Of the four Macro Nikkors, the ones that originally came in a wooden box, the one least mentioned is the Macro Nikkor 120mm (12.0 cm) f/6.3 that comes with a 39mm Leica thread. This lens is optimized for the 1.2x-4x range and is marked by a red ring on the barrel.
Usually the 65mm, f/4.5 Macro Nikkor is highlighted as the one to get. I happen to like the draw on the 120mm Macro Nikkor, although to use it requires a bellows, at least for my work. The photos taken with the 120mm lens shown here were shot on the Nikon D810 on the Nikon PB-4 Bellows with a 14mm extension between the camera and the bellows. Zerene Stacker used. These photos compare favorably (perhaps slightly less interesting) to the El Nikkor 105mm APO enlarger lens IMO. At the very least, they are worth a look.
I include a shot of the lens and the box they originally came in. I don’t have the Macro Nikkor 19mm f/2.8 because it is too high a magnification for the work I do. I would never use it, although others have successfully.
