Quote Originally Posted by Steve Axford View Post
Sounds like Nikon took the design for a portrait lens and modified it to take 1:1 macro. I guess that Nikon aren't putting macro as a high priority. Possibly smart as it is hard to get much of a lead in macro. Still, there are opportunities.
they used to make some of the best macro/micro lenses.

(apparently) the 105/2.8 before the VR and the 105/4 before it, as well as the 200/4 and the 60/2.8's and 50/3.5's and 50/2.8's all work particularly well as macro lenses.
It's just that the 105VR isn't their best effort, and they have the historical knowhow to do better.

Note too tho that there are many happy customers out there too.
Maybe those owners just got one of the better samples of this lens, or maybe they just shoot specific types of macro/closeups scenes and they don't see the same results when they surface.

This is a lens type that Nikon seem to have completely ignored for a while now.
For the past few years, they have been on the road to modernises all of their old lenses that used the screw type focus system(AF/AF-D type lenses) .. to the more modern AFS type lenses.
The old 200/4 is an AF-D type lens, that has yet to be updated in any way to the more modern AF system.

But instead, they create a 8-15mm fisheye zoom that in all likelyhood not many folks are really interested in.
Back in the day, Nikon also had what was once regarded as one of the best micro(oops! ... I meant macro ... for non Nikon folks to comprehend!! ) lenses. While it didn't do 1:1, it did do 1:2 which is(I think) the only zoom lens to do greater than 1:3 or so repro).