Micro 55/3.5

[Andrew]

I did drop my compensating 55/3.5 #271719, focus is very stiff, after partially disabled I find another damage - and front barrel is impossible to unscrew. 
I have another 55/3.5 PC Auto in almost pristine condition.
Question: is any significant in sharpness of this two lenses?

Thanx in advance!

And

[richardHaw]

https://richardhaw.com/2017/01/18/repair-micro-nikkor-p-55mm-f3-5-auto/

here is what I wrote about the 55/3.5. hope this will help

sharpness, maybe not so much but the metal focusing ring one is considered to be the sharpest by some people when it comes to macro distances. the one that is good at both end is the new-nikkor one or the Ai one if i am not mistaken.

[Roland Vink]

It is commonly thought the optics were tweaked when the compensating Micro-NIKKOR 55/3.5 (metal focus ring) was replaced with the non-compensating Micro-NIKKOR-P (diamond pattern rubber grip). At least that is where I have drawn the line between the two, based on optical drawings from old dealer manuals - there are minor changes in some dimensions which suggest that lens spacing, curvature or glass materials changed. The newer optics were then used for the New-Nikkor (K), and AI versions, with improved coatings along the way. The new optics are supposed to be better at distance while sacrificing some macro performance, giving a better all-round lens. Interestingly, manuals for both versions state they are optimised for 1:10 so who knows?

My AI lens certainly does perform very well at all distances. I have not tried the older compensating version as it is not AI, and the compensating mechanism is not designed for TTL meters - you need to counter-compensate to get accurate exposures, so the non-compensating versions are easier to use.

[Andrew]

Thanx Richard-I did read your's blog re: 55/3.5.
Roland-I do think it is end of my problem-thanx!