Sharp
Nice Bokeh
Versatile
Unique

Slow autofocus
Dated M/A ring

This lens is a bit different to the other micro nikkors, for it can zoom as well as focus. This means, of course, that you don't have to move your whole rig around to change the magnification, you just zoom in and out. This is surprisingly convenient. On top of conveneince this lens also offers excellent sharpness and bokeh and has no CA to speak of - it's truly a member of the micro-nikkor lineup when it comes to image quality.

The barrel is made of plastic, but very nice plastic. It doesn't extend when zooming, only when focusing. AF is slow, but quite usable for landscapes and so on. MF, while good, is not as smooth and creamy as the 200/4 and nor is the tripod collar nearly as nice - it doesn't rotate as freely and it is not as sturdy, though it is still pretty good.

The 70-180 is perfect for flowers and fungi.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Micro Nikkor 60/2.8
Micro Nikkor 105/2.8 VR ED
Micro Nikkor 200/4 ED

Die hard. Multipurpose.

This is not a sporting lens by nature

Contrary to other reviews, I have found infiniti to be tack sharp with this lens on a D70 with f8+. Resolving detail is incredible. If I had more pixels I would have more detail. The quality of this lens will only improve with digital camera technology. Focusing from 0-infiniti requires several full turns (about 3) of the barrel, where a 50mm prime is 3/4 a turn. As a result you can really fine tune your focal plane. There are ways to work around the hunting, as the manual ring is great and so is the focus limiter. This camera likes to be in manual mode, but once you find a hotspot, switch the ring to auto with af-c and it will track like a champion. I have taken this lens to the horse races and air shows and come home with some very sharp images.

Similar Products Used:

60mm micro

Excellent versatility. Quality of build and optics. Nine diaphragm blades provide a pleasant "bokeh". Vivid neutral colour rendition, no noticeable colour cast. Decent tripod collar (but unfortunately with a limit stop so it does not rotate freely). AF/MF switch at lens barrel means no trouble with switch at the camera body.

Mainly the fact that the working distance falls short even at 180mm nominal focal length. In manual focusing mode, the use of polarizer filters is a pain because the manipulations on the filter may easily affect the focus setting. Addendum concerning digital camera bodies: the 1.5 crop factor yields an effective increase of working distance, which reduces the previously mentioned disadvantage of IF design.

This review of the AF Micro-Nikkor ED 70-180/4.5-5.6 D is mainly based upon experience using an F80/N80 camera and reversal film. My experience with D70 is not yet enough to give more than a qualified impression. I do a lot of outdoor macro photography and decided to procure this lens for two reasons: the tripod collar and the zoom feature. Both together enable composing images with ease and reduce drastically the need for re-aligning the tripod setup. Once the tripod is positioned, the fine tuning of composition can be achieved with alignments of ball head, panning base, barrel rotation and zooming. The resulting image quality leaves nothing to desire; sharpness, contrast and color rendition are excellent. To my surprise, I have not yet experienced any problem with the mirror slap of the F80, which can be a problem with longer focal length lenses. In the macro domain, the lens is on par with the excellent Tamron 2.8/90mm prime lens which I often used but now it is more convenient to work with the Nikkor (well "work" is not quite the right expression because I do photography for fun and not for money, so let me say it is more fun). I.m.o. this lens is also qualified for general photography, provided that you can live with the rather poor aperture ratio. (My sample clearly outperformed the usually highly regarded 2.8/80-200 AF-N Nikkor I used to have, but I am convinced that particular sample was just a poor one.) Anyway, I don't see a quality-related reason not to try this lens on all genres of photography. Mechanically, it looks, feels and operates like a pro lens should do. I am sure it will never fail unless one abuses it. Nikon claims this lens construction maintains the effective aperture independent from the reproduction ratio. Consequently, the viewfinder does not get darker when you focus really close. This is achieved by a clever internal focusing and the price to pay is that the effective focal length drops drastically when approaching maximum reproduction ratio. For all who wish to read more about this I recommend a visit to Riccardo Polini's very instructive internet site about macro photography. Eventually, the working distance at a setting of 180mm can be as little as 112mm, in fact less than what you achieve with the 105mm Micro-Nikkor. Sadly, this lens is not quite a replacement for a 180/200mm Macro prime lens. For best results in the macro domain, I recommend to stop down to f/11 but not more than f/19. The lens works very well with a Kenko Pro300 1.4x converter or a Nikon 5T close-up attachment. Both allow to increase the working distance to some degree or, alternatively, increase the reproduction ratio a little. When I go hiking, this lens is mostly with me, because it is so versatile. Addendum concerning D70: I noticed the image quality at the 180mm setting is definitely not as excellent as below e.g. 130mm. Sharpness deteriorates, this effect did not turn out as obvious when using reversal film. To be fair, this is not a critical issue to worry about. I just noticed it (taking NEF raw data).

