Let's Talk Lenses: Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR

I reached a point in my photography where everything began to feel stale. I hadn't necessarily lost the desire to go out and shoot, but more so I was just bored and was feeling uninspired. Queue the Nikon 105mm micro lens. Macro photography had always been in the back of my mind but with the price tag on macro lenses it just seemed like more trouble than it was worth. The Nikon is no different coming in with a price tag of around $1,000 new. I had a little bit of money to blow though and was able to find a mint copy for about $600 on Ebay (my go to for all things photography). The lens arrived and my first impression was it was clearly well built and felt sturdy in my hands. I took it for a spin and was pretty blown away at the quality of the pictures it was able to produce. Flowers, insects, snow, etc. I found myself shooting everything I could just to see what it was capable of. In addition, I found that it was also a beautiful portrait lens of sorts. It is able to produce beautiful bokeh! When used for distant shots I feel it fell a bit short. Quality was good but nothing to write home about. Overall the $600 I spent was well worth it and I recommend this lens for anyone interested in experimenting with close up shooting regardless of the subject matter. The lens is sharp and the VR feature is extremely helpful when you have a full frame of a small subject. If you haven't dabbled in macro photography and find yourself bored one day, go rent this baby and refresh your perspective. You won't be disappointed.