Lens Review: Micro Nikkor PC AUTO 1:3.5 f=55mm

Last month I reviewed my hands down favorite lens. This month, I’m literally zooming in with my second lens review. Thanks to a friend who took the pains to have this “new old” lens cleaned of 15 years worth of muck, it’s finally back in the game! May I present the Micro Nikkor PC 1:3.5 f=55mm lens, a very versatile macro lens that is also by the way, a derma’s nightmare as I was able to take the most unflattering shots of women’s facial pores.

According to various site reviews, this is one of the best macro lenses (!!!) ever made by Nikon in the mid 1900’s. Although auto focus does not work with the Nikon D40, it matters not really. The Micro Nikkor 1:3.5 is versatile. It has a focal range of 24.1 cm to infinity making it a great lens for shooting close up subjects like portraits and even events. The lens practically shines during daytime photography as shown in the photo below:

The depth of field and outlines in Hondo (my dog) is very visible as well as the light outlines in the flowers. Here are some close up shots of those two areas:

The first image I posted of the close up of the white flower within the red petals shows how close and how far I can get with this one lens.

What a high quality lens! Macro glory truly shines with the addition of a Nikon PK-13 27.5 extension tube that magnifies images on the viewfinder without the use of optics. An extension tube can produce an image like this one below. I had to attach my camera to a Vivitar mini tripod to stabilize the chocolate chip from a cookie at the recent Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Tea Appreciation seminar.

Though this lens isn’t primarily an indoor events lens, it still achieves decent performance. This makes it very versatile although the largest opening is limited to f/3.5. Below is basically the recap of the entire event from the eyes of my camera:

OKay, kidding aside, here is a more detailed recap of the event, including comments on Coffee Bean’s latest tea offering and show stopper, the African Sunrise.

Back to the lenses. There isn’t anything more to say, really, except that this is a mighty good macro lens. Although it is made of metal, it is still very light and has replaced my kit lens on several shooting occasions. A lot of macro lenses today are rather heavy and bulky. This one looks and feels like a regular kit lens. In fact, it shares the same diameter as Nikon’s 18-55mm kit and thus shares its UV filter and cap.

The Micro Nikkor PC 1:35 f=55mm macro lens is a keeper.