Tomb Raider -OR- Raiders of the Lost Lens

[pixmedic]

there are dark places in the universe. places where objects go in and are never seen again, forever condemned to the void. occasionally however, some tiny bit of matter manages to
squeeze through the vortex of darkness that is my closet and once again grace the material plane with its presence. this lens is one such object.
a damn near pristine condition Nikkor-PC Auto 55mm f3.5 lens.
this particular lens was made between 1973 and 1975. its a multi-coated lens, has 5 elements in 4 groups, and 6 aperture blades. The lens is pre-ai (has the "bunny ears" on the aperture ring).
the previous generation of this lens was a little cooler because it had a fluted aluminum focus ring instead of the rubber one, but this lens is in such excellent condition that you cant help but love it.

after taking a few shots of the lens itself I put it on my fuji camera for a quick test shot and quickly remembered how much i suck at manually focusing on digital cameras. it was so much easier on a split screen prism finder.
She has now been banished back into the endless void that is my closet because i have an AF macro lens that does me just fine. BEGONE YE MANUAL FOCUS MONSTROSITY!

 

[Dave442]

Good to see some shots of that lens. I guess it is good you don't have to AI it to use it on the Fuji.

 

[jcdeboever]

I have that lens on my Nikon F. It is a splendid hunk of glass.

 

[cgw]

Get an M2 tube. BOLO for a NAI Nikkor H 85/1.8, too.

 

[Derrel]

All the Nikkor macro lenses are tricky to focus at distances beyond about three feet. The danged 55 f/3.5 goes from Infinity to 5 meters in like 3/16 of an inch worth of turn of the focusing ring! This makes actually nailing focus on "stuff" VERY tricky/ When 15 feet to Infinity is a 5,6 degree arc, it's a bugger to focus on regular, everyday scenes. The lens was made specifically for close-range focusing ease and accuracy. This type of hair-trigger focusing at longer distances still continues with Nikon's modern, AF macro lenses.

 

[pixmedic]

All the Nikkor macro lenses are tricky to focus at distances beyond about three feet. The danged 55 f/3.5 goes from Infinity to 5 meters in like 3/16 of an inch worth of turn of the focusing ring! This makes actually nailing focus on "stuff" VERY tricky/ When 15 feet to Infinity is a 5,6 degree arc, it's a bugger to focus on regular, everyday scenes. The lens was made specifically for close-range focusing ease and accuracy. This type of hair-trigger focusing at longer distances still continues with Nikon's modern, AF macro lenses.

even when i was still messing around with film cameras, this was never a lens i used very often. I kept it around to use it for macro work on my digital cameras, but i never really got into macro much. i donated my macro rail a while ago and havent thought about macro work again until recently. i think ill be using my 60mm fuji macro lens with an extension tube rather than the nikon anyway.

 

[pixmedic]

Get an M2 tube. BOLO for a NAI Nikkor H 85/1.8, too.

like this one?

not sure i would have any use for another MF lens. i never really liked using them on digital cameras and i dont have any film cameras left.

 

[Designer]

not sure i would have any use for another MF lens.

I've bought a few over the past 5 months, along with several older auto-focus lenses. Not the easiest to use, but very good image quality.

 

[pixmedic]

not sure i would have any use for another MF lens.

I've bought a few over the past 5 months, along with several older auto-focus lenses. Not the easiest to use, but very good image quality.

i just dont like the focusing options on digital cameras. nothing as nice as the focusing on an old film camera.
at this point, im sticking to AF lenses.

 

[cgw]

Get an M2 tube. BOLO for a NAI Nikkor H 85/1.8, too.

like this one?

View attachment 155965

not sure i would have any use for another MF lens. i never really liked using them on digital cameras and i dont have any film cameras left.

Yup. Belie

Get an M2 tube. BOLO for a NAI Nikkor H 85/1.8, too.

like this one?

View attachment 155965

not sure i would have any use for another MF lens. i never really liked using them on digital cameras and i dont have any film cameras left.

Yup. MF for macro doesn't seem to be a hardship. The M2 also clears the Ai tab on Nikon DSLRs that use them.

 

[pixmedic]

decided to get a test shot with the macro lens at 1:1 using the m2 extension tube.
doubtful its something i would really use that often. i would probably default to the fuji 60mm macro lens and if i actually needed to get closer in use the extension tubes i have for it. i imagine this nikkor will likely get buried in the closet again.

heres the lens, m2 tube, and nikon-to-fuji adapter on the camera.

 

[ac12]

not sure i would have any use for another MF lens.

I've bought a few over the past 5 months, along with several older auto-focus lenses. Not the easiest to use, but very good image quality.

i just dont like the focusing options on digital cameras. nothing as nice as the focusing on an old film camera.
at this point, im sticking to AF lenses.

Yes the dslr screen is just not set up for manual focusing. My F2 is sooo much easier to focus with.
But for close up/macro, I found that I prefer manual on the dslr. That way I can focus on whatever I want to anywhere on the screen.

 

[ac12]

All the Nikkor macro lenses are tricky to focus at distances beyond about three feet. The danged 55 f/3.5 goes from Infinity to 5 meters in like 3/16 of an inch worth of turn of the focusing ring! This makes actually nailing focus on "stuff" VERY tricky/ When 15 feet to Infinity is a 5,6 degree arc, it's a bugger to focus on regular, everyday scenes. The lens was made specifically for close-range focusing ease and accuracy. This type of hair-trigger focusing at longer distances still continues with Nikon's modern, AF macro lenses.

even when i was still messing around with film cameras, this was never a lens i used very often. I kept it around to use it for macro work on my digital cameras, but i never really got into macro much. i donated my macro rail a while ago and havent thought about macro work again until recently. i think ill be using my 60mm fuji macro lens with an extension tube rather than the nikon anyway.

I bought my wife a 4-way rail (F/B+L/R).
I found the rail easier to use than trying to move the tripod a 1/2 inch to the left or right, or forwards/backwards.

 

[SquarePeg]

The XE-2 doesn't have any focus assists like focus peaking or the zoom or split screen?

 

[pixmedic]

The XE-2 doesn't have any focus assists like focus peaking or the zoom or split screen?

It has all those

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