Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 Lens

Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 Lens

My new favorite piece of photography gear.

January 31, 2024

Tags: Camera Gear, Photography, Adapted Lenses

In recent months, I’ve found myself in a creative rut, and I’ve been looking for ways to shake up my photography. While it’s true that buying new gear won’t make you into a better photographer, sometimes different gear opens up new avenues to explore.

I’ve always been curious about the Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 lens ever since I first encountered it on a page in an early to mid-1960s Nikon sales brochure entitled “Nikon For Flexibility & Versatility” a while back.

Nikon brochure
A page from a sales brochure entitled “Nikon For Flexibility & Versatility” put me on to the Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 lens. Nikon Corporation

Although I was intrigued, it never really rose to the level where I put much priority on getting an example of one. Other things seemed to have more importance.

That feeling changed when I found a specimen in excellent cosmetic, mechanical, and optical condition for a great price. For completeness, I also managed to find an M-type extension ring, also relatively inexpensive and in great condition. Both pieces seemed to have sat in someone’s photography gear collection mostly unused.

Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 lens with M-type extension ring
My new (to me) Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 lens with M-type extension ring.

I’m glad I got a hold of both because they have opened up a whole new world of macrophotography to me.

Yesterday I went out and about to take a few test shots with the lens adapted to my Canon EOS M50.

<em>Euphorbia myrsinites</em>, a.k.a. myrtle spurge
Euphorbia myrsinites, a.k.a. myrtle spurge. Canon EOS M50 with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 400, 1/250 sec., f/8.

Here’s the same image but cropped at 100% quality:

100% crop of <em>Euphorbia myrsinites</em>, a.k.a. myrtle spurge

Even when I used it handheld, I was really impressed with the sharpness that this lens delivers.

For the following two shots of a dandelion, I changed focus from the forward edges of the flower to deeper inside it:

Canon EOS M50 with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/3.5.
Canon EOS M50 with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/3.5.

Looking for a bit more depth of field without having to slow down my shutter speed or resort to a higher ISO setting too much, I changed my aperture to f/5.6 for this shot:

Canon EOS M50 with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 100, 1/200 sec., f/5.6.

I was curious to see how the bokeh looked when I snapped this shot of a group of bamboo stalks with my aperture wide open at f/3.5—as you can see, that bokeh looks nice and smooth:

Canon EOS M50 with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 100, 1/125 sec., f/3.5.

Here’s the same image but cropped at 100% quality:

I can’t see much if any color fringing—again, excellent performance.

I’ve read that the Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 lens also makes a great general walkaround lens, and my own experience confirms this.

Canon EOS M50 with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 100, 1/400 sec., f/3.5.
Canon EOS M50 with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5, ISO 200, 1/100 sec., f/5.6.

I’m excited to use this lens more often both adapted to my digital mirrorless camera and as it was designed to be used on my Nikon F.

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