Nikon AF-S FX Micro-NIKKOR 2177 60mm f/2.8G ED Standard Macro Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras,Black

This is probably the best single optic Nikon makes that I have ever seen or used . Nikon is an optical company first , a camera maker second ( their software and camera firmware is behind the curve or off in the wasteland, however). The line of Micro-Nikkor lenses has always been excellent, going back 40 years even ,but the refinements in the current 60mm are exceptional. I decided to purchase because of internal focusing --- lens doesn't change length or the barrel rotate when being used---since I need this lens to make copies of thousands of slides in trays. Which by the way this lens is superb for. I can do hundreds of images of my old slides in a day , whereas scanning those on a real film or even flatbed scanner would take weeks. Other pluses include optical near-perfection...perfect color , no fringing or other chromatic aberrations , no distortion whatsoever. Those ED glass elements perform as advertised. Did I say the sharpness is astoundingThe single focal length 60mm Micro Nikkor ED-G lens is also an excellent general purpose lens , unless you are spoiled by zooms. Even the manual focus is sweet to use You can " tweak" the fine focus easily in real time if your camera has trouble finding your preferred focus point. Te lens is built absolutely solid and precise. Should last for a generation, as an high end Nikkor lens should. Top dollar in price, but top dollar in quality.The only thing lacking is an aperture ring. The F/stop diaphragm setting can only be set electronically by the camera. No great loss there. But I still have an older Nikkor 55mm 2.8 AI-S manual lens for that.My ONLY gripe about this purchase was the guy I bought it from sent the wrong lens hood !!! He included one for a 55`200 zoom , which doesn't even come close to attaching. He listed the lens as " near new condition " ( it was , with all original packaging, lens caps, lens bag, HOOD, and a USA warranty card never filled out. But the wrong hood was included. Grrrr... That particular vendor will not respond to Amazon e-mails requesting the correct lens hood , even though he responded to me right away after I paid for the lens on a question about shipping. His lack of responsiveness caused me to place negative feedback, because now I have to fork out another $ 36.00 plus shipping to buy the correct lens hood .I am VERY disappointed in that part of the transaction , since I paid nearly 80 percent new price for the totality. I shoulda just bought all new.

This is a fantastic mid range macro lens and is nice and sharp, although not as sharp as the amazing 60mm AFD Macro. I received the lens nicely packed and in great condition. I did perform some minor lens element cleaning on the exterior glass and ran it through some test on a D780 and a Z7II and it performed well. It was also tested with the "focus shift" functions on both bodies and it produced front to back clean focus results.

I use a full frame Nikon camera that is sensitive to low light and can use an f/2.8 lenses in very low-light settings. This is a great lens for macro and general use. It renders close subjects exceptionally well with awesome bokeh. Many sometimes criticize this lens as too short for macro use because you have to get too close to your subject, but except for moving bugs, I have no trouble at all approaching things (flowers, coins in museums, historic documents, etc.) nor do I have any trouble with a lack of available light because of the closeness. However, where this lens really shines is as a general purpose one that you can walk around with knowing that you can capture almost anything because it has superior performance as a "normal" lens and the ability to get close to small subjects if you want to do so. As a normal lens, it produces super sharp pictures even wide open. When I compare the pictures from my Nikon 50mm f/1.4g AFS at f/2.8 to this one at f/2.8, the 60mm produces pictures that have an almost 3-D quality and is much better at differentiating the primary subject from background. At all f-stops, the background is rendered exceptionally well as the bokeh is smooth and great aesthetically. So I often debate whether to carry this lens on my camera virtually all of the time on a day-trip with the family or the 50mm. This one wins more than half of the time because of its clarity and smooth bokeh at f2.8 and the 3-D (depth) quality. The 50mm wins when I want super isolation or it is very dark. However, this lens is so good that if you have a full frame camera that can really use all of its features, the 60mm could be the only lens you ever use or one of two (the Nikon 24mm f/2.8 being the other) that can capture almost 100% of the pictures you would "like" to take. This lens is an extremely well built, extremely useful lens that produces exceptional pictures. I think it is one of those lenses that is destined to be considered a "classic" and I am pretty sure that it will hold its value for resale should you decide you would rather have a zoom lens.

This is the first Macro (or in Nikon-speak, Micro) lens I have owned (in 45 years of photography). What a treat this lens has been. It's also been a new learning experience for me. I think if this lens were image stabilized, then I'd certainly give it 5 Stars! Here are my issues with this lens…While the lens is crisp and sharp (once you've made the mandatory focus adjustments that ALL Nikon lenses seem to require… and why is this necessary, Nikon?!?) I've found that hand holding this lens to do Macro photography is not too practical. If you're holding the lens close to the subject, say 6 inches away, you must shoot at 1/500 or better still 1/1000 to mitigate any body movement (such as your heart beating). However, if you're shooting at 1/1000, then you're going to be shooting at f2.8 or thereabouts. This will minimize depth of field. Therefore, a tripod is almost a necessity. If image stabilized, then you'd be able to shoot at f4.5 or better still f5.6.Other than this, this lens seems like a well-built Nikon plastic lens… it's also a bit heavier than the typical Nikon lens in this price category (lots of glass inside). Good color, saturation and contrast, with minimal CA.I am using this lens on a D7100 and overall satisfied and would recommend this lens to anyone with a recent Nikon digital SLR.