The 55mm Micro-Nikkor family

[richardHaw]

It's my favourite family of lenses 

I use them often for street and macros. They are cheap and compact and are easily collectible (except for the first one)

(The Ai is not in the picture, poor guy doesn't have enough space)

[Jakov Minić]

Now I am curious to hear which is best with accompanying photos.

[richardHaw]

Now I am curious to hear which is best with accompanying photos.

i am currently doing that 
i started doing tests some months ago and it's not easy 
all of these lenses perform very well at 1:1 except for my 5.5cm f/3.5 because of the  field curvature. the only differences is how they perform in mid range to infinity and coatings. The Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 Ai performed really well mid range to infinity.

[Erik Lund]

What a nice collection! Wow  that first one is special,,, let's see more of that! Infinity focus,,, ?

[richardHaw]

What a nice collection! Wow  that first one is special,,, let's see more of that! Infinity focus,,, ?

thanks! i modified it so that it can be focused all the way to infinity while on a camera. unfortunately, the internals do not have much room for me to modify and i am already at the edge of the lens' adjuster for infinity focus  to make the story short, i am 1.5mm short to achieve infinity focus i will attempt it again this summer  maybe i can get some new ideas...

many people regard the 2nd one to be the best at 1:1 but to be honest, it's pretty hard to tell which one is best because the results look very much alike.

[Roland Vink]

The first one should focus to infinity without modification ... it has an infinity symbol on the focus ring.
Very nice set by the way

[richardHaw]

The first one should focus to infinity without modification ... it has an infinity symbol on the focus ring.
Very nice set by the way

Thanks, Ronald! Your site was very helpful in determining which version i should get.

This one, along with the tickmarks will not focus to infinity because the F mount on the camera has grown wifer by 1mm so it will only focus to infinity on the F. I need to add a 3mm spacer so that the focus ring can turn all the way to infinity. But since the flange distance was extended by 3mm, i need to pull the optics inside back by 3mm. I tried my best without modification but i was short by 1-2mm. This means i need to add new material inside for that to happen.

[Fons Baerken]

some pictures of the 55mm family found here

http://www.destoutz.ch/lenses_close-up_55mm.html



Edit to show link

[richardHaw]

some pictures of the 55mm family found here

yes, my namesake has quite the collection 

he is a fellow poster over at the facebook group Nikkor Lenses

[Bjørn Rørslett]

This one, along with the tickmarks will not focus to infinity because the F mount on the camera has grown wider by 1mm so it will only focus to infinity on the F. I need to add a 3mm spacer so that the focus ring can turn all the way to infinity. But since the flange distance was extended by 3mm, i need to pull the optics inside back by 3mm. I tried my best without modification but i was short by 1-2mm. This means i need to add new material inside for that to happen.

The 5.5 cm Micro-Nikkor will *not* focus to infinity on most recent Nikons due to the very tall flange of the focusing collar around the bayonet mount. This will prevent the lens going to infinity simply by acting as a mechanical stop.

The simple remedy is of course to use your Dremel and remove enough of the flange to prevent it blocking focus travel.

[richardHaw]

The 5.5 cm Micro-Nikkor will *not* focus to infinity on most recent Nikons due to the very tall flange of the focusing collar around the bayonet mount. This will prevent the lens going to infinity simply by acting as a mechanical stop.

The simple remedy is of course to use your Dremel and remove enough of the flange to prevent it blocking focus travel.

i circumvented that solution by adding a spacer. I was contemplating on shaving a bit off the focusing ring but this lens is too rare for me to do that 
the only challenge is to move the objective closer to the film plane unfortunately i am at the limit of lens' allowance for adjustment. it can be fixed but will require a little bit of planning. I am going to see if i can get away with a 2mm spacer (I am using 3mm now).

[richardHaw]

by the way, is there an adapter for S-F mount? thinking of mounting the 5.0cm f/3.5 on a Nikon camera 

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The register distance is much shorter on the S mount. Thus you can have F>S but not the opposite direction.

The 5 cm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor "S" is a much sought after and scarce commodity that commands a high price.

[richardHaw]

The register distance is much shorter on the S mount. Thus you can have F>S but not the opposite direction.

The 5 cm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor "S" is a much sought after and scarce commodity that commands a high price.

it can cost around $3,000 here but sometimes (if you pray hard enough to the lens gods) a beat up version appears on the junk shops for more than less 

i am thinking. because it is a macro lens, having it further from the film plane is OK since it will just act like an extension tube.

[Bernard Delley]

congrats to your very nice collection!
I am always awed by the high level of correction the modest 5 lens  55mm f3.5 achieve over a wide range of magnification (more precisely reduction ratios).