Customer Service

Not used with this item, otherwise excellent

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 90mm macro, 60mm Micro-Nikkor

good built tripod mount sharps lightweight good built

not 1:1 mag slow lens

this is the lens that I carry with me all the time for outdoor shot and macro shot. it is a little slow compare to 105mm lens but contrast and sharpness is second to none. Other post above me complain about the weight of the lens. I bet that person never touch leica lens or contax lens. if you use leica 180mm lens then you will much appreciate the weight on nikon 70-180mm lens. the lens is very easy to use in for composition in macro. I am missing 1:1 mag. and f2.8 in this lens. other than those two, I am completely happy with the lens.

Similar Products Used:

nikon 105 f2.8 ais micro nikon 55 f2.8 ais micro leica 100 f2.8 elmarit macro

Rounded aperture and thus nice bokeh Great clarity Quite good when shooting into strong lights

Not a f2.8 lens A bit soft wide open For such aperture it should be smaller in size

It''s quite expensive for a small aperture mid-range zoom but I like it mainly for its perfectly rounded 9 bladed aperture. By the way it''s darn good when shooting into strong lights, which I encountered quite often.

Customer Service

not yet needed

Similar Products Used:

AF-D 85mm f1.8 AIS 105mm f2.5 AF-D 180 f2.8

Optical quality, versatility, tripod colar

Working distace a bit close at 1:0.75

This lens has to be the perfect tool for the field biologist or zoo/aquarium photographer. It has outstanding versatility and the optics are superb. Handling is also excellent. Works well with 5T and 6T close-up lenses. Much lighter and easier to handle that the 200 mm AF micro. Working distance and aperture are less... but this is a trade-off that for me was worth it. The 200 micro is a beast to handle, especially when changing lenses - it does not exactly fit into your pocket! Sharpness from both of these lenses is first rate. Colour balance is also superb.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

AF-ED 200 mm Micro
AF-D 105 mm Micro
AF-D 28-105 mm Nikkor
AF-D 20 mm Nikkor
135 mm F2 AIS Nikkor
400 mm 5.6 Apo Macro Sigma

Built-in tripod collar.

Heavy

My favorite lens. I tend to use this for non-Micro work. My favorite feature is the built-in tripod collar. Just wish it was a little lighter and a little less expensive.

Similar Products Used:

None

I use a Kodak DCS 660 and you need the sharpest lens possible for these camera and this lens, is sharp, I used it indoor with strobes and it has the perfect zoom range for my work.

None

It does not matter, which lenses I used, but it has to be sharp. That is my number one concern. I use to use a sigma 35-135 mm lenses on my 35mm, because it is sharper then my Nikkor 35-135 mm manual lens.

Customer Service

None yet

Similar Products Used:

Don't need to. This is the perfect lens, for close up work.

VERY sharp;
Zoom feature allows excellent flexibility in composition espcially for close-range macro work.
Good working distance for macro/medical-surgical work.

doesn't quite get to 1:1;
Would be nice to have an aperture wider than 5.6 at 180mm.

Excellent all-purpose lens, the only quibble being the loss of the extra f-stop at the 180mm length. Perfect for macro work in medical-surgical applications. Nikon optics a vast difference over the Sigma lens.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 200mm micro
Nikon 105mm micro
Sigma 105mm micro

Versatile. Extremely Sharp. Colours are Fantastic! Focusing ring is large enough for comfortable and accurate focusing.

tends to hunt in AF.

Nothing can compare with the versatility of this lens. Except for the slow apreture, I love this lense! If you are into nature closeups and macro work, you will love this lense.

Customer Service

no need for it since I began!

Similar Products Used:

105f/2.8 micro
60f/2.8 micro
55/f2.8 micro