Nikon 105mm Macro Lens and Teleconverter

When viewing macro photos, it might be difficult to determine the degree of magnification even for familiar subjects. At first glance, this may appear to be a photo from someone’s rock collection. However, this photo was taken at a playground. The rocks are really sand.

sand_7894

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 125, 180mm, f/8, 1/400s

For reference, I took a photo of a standard office park flower along the sidewalk. I have no idea what these are called, but they were growing every where.

yellow-flower_7804

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 100, 180mm, f/8, 1/400s

With the 105mm macro lens and a 1.7x teleconverter, the flower appears like this up close:

yellow-flower_7810

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 100, 180mm, f/8, 1/800s

A 100% crop of the above photo reveals these details. Not bad for a handheld shot on a windy day.

yellow-flower-100_7810

Here’s a different flower. Again, handheld and at the mercy of the wind. The center of the flower looks a little soft.

white-flower_7818

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 100, 180mm, f/8, 1/640s

But, look what shows up when viewed at 100%. The bug is actually visible in the above photo, but I didn’t even notice it when I first took the shot.

bug_7818

Here’s the dangerous part about getting a macro lens. You might relapse back to childhood with a serious fascination for insects. Who sees a bee and moves in to get an even closer look?

bee_7875

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 140, 180mm, f/8, 1/200s

This bee does not look happy.

angry-bee_7887

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 250, 180mm, f/8, 1/250

This bumblebee was a lot easier to track than the one who was busy pollinating the poppy. For poppies, the bumblebee would disappear inside the flower for a second or so and I had to guess the timing of its departure. Here, the bumblebee remained in the open the entire time.

bee_7931

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 3600, 180mm, f/9, 1/800s

I even got lucky and caught the bumblebee just as it was about to take off for another flower.

bee_7920

Nikon D800, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 3200, 180mm, f/9, 1/800s

1 comment… add one
  • Justin Link Reply

    Hi, i have this lens and recently got the tc20e-iii but havent used it much outside of my house as i dont want to bang it up if i end up wanting to returning it. I lile to do the same type of photography as above but found getting the correct exposure to be very difficult inside my house. Should this not be a concern when shooting outside or should i have gotten a shorter teleconverter? I figured since i wanted to increase my magnification and at times my working distance that the 2x was the way to go but now im not sure due to the more limited exposure capabilities.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.