The 55mm Micro-Nikkor family

[richardHaw]

no artistic value. just some test shots of a 55mm f/2.8 Ai-S that I cleaned.

this is probably the 4th time that I worked on one. i really love the utility of this lens line

[Bjørn Rørslett]

My reaction towards the 55/2.8 Micro is divided. If it is not impacted by the leaking lubrication issue, it is a very good performer. However, once one has to clean it to get rid of the pesky sticking aperture, chances are high this will happen again in my experience. I once had one of these that got cleaned three times before I came to the only possible conclusion and thus it ended its life as a door stopper.

Many years later, I picked up a pristine sample of the 55/2.8 during one of my many visits to Erik and Copenhagen. It showed no sign of oily aperture blades and has worked perfectly over the years I owned it.

[Erik Lund]

This summer I also added on to the collection, very late  serial # also no oil issues.


Stunning performer for the price!

[Peter]

The 55 3.5 is darn sharp.
No tricks here just straight out of the body f11.
Garage Clutter no artistic value.

                                             

[ArendV]

It definitively is, here is one with my compensating 3.5/55 wide open.


Afrikaanse Lelie - Lily of the Nile 1 by Arend, on Flickr

[Thomas G]

The 55 3.5 is darn sharp.
No tricks here just straight out of the body f11.
Garage Clutter no artistic value.

                                             

Like it anyway 

[richardHaw]

I once had one of these that got cleaned three times before I came to the only possible conclusion and thus it ended its life as a door stopper.

the ones that I overhauled previously are still OK

I just grease these lens lightly. it still feels smooth but not as damp as if I applied it like any other lens. my logic is if the grease went bad, at least it's going to dry up instead of caking or turning into a gloop like what I mostly see and you will not end up with an oily iris. so far so good. there is one thing in common for the lenses that has oily iris that I opened, all of them used way too much grease, specially on the CRC helicoids inside. the CRC helicoids do not need that much, a thin film will go very far.

[richardHaw]

This summer I also added on to the collection, very late  serial # also no oil issues.

congratulations!

I was told that the newer ones use stiffer grease. I never held a brand new one so I couldn't tell. the 55/2.8Ai-S and the 105/2.8Ai-S are both being sold new here.

[richardHaw]

It definitively is, here is one with my compensating 3.5/55 wide open.


Afrikaanse Lelie - Lily of the Nile 1 by Arend, on Flickr

wow. very natural rendering

[richardHaw]

The 55 3.5 is darn sharp.
No tricks here just straight out of the body f11.
Garage Clutter no artistic value.

                                             

the 55mm micro lenses are very versatile. I saw John Free use one on one of his youtube videos as a walk-around lens

[pluton]

I purchased one of the early 55/2.8's that made it to the stores in Los Angeles in 1980.  It had a very light resistance in the focus action, and when fully extended to close focus and grabbed by the front end and mount end, the body of the lens could be flexed across the lens axis.  I had never experienced a new Nikon Nikkor lens that felt that flimsy...and never have since.  I sent it to the local Nikon service, and they switched it to a stiffer grease under warranty.  It still felt flimsy, but less so.
I didn't have it long enough to see if the oil separated out of the grease.  I feel confident that now there are types of grease now, 35 years later, that do not suffer from oil separation.
Optically, that lens seemed very good(remember we're talking shooting on Panatomic-X, Plus-X, Kodachrome 25, etc) but also the picture quality seemed different from my previous 55/3.5 "K" version.

[richardHaw]

I purchased one of the early 55/2.8's that made it to the stores in Los Angeles in 1980.  It had a very light resistance in the focus action, and when fully extended to close focus and grabbed by the front end and mount end, the body of the lens could be flexed across the lens axis.  I had never experienced a new Nikon Nikkor lens that felt that flimsy...and never have since.  I sent it to the local Nikon service, and they switched it to a stiffer grease under warranty.  It still felt flimsy, but less so.
I didn't have it long enough to see if the oil separated out of the grease.  I feel confident that now there are types of grease now, 35 years later, that do not suffer from oil separation.
Optically, that lens seemed very good(remember we're talking shooting on Panatomic-X, Plus-X, Kodachrome 25, etc) but also the picture quality seemed different from my previous 55/3.5 "K" version.

some of the 55/3.5 or the 55/2.8 flex just tiny bit due to the long helicoid. but just barely.
the AF ones flex the most

[David H. Hartman]

I have Nikon manuals for both versions, and both state the lens is optimized for 1:10, even though the later one is tweaked to perform better at far distances (not sure how optimum ration can remain the same?)

I found may errors I Nikon technical literature and instructions from the '70s and on even in the AF 70-180/4.5-5.6D ED Micro-Nikkor. Some were so bad as to be laughable. I wondered if Nikon understood the proof reader principle? I wondered if dogs would learn the doorknob principle first?

Dave Hartman

[richardHaw]

I found may errors I Nikon technical literature and instructions from the '70s and on even in the AF 70-180/4.5-5.6D ED Micro-Nikkor. Some were so bad as to be laughable. I wondered if Nikon understood the proof reader principle? I wondered if dogs would learn the doorknob principle first?

Dave Hartman

i suspect that marketing has a lot to say on this matter

$$$ money talks ￥￥￥

   V
(0￥0)
kamen rider

[Erik Lund]

I have/ have had many 55mm of the f/3.5 and also the AF version of the f/2.8 indeed it was very awkward to use and when at minimum focus distance it reminds me most of a Trumpet - and the front bit with the 52mm filter threads is very wobbly, the optics seems fairly stable though,,, Amazing image quality.