Nikon AF-S DX Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR Review

May 4, 2011 | Zoltan Arva-Toth |

Buy a Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G AF-S DX ED VR Macro Lens (Image Stabilization)

Sharpness

For this sharpness test the Micro-Nikkor 85mm f3.5G lens was attached to a Nikon D300s body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. The self-timer was activated, and Exposure Delay Mode was enabled in otder to eliminate any vibrations resulting from mirror movement. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session. The 100% crops represent about 1/300th of the total frame area.

The full frame

The lens is sharpest at f/5.6 and f/8, but when you use it for macro work you will have to stop it down way past these values in order to get an acceptable depth of field. Unfortunately, diffraction impacts heavily on resolution and sharpness at the smallest apertures – this is something you will need to keep in mind.

(A note on f-stops: the aperture range of this lens goes from f/3.5 to f/32 as listed above. However, the so-called “effective f-number” varies with the reproduction ratio. At 1:1 magnification, the “effective f-numbers” available range from f/5.1 to f/45.)