Is this lens a dud?

[2careless]

Hi, was playing around with a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens.



On the left hand side of Rolex (especially "R"), the edges have a blue tint while on the right hand side of Rolex, the edges have a red tint.

The photo was taken on tripod, so VR is off, using f/8, 0.5s, 0ev, ISO100.

Should I expect these color edges?

[Incurable]

Chromatic aberration...

[KJacques]

Yeah, chromatic aberration. Some lenses do show a little more than others, but I also think you've got to play some more with it until you get a better feel for what the lens is doing. I've seen a whole lot worse.

I ran it through Nikon's Capture NX and used a color aberration correction and it helped some, but often times as you lower the level of red, cyan starts showing. How does it look?

[Greenring]

Originally Posted by KJacques

Yeah, chromatic aberration. Some lenses do show a little more than others, but I also think you've got to play some more with it until you get a better feel for what the lens is doing. I've seen a whole lot worse.

I ran it through Nikon's Capture NX and used a color aberration correction and it helped some, but often times as you lower the level of red, cyan starts showing. How does it look?

Looks great. I have the same lens. I've used mine with a TC-17e2 and haven't seen CA like that. But Capture NX seems to have gotten rid of it.

[Incurable]

There are plugins for PS that deal with that problem specifically also. Hey, it could have been worse...



I won't even mention which camera that was... I have the 60mm f2.8 Micro and I hadn't noticed any problems before. I've been very happy with it but I'll be on the lookout now...

[The Dude]

First of indoors with a tripod I would use iso 200 or 400, never iso 100, iso 100 is for terribly bright sunny days... Then I would have shot this at f/4 and CS3 as well as CS4 and Light Room deal with this in camera RAW.

Then the lighting seems very very bright for such a close up... I would re-shoot this with different camera and lens settings as well as with less light and then it is one thing to turn the VR off and another to actually use manual focus to get the shot you want and the second hand looks like it is moving, that's a shot that needs to be shot at 1/20 of a sec max... I would shoot this at either 1/30 to 1/60 of a second with remote flashes, one bounced and one diffused.

Definitively not a dud but you need to shoot correctly with it in order to minimize and/or eliminate any possible CA.

[mgm]

Originally Posted by 2careless

On the left hand side of Rolex (especially "R"), the edges have a blue tint while on the right hand side of Rolex, the edges have a red tint.

The red hues are coming at you, while the blue hues are speeding away from you. In this way, you can tell whether you are looking at the source of the Big Bang or away from it.

[2careless]

Thanks guys, at least there is a way to reduce the CA by postprocessing...
I did some google and found this long discussion of the Nikkor 105 VR micro lens - basically on high contrast topics it has CA issues.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=27430627
I suppose I'll have to live with NXCapture 2 postprocessing
Nevertheless, this lens is bloody sharp.

This shot taken at ISO250, 1/60s, F/3.2, the depth of field is approx 1cm wide.

[KJacques]

Originally Posted by 2careless

Thanks guys, at least there is a way to reduce the CA by postprocessing...
I did some google and found this long discussion of the Nikkor 105 VR micro lens - basically on high contrast topics it has CA issues.

I don't find the CA with that lens too objectionable, especially not compared to the CA of some cheaper lenses. I've noticed that my new camera seems to minimize this effect in similar situations that were very pronounced with an older camera using the same lenses.

I like the shallow depth of field in that photo. The 105 looks like a great lens. I don't have any macro or micro experience so I'm fascinated by what these lenses can do.

[JBat]

Originally Posted by The Dude

First of indoors with a tripod I would use iso 200 or 400, never iso 100, iso 100 is for terribly bright sunny days... Then I would have shot this at f/4 and CS3 as well as CS4 and Light Room deal with this in camera RAW.

Then the lighting seems very very bright for such a close up... I would re-shoot this with different camera and lens settings as well as with less light and then it is one thing to turn the VR off and another to actually use manual focus to get the shot you want and the second hand looks like it is moving, that's a shot that needs to be shot at 1/20 of a sec max... I would shoot this at either 1/30 to 1/60 of a second with remote flashes, one bounced and one diffused.

Definitively not a dud but you need to shoot correctly with it in order to minimize and/or eliminate any possible CA.

I agree. Macro photography, in particular, requires extra special attention to detail. You are working with shallow depths of field, so focusing is critical, as is paying attention to the orientation of the focal plane with respect to the subject.

Macro is trickier than people realize when they first start out, but it sure is fun.

[swatty]

Looks good to me, nice shots Kai

[2careless]

Well, tried another setting at F22, 2.5s no CA.






Very shallow depth of field...