Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED macro lens review by Ming Thein: '...of all of the lenses I own, it’s the one that’s been with me the longest"

Ming Thein mostly uses this lens with the Nikon D800E Dslr body:

"I actually don’t have much to say about resolution and optics: what do you expect? It’s a macro lens. There’s almost zero distortion or field curvature, and nothing funny going on with the focal plane. Sharpness is already excellent at f2.8, though with the D800E you’ll probably have to go to f4 or f5.6 to hit peak resolving power across the frame. Note that diffraction softening will set in by around f13 or so with the D800E; I try not to go past f16 unless I absolutely have no choice. That said, you can get away with f22 on the 12MP FX cameras if you need to.

Something I’ve been asked in the past is why I don’t use the 105/2.8 VR instead for greater working distance; the answer is that for the kind of work I do, the 60 actually holds several advantages. Firstly, I don’t need as many extension tubes to achieve higher magnifications*; secondly, the lens itself has

much lower chromatic aberration than the 105 – lateral is fairly well controlled on both, but longitudinal is ugly on the 105 – and requires a lot of work to fix afterwards. Finally, there’s the issue of depth of field: for any given aperture, you’ll get more with the shorter focal length**. And given that you’re already challenged to find enough as it is, I’ll take any advantage I can get."

Comparison: 

	Click and drag to change order	Click and drag to change order	Click and drag to change order
Company	Nikon	Nikon	Nikon
Model	AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED	AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF ED VR	AF-S DX Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G
MTF Charts
Initial Price	$600	$985	$280
Release Date	01/2008	02/2006	07/2011
Discontinued
Lens Mount	Nikon F mount	Nikon F mount	Nikon F mount
Lens type	Macro	Macro	Macro
Resolution	-	16.0 P-Mpix	10.0 P-Mpix
Chr. aberration	-	7.00µm	7.00µm
Vignetting	-	-1.6 EV	-1.1 EV
Transmission	-	3.3 TStop	3.1 TStop
Distortion	-	0.20%	0.10%
Focal Length	60.0mm	105.0mm	40.0mm
Lens construction	12 elements in 9 groups	14 elements in 12 groups (with 1 ED glass element and 1 Nano Crystal Coat-deposited lens element)	9 elements in 7 groups
Stabilization system	No	Yes	No
Diaphragm Blades	9 aperture blades circular opening	9 aperture blades circular opening	7 aperture blades circular opening
Max Magnification	1.0x	1.0x
Angle of view	39.66°	23.33°
Zoom Ratio	1.0x	1.0x
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8	f/2.8	f/2.8
Minimum Aperture	f/32.0	f/32.0
Aperture ring	No	No
AF Motor type	Silent Wave Motor (SWM)	Silent Wave Motor (SWM)	Silent Wave Motor (SWM)
Auto Focus / Manual Focus switch	Yes	Yes
Full-Time manual focus	Yes	Yes
Internal Focusing	Yes	Yes
Minimum Focusing Distance	0.19m	0.31m	0.16m
Internal zooming
Filter Diameter	62mm	62mm	52mm
Distance Scale	Yes	Yes
Front lens element rotating	No	No
Lens Hood included	Yes	Yes
Weather sealing	No	Yes	No
Weather sealing details		Dust and moisture resistant
Body material	Plastic with metal mount	Metal	Plastic with plastic mount
Diameter	73.0mm	83.0mm	68.5mm
Length	89.0mm	116.0mm	64.5mm
Weight	425.0 g	790.0 g