I just pulled the trigger on another gem

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STM

Senior Member
Bill16 said:
I haven't looked for more Ai lenses lately, being so absorbed in getting a flash, af-d 105mm micro, and a good tripod for macro shots! Lol :)
But I do want to look for an ai nikkor 55mm micro lens, and maybe some other ai Nikkor micro lenses! The ai lenses I have seem to be sharp and fun to use to the most part! I should pick up a light meter some day just to see if that makes the ai manual settings easier for me! Lol :D
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I would encourage you to look at the 55mm f/2.8 AIS rather than the 55mm f/3.5 AI though the latter is somewhat cheaper. The half stop of extra speed may not sound like a lot but at high magnification ratios it can make a lot of difference. Also, the f/2.8 version also has Nikon’s CRC (CloseRange Correction) which improves sharpness at close focusing differences. The f/2.8 is one of the sharpest “normal” range lenses that Nikon ever made, including their newest ones and like a macro lens, it has essentially no distortion and perfect flatness of field. If you do not need the extra speed, it makes aperfect “normal” lens on FF/35mm. I have a 50mm f/1.4 AI but it is not quite as sharp as the 55mm f/2.8. The larger max aperture of the f/1.4 does come in handy with the lens reversed on a bellows, however.

Regardless of which one you get, get a PK-13 27.5mmextension tube. It lets you go to all the way down to 1:1.
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
Thank you my friend! I'll keep an eye out for the better version! I'm not in any hurry, being beyond broke right now anyway! Lol :D

STM said:
I would encourage you to look at the 55mm f/2.8 AIS rather than the 55mm f/3.5 AI though the latter is somewhat cheaper. The half stop of extra speed may not sound like a lot but at high magnification ratios it can make a lot of difference. Also, the f/2.8 version also has Nikon’s CRC (CloseRange Correction) which improves sharpness at close focusing differences. The f/2.8 is one of the sharpest “normal” range lenses that Nikon ever made, including their newest ones and like a macro lens, it has essentially no distortion and perfect flatness of field. If you do not need the extra speed, it makes aperfect “normal” lens on FF/35mm. I have a 50mm f/1.4 AI but it is not quite as sharp as the 55mm f/2.8. The larger max aperture of the f/1.4 does come in handy with the lens reversed on a bellows, however.

Regardless of which one you get, get a PK-13 27.5mmextension tube. It lets you go to all the way down to 1:1.
Click to expand...
 
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STM

Senior Member
LensWork said:
I had a 135/3.5 more than 30 years ago. Although it was considered the "economy" 135mm, it was SUPER sharp.
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I would have loved to get a 135mm f/2 but after doing a lot of reading, I found that the f/3.5 was the sharpest of the three (f/3.5, f/2.8 and f/2) . Not to mention about $500 cheaper. If I need a very fast lens at a similar focal length, I always have my 105mm f/1.8 AIS
 
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crycocyon

Senior Member
Nice lens! I got a 24mm 2.8 AIS today and have a 55mm f2.8 AIS micro on the way as well. :) Can't wait to see the quality of the 55.
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
The 28mm ais lenses works very well with IR photography. I still have my 28mm f3.5 Ai and 28mm F1.8g lenses.


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