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I was in the market for a macro lens for product photography and had decided to buy the 180 f2.8 Sigma, until I found this one! It's my understanding that Nikon didn't make this lens for more than a couple of years. It's the older style AF which I don't use in the studio anyway. In fact, I had never even heard of this lens until searching on Ebay for a macro. I've been a Nikon user for almost 50 years and I'm not sure how this one escaped my attention. The lens is sharp - I'd expect nothing less from Nikon. The zoom enables me to take both wider shots and then close ups without having to move the camera. It will yield a 1:1 ratio when zoomed to 180mm and the 70mm setting is wide enough to view my stage and backdrop. For me, it's the best of both worlds. The person I bought it from shipped it from Japan and it arrived much sooner than I expected. The lens was as advertised and in perfect working order. I am very pleased with my purchase!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This lens is a sleeper. I shoot small products like jewelry and the set is crowded with lighting and reflectors. It's nice to be able to zoom to frame the shot rather than move the camera (attached to a heavy stand.) The tripod collar is a rugged mount point. It's sharp and even, closeup and stopped down. Perfect. Note: Nikon AF-D zoom lenses can get hazy. They are not airtight. So look for one with no haze.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I was probably one of the first to buy this lens, having ordered it as soon as it was announced sight unseen. At the time I was shooting film exclusivly and needed a zoom in the 80-200 range to complete my travel shooting outfit. For some time I had been considering Nikon's legendary 80-200 f2.8 but had hesitated for two reasons: one was the physical size and weight of the lens and the second was the fact that I would have had to invest in a whole new filter size. My travel kit was standardized on 62mm and the 80-200 took 77mm. When Nikon announced the 70-180mm used a 62mm filter size I felt it was a sign. The fact that it could also replace my 105mm Micro in my bag was a bonus. The modest working apertures of f4.5-5.6 I thought I could work around. Unpacking the lens was no disappointment. The 70-180 has the robust metal construction Nikon reserves for it's professional lenses. There's a certain solidity to the lens that users of professional Nikon equipment will find familiar and have come to expect. So far so good, especially as the lens was, as expected, smaller than the 80-200 I had been looking at. In use, the lens performed as specified. Autofocus was slow on my F100 and, if the user forgets to limit the range, the lens takes a long time to rack all the way through it's focus range when "hunting". The attached tripod socket was unobtrusive when hand held but strudy enough to actually use and support the weight of camera and lens. Optically, slides shot at "normal" distances were contrasty and sharp. The lens performs very well with minimal distortion. As a Macro lens (Nikon calls these "Micro") performance was good enough for all but the most critical applications. The lens focuses to 1:3@70mm and almost 1:1@180mm. For the digital user who has to deal with the multiplication factor of his smaller sensor, it effectivly becomes a 105-270mm zoom that focuses to 14inches which raises interesting possibilities. I finally traded the lens. As good as it was optically I could not get past the slow maximum apertures - especially for non-macro shooting. Remember, at the time I was shooting film and had a fondness for ISO 50 and 100 fine grained slide films. The maximum aperture of f4.5 could not be overcome just by dialing up the sensitivity of my digital sensor. Had I still had the lens at the time I got my first digital SLR perhaps I would have kept it.Read full review
I received the lens from Japan today and immediately put it on my D7500 and took pictures of everything in sight from kids to fences to wood shavings. Amazing field of view as well as bokeh. The lens was in mint condition and I’m extremely happy with it. I will mainly be using it for macro photography, but am pleased with how it performs for other purposes. My Tamron macro lens is really dark at the longer focal lengths, but this is perfectly sharp and light all the way through.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Here we have a hard to find Nikon 70-180mm Micro (macro) zoom lens. This lens is great for macro photography, as it allows you to change your frame by zooming in and out rather than by picking up your tripod and moving it to the new spot and refocusing. Nikon quit making this lens in 2004 so thy are rare and often sell for more money than they did new. Thin minimum focusing distance is about 2 1/2 ft which is pretty good. It has the old screw drive autofocus so it is fairly slow but most macro photography is still done with manual focus. The lens is sharp at all zoom lengths. It can function as a regular 70-180mm lens but it is a little slow in focusing. The main use for this lens would be in insect photography where you can stay back far enough to keep from scaring the bug away and can frame things properly without having to move the tripod set up around. I only wish nikon would update this lens with a faster autofocus and vibration reduction so it could be better at trying to do hand held macro photography on the fly. ( nothing works real good for this. )Read full review
