Overall, I love this lens. I would say I'm probably an advanced beginner at photography. I am still using my first DSLR (Nikon D3300) and this was the first lens I bought aside from the two that I got with the camera. 40mm is a great focal length for an all purpose lens. This lens may not be quite as fast as the 35mm 1.8, but it is still very capable everything most people would be doing (excluding very low light photography without flash). It's a versatile lens which allows you to get closer than most other lenses will allow, which is something I can really appreciate! I would recommend this lens for someone who, like me, is interested in macro photography, but doesn't yet want to make the large financial commitment needed when buying one of the more dedicated macro lenses. I decided on this one, after extensive research, over one of the more expensive macro lenses because it made more sense for me to test the waters before going all out and buying an expensive macro lens. You've got to get quite close to the subject in order to get 1:1 magnification and run a risk of casting a shadow, but it's still possible to get some pretty cool pictures if you experiment with it.
If you're deciding between this lens and the 35mm 1.8 and have any interest in dabbling in macro photography, get this lens! If you're more than a little interested in macro photography (and on a budget), but would also like a good all purpose lens, I'd also say this would be a good lens for you. If you want to do extensive macro work, you probably don't even need to read this review to know you'll need a more expensive, dedicated macro lens.
I only had this lens a few months before my camera bag was stolen, along with it this lens. How over in the short amount of time I learned to love this lens.
Good Glass is what it's all about and I have to say this lens has it. Okay this lens has a razor thin depth of field and at times gave to work around that. It does create issues for novice shutterbugs when shooting macro. In the end any Photographer worth their salt can overcome that.
The Bokhe on this lens is amazing, making it a dream for portrait photography, and with it being a macro lens I've found that it is just the ticket when shooting babies. I was able to get in for close ups and not have to crop at all.
Ive used it for Macro - Street photography - Portrait and Wedding Photography for the short time I had it and I don't mind saying I had a blast shooting with with lens and will get it again soon.
At f/2.8 it is not the best lowlight lens for shooting in clubs and events. Still it's it's no slouch and better then the kit lens's.
And on top of that, where else can you find a macro / micro lens to play with for under $300.00 Honestly for the price I have not found a lens in it's range that makes this great of a general purpose walk around prime lens.
This is an excellent lens for the price. While I would hesitate to call it a true macro just due to working distance, it is certainly up to the job of macro. I use this much more often as a portraiture lens, where it excels rather well! I also tend to leave it on as a general purpose lens, unless I need a wider field than I can get by walking back in small spaces. The auto-focus is fast and very quiet when turned to it's limited 0.2m-infinity range. It sometimes will hunt for awhile to bring in a macro shot when working in the full auto-focus range. Fortunately, since the manual focus can be adjusted at any time, get the focus close then let the auto-focus do it's job.
I have been doing photography for a couple of years, and wanted to try some macro photography out. Now macro lenses are expensive, so when I found this I was a bit leery of what the quality would be at such a low price. Well this is my most used lens now. It has super clarity, even great for portraits. Only issue is that you have to get so close to your subject that anything living will normally move once your up in its face. I love this lens, If you want a cheep, yet great macro, check this one out.
Just because I think it helps to see where this fits in my collection, here's my progression of lens buying...
Camera: D7000
1st Lens: 18-200mm - A jack of all trades but master of none. My most-used lens, but wanted something faster that could do shallow DOF at closer distances.
2nd Lens: 50mm 1.8D - Figured I could take advantage of the D7000 being able to use this cheaper non-G lens. Also, due to having a manual aperture ring, allowed me to use it with basic macro tubes. While I got decent results with the macro tubes, they were clunky to use and were prone to ghosting if the sun caught them the wrong way. Also, while it did the job for good indoor low light performance at f1.8, I often found 50mm a bit too tight on my DX body.
3rd Lens: I was between the 35mm 1.8G and this 40mm 2.8G... I went with this one and I'm glad I did. While it's not going to come close to a 105mm VR (if I could afford one now) for insect photography, it's functional in this task as long as the subject isn't *super* jittery. While everyone says you wind up using manual focus/camera moving for macro, being able to let the AF get you "close" before fine-tuning in manual was a huge help for things like butterflies when they might only be in one spot for a few seconds (when compared to non-electronic macro tubes). For a sample of such shots, I have a few in the customer images.
For non-macro work, I feel that this can do 90% of the same things the 35mm 1.8 could have, and for those situations where I need that extra 1 stop more light/shallower DOF, I have my 50mm 1.8. And truth be told, the D7000 does so well at high ISO, I can often compensate by upping that and still be happy with the results.
Within a year or two I fully intend to own a 105mm 2.8 VR macro... but this lens was a great way to stave off that craving for under $300 instead of spending $900. And even once I own the 105, I don't see this lens going anywhere... it's great for larger objects like flowers or product shots, as well as it's general prime use, and much easier to carry than a 105.
