105 VR Macro -- Good for hand-held dark forest shooting?

I mostly shoot closeups (not macro) of nature elements, such as bark/rock textures, leaves, etc. plus some occasional landscape shots. I am currently a Canon 350D user with the sharp 60mm Canon macro for the closeups -- which of course ALWAYS require a tripod. I usually shoot at ISO 100 for maximum image quality, so I have the option of printing large and maximizing detail when desired.

I am thinking of switching to a D300 + 105 VR macro IF the combo of those two (thus allowing higher ISO shooting, such as 800 or 1600, plus the macro's VR) will allow me to shoot hand-held such closeups in a low-light forest WITHOUT using a tripod (at least most of the time). From anyone out there who has this D300/105VR combo, is this realistic? Thanks in advance.

-- Michael in Bellingham, WA

YES!!



I do low-ish light high-ish ISO closeups(not macro though!!) quite a bit with my D300 and 105VR.
If you want really good sharp detail, don't go too far over ISO800.

One thing I learned that helps a lot, is to set AF mode to continuous on the front body switch,(and leave it there).

You may still need to shoot a series of 3-5(or more) shots in Cl or Ch(I use Cl.. is enough!) usually one or two out of those 3 shots has more than enough IQ to be considered a keeper!

If you tend to head towards the 1:2 or 1:1 realom of macro.. you may be disappointed though.. the keeper rate will be a lot lower!

People say it all the time, that for real macro you need manual focus and tripod.. you don't realise how true this is until you do it for yourself!
(but it's always nice to confirm other peoples findings! )

I am using D300 for 2 months and 105mm for almost a year, and I like using this combination, and mostly for macro shots such as the following:

http://www.treklens.com/gallery/photo389952.htm

http://www.treklens.com/gallery/photo390731.htm

And also I use Canon 5D with MP-E 65mm for extreme macro shot:

http://www.treklens.com/gallery/photo387592.htm

Hope will help.

The VR helps but hand-holding when attempting 1:1 macro is really a 50/50 win lose game. Believe me I have tried on numerous occasions to do without the tripod; and unless you have something to prop up against or lean into, keeper rate will be low - VR or no VR.

And to confuse the issue, have you taken a serious look at the Zeiss ZF100 Makro Planar? I believe it will be worth the distraction if the higher price is no barrier and you can live without 1:1 macro. It is one very sweet lens. I have loaned it for many an occasion but needs to sell the nikkor 105vr first to justify the indulgence. LOL.

David
Melbourne

You will be very happy using that combination for what you are doing. The 105VR is great for closeups (around 1:4 or greater) in low light without a tripod but for 1:1 or 1:2 macros you will still need at tripod.
Richard
--
Equipment: 1 camera, 1 lens, 37 years

http://www.feueratem.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=36

This lens feels like having been built for exactly this mission... plus numerous other ones (portraits, landscapes, fast action shots if you use the focus limiter switch).

Brutally sharp, beautiful bokeh. Only drawback: it's a fat and ugly lens.

VR buys you 3-4 f-stops exposure time for hand-held shots.

Note that the rule exposure time in seconds = 1/focal length in mm does not work for close range, with or without VR. You need to use much faster speeds starting at about 1:10. This makes the VR seem useless at macro range but it isn't. The speed requirement is just higher.

Thanks everyone for your replies. So now the million-dollar question... will say a 105 VR closeup at 1:4 magnification, ISO 800, and f8 aperature be TACK-sharp? (equal to a clean tripod shot). Or will it just be very good but NOT as tack sharp?

-- Michael

Pixelelan said:

Thanks everyone for your replies. So now the million-dollar
question... will say a 105 VR closeup at 1:4 magnification, ISO 800,
and f8 aperature be TACK-sharp? (equal to a clean tripod shot). Or
will it just be very good but NOT as tack sharp?

-- Michael

Click to expand...

1:4 mag., ISO 800, F8, and handheld?

I'd say the 105VR is going to be your best shot at tack sharp.

Equal to a clean tripod shot? That's a tall order.

You said dark, but never mentioned how dark.

The D300/D3 + 105VR does seem to be the best bet available for what you want to do, but I wouldn't expect miracles. The VR function actually reduces in effectiveness as distance to subject becomes quite short. In his review of the lens, Thom Hogan suggests that leaving VR on makes sense if you are focusing out to 2-3 feet or more. Even then, the 4 stop VR advantage that is claimed isn't realised until distance to subject is quite a bit greater. It's probably not unfair to say the this is a two-in-one lens - a 1:1 macro (like any other if you use tripod + manual focus) and a VR-equipped portrait lens.

Suvo

--
Suvo Mitra
http://suvomitra.smugmug.com

... you need at least 1/125 second. Without VR, 1/1000 second to get a tack-sharp image.

Note that the peak sharpness already starts at f4, but DOF is certainly shallow.