This is looking to become my favorite lens. Let me qualify that. I do a fair amount of product photography with many of the items being jewelry or watches. I have several other micro lenses (macro for non Nikon shooters), including the 200mm, 105mm, and an older 28-105mm (another nice niche lens). The 200mm sometimes requires one to be too far away from the subject for convenience. The 105mm requires the camera to be moved in an out or the subject moved and re-lit. The 28-105mm is not really a 105mm when focused close, and it often has to be put so close as to block lighting. The 70-180mm fits in the middle of the other lenses and allows a comfortable position for the tripod and subject. I can shoot into a shooting box without putting the camera inside, and the subject is within easy reach for adjustments. Best part I can zoom in and out for various compositions with everything left in place. However for handheld the fixed focal length lenses are just fine zooming with ones feet and arms. There are the usual caveats for an older technology lens. One is the slow noisy autofocus, which is not a problem as much of potential use is with manual focus. It is necessary to shift from manual to automatic on the lens itself. It is not adequate to shift on the camera body, and the camera must have a focus motor...the lens does not. Auto focus will hunt if not limited. The front element does move in and out as the lens is focused, but does not rotate. Having the element move with focus in macro work is a little worrisome that one might run the front element into the subject. However given this is a minimum 70mm, and that the close focus distance is not right up against the lens as with shorter focal lengths, this is not really a problem. Minimum focus distance on my copy is a little over 4 inches throughout the range measured from the front of the lens. The Nikon support site indicates this lens is not compatible with the R1 flash system because it will "rotate focus". That is not completely correct. The front element does not rotate. The added weight of the R1 system might pull or push the lens out of focus at other than horizontal positions. Moreover the added weight would accelerate wear on the focus system. It would especially be risky in auto focus. However in macro work it is common to set focus and move the camera until the subject is clear. In that case and with some care the R1 is useable with this lens. The barrel and most parts are metal and built to last. As such it is a bit heavy, but that is good to help stability and reduce mirror slap vibration, etc. Sharpness is extremely good, close if not as good as the 200mm, which is the gold standard. There is an aperture ring, meaning it will function with older film SLRs. There is a non-removable tripod foot that rotates. This lens works so well that it is surprising that Nikon discontinued it over 10 years ago and has not replaced it, and no one else makes a similar lens. Find a used one for a good price, and in good condition, I recommend you buy it. But don't collect it, use it!Read full review
What it lacks: No chromatic aberration, no pin cushioning, in fact almost immeasurable distortion of any kind through the whole zoom spectrum. Every aspect of distortion is addressed. So what it lacks is good for the final image. The bokeh is not the best I’ve ever seen, but it’s pleasant enough. It’s not good for low-light photography. It doesn’t give you 1:1 magnification on FX sized sensors, although it’s close at 180mm at 1:1.3 magnification. What it gives: It gives you the ability to focus and then frame your tiny subject (lizards and salamanders are my specialty.) The amazing thing about this lens is that once you focus on the subject it will lock you in at either end of zoom range. This lens is a bit hefty for carrying around all day, but it’s much lighter, skinnier and shorter than the 70-200 mm f/2.8. So I don’t mind taking this and a 50mm f/1.4 lens for shooting in the dark. I mostly shoot in bright sunlight, and use fill-flash so the speed of this lens is not an issue as such. If you shoot swift lizards, snakes, amphibians, or bugs, this is your lens.Read full review
This is the only 1:1 macro zoom lens , by any manufacturer The lens build quality is professional. It uses a 62mm filter and if you want to go beyond 1:1 magnification Nikon has a 62mm filter 6T that is perfect for this lens. This lens is discontinued so if you have the chance to get one in mint condition do not hesitate as they are becoming rare. The series 1 70-210mm 2.8-4.0 is the only lens close to this and that is an old manual focus lens , that focuses to 1:2 . The lens is easy to use , the only draw back is it is a little heavy, but that is because it is ruggedly built. this is the kind of lens that can be passed down to your heirs . I am glad that I got one in mint like new condition .
Very satisfied. takes great sharp closeup images of tiny stuff
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The only Nikon zoom micro, sadly discontinued and no successor. Offers flexible framing especially on tripod, plus rotating tripod collar to switch between portrait and landscape. Downside is that reproduction ration only 1:1.3 at 180mm.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned