Nikon Nikkor AI-S 105 mm F/2.5 Ai-S Lens

Nikon 105 F2.5. was a favorite lens when I was an Air Force photojournalist in the 1970s. Like finding an old friend! The owner took outstanding care of this quality lens of another era. Most photojournalists went with a 50 or 85 F1.4, but the 105 F2.5 just fit my way of shooting. Great perspective for head and shoulders shots, tight, close-in action, and even scenics (forces you to compose key elements.)
My minimal carry was a Nikon F2AS and the "odd couple"-- the 105, a 2x multiplier, and a 28 F2. Both lenses use the same Nikon 52 mm polarizer and filters.
Bought my (last?) film camera in 2007 -- Nikon FM3A. I just love the results from relatively fast (F2 or better) , Nikon single focal length lenses. That's why this old retrogrouch will still be shooting film for a while longer.

I own a Nikon 24mm, 50mm, 85mm and now the 105mm. The 2.5 105mm Nikkor - P for portrait lens is really something special. I have an Ai'd lens which means its been modified for newer cameras. I use it on my Canon 7D with a 10.00 lens adaptor I found here on Ebay.

This lens though probably 30 or more years old, has become my favorite. A sign of it's original quality control. I use the 7D for the 1080p video capabilities. With this 105mm you can achieve serious bokeh, in front, and behind your focus point. The 7D has a built it electronic zoom, allowing you to see if your focus is sharp. Combine that feature with the 105mm and you have a capable and creative 24p video camera.

This is simply a beautiful lens in every way. Its very sharp. Gives excellent contrast and vivid colours. I am very happy that I listened to others and bougt this one. A classic. I will never sell this one. Actually, I have bougt two. One of them is not in good shape, has marks and bruises here and there, even in the glass. But it is still sharper than most of my other lenses. The one in excellent condition is clearly sharper than the sougt after af-s 70-200Vr (I). And it is perfect sized, balanced, simply a beaty to look at. And feel the lasting build quality of a classic Nikkor that is worth every penny. There are a numbers of excellent, classic, lenses in this category from different manufactors. (85-105mm) I have not tried them all, but this most certainly has to be regarded as one of the "must" lenses for Nikon owners.

Negative: well, it is a manual focus lens, and in some portrait work I have to admit I prefer Af lenses- it is irritating when you miss good shots because of missed or not ideal focusing. But the results of this 105mm, when focus is not missed,is hard to beat. To critisize a manual focus lens for beeing manual focus is like critisize an orange for not beeing a plum.

I purchased this lens to upgrade from a non-AI, P version of the 105 mm f/2.5. Both lenses work perfectly and give very sharp images on my D3100 camera, but in manual mode with no light meter. I intend to add a D-7000 body, which will meter with the AI-S lens I just bought. The other lens will not go on a D-7000 body, or the Nikon F-3 film camera I have.
I have done resolution tests with this 105 mm lens in the past, and it is one of the sharpest Nikkor lenses ever. I intend to use it mostly on the DX format cameras and with the reduced field need, I fully expect it to be even better than it is on the full frame film cameras. My recent results have been excellent in this regard.
While I can highly recommend the older -P , non-AI versions of this lens to budget minded Nikon SLR newcomers, the AI-S version is a substantial upgrade, even with the no metering limitation of the D-3000, D-3100, D-5000, and D-5100 Nikon digital SLRs; and if you can afford the D-7000 body, then the AI-S version of the lens will work in the (A) and (M) modes with TTL metering.

You will fall in love with this lens, I promise! It's a telephoto lens, yet it's very small, but heavy. Very good build quality (98 ball bearings inside), and it has a high reputation for it's resolution.

Pros:
- sharp
- heavy (yes, it talks about build quality)
- durable
- fantastic bokeh
- small
- it uses the very common 52mm thread
- very nice colors

Cons:
- designed for fullframe (you can get more shallow DOF there, as on DX cameras, and also catch more in the image, so:)
- quite small angle on DX cameras
- manual focusing takes some seconds (maybe some can get used and learn to focus fast)
- it is not extremely sharp wide open
- the lens hood is not very practical (mine is with detachable hood)
- expensive (some sell for about 400$, that is too much of course)