Feature Product
- Compact and lightweight DX-format close-up lens. Lens Construction (Elements/Groups) - 9 elements in 7 groups
- Maximum reproduction ratio is 1.0x. Focal length is 40 mm
- Sharp images from infinity to life-size (1X), Autofocus to 64 inches
- Close-Range Correction System (CRC). Silent Wave Motor (SWM)
- Angle of view is 38 degree 50 feet. Features focus distance indicator 0.53 feet to infinity having minimum focus distance as 0.53 feet
- Lens not zoomable
Description
The AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G is for taking high quality stills and HD D-Movies and is ideal for shooting general close-ups, delicate flowers, detailed collectables, copy photography, portraits, landscapes and more. Small enough to be carried everywhere, this standard focal length DX-format Micro-NIKKOR lens provides high resolution and contrast from infinity to life-size (1X).
Was very impressed on this Nikon 40mm Lens. At first i was a little upset but then i played with the settings and boom happy. I use it to take close up pictures with my Live Coral that i sell online. Gotta get closer then i 60 or 105mm but for the price it was def worth the purchase. I have already made the money back the first weekend selling coral and got kudos on the photos. Def a great deal and purchase. I went to bestbuy to buy it being it was same price, of course the multi million dollar company didnt have it in stock so i bought this from the parking lot and had it the next day! Kudos. Fast Shipping, Great Product, I have included some photos of my corals.
Im a newbie to DSLR's. I finally gave in when my Nikon FM2 bit the dust. Been shooting flim since I can remember so I'm not new to photography, just the principples of digital.
This is my first (and won't be the last) prime lens for my D3300. This far outshines the two kit lenses. You can feel just by picking it up that it's a better build. I've only been messing around with it this afternoon but I can immediately see the potential. I was having a hard time deciding between the 35mm and 50 mm f1.8 Nikon prime lenses when I came across this little gem. It's roughly $100 to $80 more but it does macro, yhe other two don't. This will be my primary lens untill my 35mm f1.8 arrives. Nice and sharp, guick auto focus, DX format, good depth of field, 250 bucks!
I recommend this lens to all the DX users out there, you won't be disappointed.
The first non kit lens that I have owned. The difference is amazing. Love the bokeh, but mainly use this for photographing my art work, which can range from 12 x 12" to 4' x 5', there is no barrel distortion and the images crisp and clear.
I've had this this lens about a week and so far I absolutely love it. I wasn't sure at first how much I would use it so I hesitated to buy it at first. I'm so glad I did. I was lucky enough to get it for under $200 and I'd say it's worth more than that. The glass is spectacular. The images are just magnificent. You can use it for macro photography And you won't be disappointed. It's a great point and shoot kind of lens too... I just didn't have an example pic of that to share. Maybe I can update later. Just love this lens. Such a great buy and definitely a lens I needed in my kit. Don't hesitate, buy it!
I'm an all around photographer whose interest is in photographing whatever captures my eye. It could be portraits, landscapes, florals, art, and wildlife. For the last year or so, I've been interested in getting a macro lens for my Nikon D7000. I've read many reviews on the Nikkor 40mm Micro and decided to give it a try. The price was within my budget.
I ordered this lens two weeks ago and have been using it non-stop with wonderful results. I've set aside my 18-200mm, 35mm, and 50mm lens. That's how good this 40mm lens is.
I received this micro lens in time to capture the early Spring flowers. This 40mm micro lens does a great job capturing close-ups of flowers and plants. My pictures are coming out sharp and clear. Do you hear a "wow" from me?
I have taken a close-up picture of my Citizen watch with no flash. Another wow! I've included a picture in the gallery.
This lens also does a great job in capturing non-macro shots. I've used this lens indoors with no flash and have captured some amazing low-light pictures. Yep, another wow!
There is no VR on this lens. Not necessary to have as this lens is lightweight and with much practice, hand held shots are easy to take. For low-light photography, I do recommend using a monopod or tripod with this lens. Reality check: you can only hand hold a camera for so long before you get some camera shake and resulting blurred pictures. As I get older, I've come to the realization that I can no longer hold the camera perfectly still.
For macro shots, I primarily shoot in Aperture mode. I've found my sweet spot to be around f/4 and f/8. For normal shots, I tend to switch between Program and Aperture modes.
I use the included lens hood 100% of the time. Within the first few hours of using this lens, I accidently bumped the front lens against the door. Good thing I had my hood on. Lesson well learned.
Need proof? I have posted two floral pictures (Pink dogwood and helleborous) along with the photo of my watch in the photo gallery. Seeing is believing.
This is a great fixed lens that does double duty for macro and normal shots. I'm glad I trusted the reviews and my instinct and purchased this incredible lens.
** Update 06/16/12 **
This lens has been on my D7k for last several weeks. I've added another picture of a spider on a yellow daylily. It should be on page 6 in the gallery. For this picture I used my compact SB-400 flash as the picture was taken during the late evening hours. I'm enjoying this lens!
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