nice job shiva

jonnyapple said:
I am sharing this story with my wife and opening all of my presents and my kids presents right when they come from now on. ;-)

jon, this is indeed the best attitude towards web based sellers. happy if my mistake can help others ;-)

optimaforever said:
No kidding, I just had to return a camera to an internet webshop. its screen was defective but we waited too long before opening the giftbox (actually it was a Xmas gift for my kid but I didn't check the camera at arrival) and now the reseller refuses to replace the camera (because it had to be done within 2 weeks - after that it's the camera maker who's responsible for the one-year garantee but when I called them they told me they wouldn't garantee small cheapy P&S) GRRR

I am sharing this story with my wife and opening all of my presents and my kids presents right when they come from now on. ;-)

Shivaswrath, thanks for the comparison images. That looks like a fun lens.

When testing lenses for resolution, you need to shoot at the same aperature and reproduction ratio. Your subject for testing is great. The 85mm micro looks good, but it's not a lens for me, I have decided only to buy Fx lenses.

coooooool!
and it's the cheapest macro lens from Nikon?

Hi Guys,
thanks for bumping this, TOTALLY forgot to update with some comparison pics to my 60mm micro. . .you'll notice VIRUTALLY the same level of sharpness and detail, maybe a smidge more in favor of the 85 3.5VR.

Testing notes: Aperture priority (always wide open, so in case of 60mm micro, 2.8; 85, 3.5); D5000k (I rented one for vacation, so figured I'd throw that into the test equation); WB set to tungsten/cloudy? (I like the warmth); ISO=1000. I didn't do auto anything to keep things "consistent".

I attempted to sit in the "same spot" on my sofa as well, so you'll see the difference in the working distance.

I'll do back to back images so you can attempt to compare. . .I was hard pressed to notice any significant differences:
85,

60,

85,

60,

85,

60,

85,

60,

Adamz, yes, I think it's part of the IF Nikon design, as you get closer to the subject, the aperture decreases. . .so if you'll look at the "photo info" icon in each picture, you should see that even though I shot everything wide open, most apertures were at f/3-4 ish.

jonnyapple said:
You've got to make sure it works so you can return it if it's defective. ;-)

No kidding, I just had to return a camera to an internet webshop. its screen was defective but we waited too long before opening the giftbox (actually it was a Xmas gift for my kid but I didn't check the camera at arrival) and now the reseller refuses to replace the camera (because it had to be done within 2 weeks - after that it's the camera maker who's responsible for the one-year garantee but when I called them they told me they wouldn't garantee small cheapy P&S) GRRR

shiva - how is the aperture behaves? does it change with closer subjects?

NikoDoby said:
Do you have sample images shiva?

It's good to know that I'm not the only "Santa" that plays with all the toys before giving them away!, LOL :^)

I hope your mom already has a Nikon camera to go along with the lens you're giving her!

Hmm. . .I'll open it back up and take some descent pictures tonight and post. . .I'll actually take them JPG, as I usually shoot in RAW and convert using DxO, and I don't want to "introduce" any more bias. . .

stay tuned!

Yes, it'd be a pity if it arrived to your mother defective right?

What good son/daughter would ever want to disappoint their own mother in that way? :D

shivaswrath said:
Now I'm going to wrap it up and give it to my mum for Xmas...(yeah I'm a schmuck for playing with it before, but I'm not spending Xmas with her this year so I had to hive it a professional once over before I mail it out, right) :-/

You've got to make sure it works so you can return it if it's defective. ;-)

I'd love to see some sample images as well!

Do you have sample images shiva?

It's good to know that I'm not the only "Santa" that plays with all the toys before giving them away!, LOL :^)

I hope your mom already has a Nikon camera to go along with the lens you're giving her!

My lord, this thing is SHARP!!! Possibly a smidge sharper than e 60 micro.

The VR works well, but when doing a back to back with my micro 60mm 2.8, the two-stop gap is just barely filled by The VR mechanism...

Having only shot with the 60 micro on a dx body, the 85 gives a very unique perspective and working distance.

If I was double bodying, I would keep this on a d90 body and couple it with a d700+60micro...it almost replaces the need for the more expensive 105 2.8 VR.

Now I'm going to wrap it up and give it to my mum for Xmas...(yeah I'm a schmuck for playing with it before, but I'm not spending Xmas with her this year so I had to hive it a professional once over before I mail it out, right) :-/