detail of "microspheres" on the label surface in a way that can be easily perceived as such by human eyes. The difference, however, is small. The oblique scratch/hair is rendered with much the same resolution in all three figures. Detail on the order of 1-2 pixels is visible. On the other hand, axial CA is most troublesome in Figure 4. In both stacked images, some artefacts are visible along the top of the clamp, near the right edge of the frame. These artefacts are especially disturbing with DMap. This is the region with the largest gap between foreground (the clamp) and background (the card). These artefacts would need manual editing. The crops in Figures 4, 6 and 8 correspond to a 3.9 by 2.0 mm field of view on the subject. Individual pixels are 4.4 by 4.4 μm. Place of manufactureMy specimen of the lens was made in China. This lens was made in Japan from 2006 to 2008, then manufacturing was moved to China until 2021, when the lens was discontinued. The current Nikkor Z 105 mm f/2.8 is made in Thailand. Alternatives to the 105 mm GWhen it comes to AF alternatives to the 105 mm G on Nikon Z cameras, I am only aware of the Nikkor Z 105 mm f/2.8, discussed at several places in this review. I have no personal experience with third-party (e.g., Tamron) AF macro lenses in Z mount. I also use the diminutive Laowa 85 mm f/5.6 2x macro, which is a native Nikon Z lens but fully manual. It occupies approximately one-quarter of the volume taken up in a camera bag by the 105 mm G with lens adapter. These two lenses have different capabilities and are appropriate in different use-cases. I like the idea of putting in my camera bag a very sharp but fully manual 0x-2x lens that weighs so little, and takes so little space, that I will never notice I am carrying it. The Laowa 100 mm f/2.8 2x is another of my fully manual alternatives to the 105 mm G, not substantially smaller, but significantly lighter and optically a little bit better. The Laowa 25 mm f/2.8 2.5-5x picks up roughly where these lenses reach their 2x magnification. For best image quality at 1x (and only at 1x), nothing that I have tried beats the Printing Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8 A. It is fully manual, lacks a focusing helicoid, and must be used on a precisely measured stack of extension tubes and adapters, in order not to stray from 1x. Aberrations start creeping in as soon as one deviates from the specified 1x magnification, so this lens is essentially a one-trick pony, but at exactly 1x it easily outresolves any sensor I tested it on, even when shooting with pixel-shift enhanced resolution. Together with a not-too-long lens shade, a custom-made lens collar and a long Arca-compatible plate, the lens with its dedicated extension tubes results in a 227 mm long stack of optical and mechanical components that ends in a Nikon F mount, and weighs 970 g. I also occasionally use a few lenses salvaged from Nikon and Minolta film scanners. Using these lenses on digital cameras requires custom adapters and focusing helicoids, but with some of these lenses the results are well worth the effort. Although these lenses are designed for use at a specific magnification, they are in general more tolerant than the Printing Nikkor to moderate changes in magnification. Unlike the Printing Nikkor, scanner lenses lack an adjustable aperture, and their main usefulness lies in focus stacking. ConclusionsThe AF-S Micro Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8 G VR, discontinued in 2021, is reasonably priced on the second-hand market, optically very good, and works best on a Nikon Z camera when paired to an FTZ or FTZ II lens adapter. The native Nikkor Z 105 mm f/2.8 S may be optically slightly better and does support some of the Z camera functionality not available with an adapted F-mount lens (e.g. the configurable focus limiter), but costs roughly twice as much as a second-hand 105 mm G. This is the only Nikon F or Z macro lens that works with Nikon teleconverters, reaching a 2x magnification with a 2x teleconverter. This lens also supports in-camera focus bracketing (with or without a teleconverter) when mounted on a Z camera via an FTZ/FTZ II adapter. On Z cameras, it does not support the automatic return to the start position after a focus stacking/bracketing sequence. The original HB-38 lens shade is far too large and deep to use in close-up and macro imaging. I replaced it with a 62 to 52 mm step-down ring and a shorter third-party lens shade, which happens to accept a 58 mm lens cap at its front end. This lens is not weather sealed. It only has a rubber gasket around the lens mount, but other lens parts are not sealed. Do not use this lens in rain and drizzle. The focus ring is frictionally coupled to the internal focusing mechanism. This is not a focus-by-wire lens. The AF motor does not cause the focus ring to rotate. Manually rotating the focus ring always overrides AF. |