Nikon Printing-Nikkor 95mm f/2.8 on the D850

[Michael Erlewine]

Nikon made at least four Printing Nikkors, of which I have only three of them, the PN 95mm, PN 105mm, and PN 150mm. There is a PN 75mm, but I have never seen it or seen it for sale.

Of the three I have, they are not just larger (or smaller) versions of each other. They differ in terms of what you can do with them. For example, the PN 150 is sharp at the reproduction ratio of 1:1, while the PN 95 is geared more toward the lower reproduction ratios of 0.5 and so on.

One trait they all share is a restricted range of use if we want them at their peak quality. As mentioned, those qualities vary from lens to lens.

In the case of the PN 95mm lens, it is very sharp and has high resolution and that is true for both center and corners of the image. And chromatic aberration is minimal across the entire f/stop range. The PN 95 is VERY sharp at lower magnifications like 0.5 and 0.75, but it falls off at 1:1, unless you reverse-mount it, where it becomes very sharp again around 2:0. It is similar with resolution, very good at lower magnification, but not at 1:1 or above, unless reversed. Corner performance is good at 0.5 magnification, but drops off very rapidly.

So, for the kind of close-up work I do, the PN 95 is the Printing Nikkor to choose over the PN 105 or PN 150. This analysis was made possible by using the very useful lens testing results at CoinImaging.com, and I include the link:

http://coinimaging.com/macro_lens_tests.html?

This photo, which is a kind of abstract, is of a Japanese Iris taken with the Nikon D850 and the PN 95, stacked. I have noticed with the D850 that the color is remarkably different that the previous model, the D810. Not sure how to describe it, other than it seems to demand less color adjustment in post than the D810. In general, the D850 is an incredible camera, especially for the money. And although, I liked the color in the Hasselblad X1D, all things considered (especially lenses), the D850 is (for me!) a better bet than either the Hasselblad X1D or the Fuji GFX, both of which I bought, tried, and returned.

Photo with the Nikon D850 and the Printing Nikkor 95mm

[Akira]

To me, this is one of the more exquisite and elegant works from you.  Thank you for sharing!

[David H. Hartman]

I'm looking at the photograph on a 720P phone. I can't  wait to get home and see this photograph on my home computer!

Dave

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

Wonderful work Michael! And indeed, coinimaging is a great ressource, as the owner has done extensive testing of those highly specialized lenses.

[F2F3F6]

This picture is indeed very nice ! Elegant curves and subtle color transitions, this seems to be a very good (apo ?) lens ! Alas it is not common and I think not cheap ?

You are a great contributor in macro-works, thanks Michael !

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

This picture is indeed very nice ! Elegant curves and subtle color transitions, this seems to be a very good (apo ?) lens ! Alas it is not common and I think not cheap ?

You are a great contributor in macro-works, thanks Michael !

Yes it is a true Apochromat and no, not cheap (well, depends on depths of personal pockets) but worth every penny ;-)

[Michael Erlewine]

Here is another image taken with the Nikon D810 and the Printing Nikkor APO 95.

I have two copies of the much larger and more rare APO Printing Nikkor 150mm f/2.8 and am going to sell one of them, if anyone is interested. To get a f/2.8 with such a highly-corrected lens is very hard to do. The PN 150mm I am parting with is in MINT condition.

[David H. Hartman]

Wonderful photographs. Thank you for posting them!

Dave