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Micro-Nikkor is a family of macro lenses produced by Nikon for their 35mm film and digital cameras. The first Micro-Nikkor lens was the 5cm f/3.5 lens introduced in 1956 for Nikon's S-mount rangefinder cameras. It was designed to produce microforms of texts written in Japanese using the Kanji alphabet, a task that, according to Nikon's corporate history, western microphotography systems were ill-equipped to handle, as Kanji text contains many more small details compared to Latin texts. The 5cm f/3.5 was later modified to have a slightly higher focal length of 55mm to accommodate the longer flange-focal distance of Nikon's SLR F-mount.

Longer focal-length Micro-Nikkors were released later, with the 105mm f/4 first appearing in 1970 and the 200mm f/4 being released in 1978. The Micro-Nikkor family of lenses went through a large number of revisions over the decades, the most recent models are designed for the Nikon Z-mount.

A common feature of Micro-Nikkor lenses is that they reach at least 1:2 (half life size) magnification without the need for extension rings. Micro-Nikkor lenses frequently employ compensating diaphragms, which keep the effective aperture constant, even when magnification is changed.

50-60mm Micro-Nikkor

• Various versions of the 55mm and 60mm Micro-Nikkor for F-mount, from left to right:
  • Micro-Nikkor-P·C Auto 55mm f/3.5, converted to AI
  • Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-s
  • AF Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8
  • AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D
  • AF-S Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED

105mm Micro-Nikkor

The 105mm Micro-Nikkor series started in 1970 and the newest lens is the Z MC 105/2.8 VR S for Z-mount. The 105mm f/4.5 UV lens, which is called both a Micro-Nikkor and a UV-Nikkor in the literature, is a highly specialized lens for ultraviolet photography made using quartz and phosphate glass instead of regular optical glass. This permits light transmission from roughly 200nm to over 900nm (normal optical glass blocks most UV light). It is specifically corrected for a low amount of focus shift between visible light and UV light, therefore permits focusing for UV using visible light. It had a second production run in 2006 at Tochigi Nikon.

200mm Micro-Nikkor

The 200mm Micro-Nikkor was introduced late in the manual focus cycle of the F-mount and was replaced in 1993 with a completely redesigned autofocus lens. The 200mm f/4 AF-D however relies on a mechanical autofocus linkage to the AF motor in the camera, which makes it slow and noisy, as well as unable to autofocus on low-end DSLRs and Nikon mirroless cameras using the FTZ adapter. Unlike the 50-60mm and 105mm Micro-Nikkor, the 200mm Micro-Nikkor was never updated to AF-S. Instead, it was discontinued in the early 2020s, with no replacement announced.

The apparent discontinuation of the 200mm line is likely due to relatively poor sales numbers, as the 200mm AF-D only sold approx. 30'000 units in its 30 year cycle, while the 105mm AF lenses sold well over 300'000 units in a much shorter time span, and the 105mm AF-S lens sold over 750'000 units.

70-180mm Zoom Micro-Nikkor

The 70-180mm f/4.5–5.6 AF-D Micro-Nikkor was introduced in 1997 and discontinued in 2005. It reached a magnification of 1:1.3 and 1:1 with a 6T close-up lens. The aperture is fully compensated for zoom and focus. It has an additional working distance scale besides the usual focus distance and magnification scales found on other Micro-Nikkors. The main advantage of a macro zoom lens is changing magnification without changing the subject-camera distance, i.e. without moving the camera.

Nikon announced another 70-180mm lens in 2023, which is a general-purpose f/2.8 zoom for Nikon Z and not a macro zoom.

Specialty lenses

The perspective control PC-E lenses 85mm f/2.8 and 45mm f/2.8 ED are designated Micro-Nikkor as well, since they reach a magnification of 1:2.

A Micro-Nikkor lens was also offered for the Nikonos RS underwater camera system, the Nikon R-UW AF 50mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor. It reaches 1:1 magnification.

Nikon also produced several special-purpose lenses which are often considered part of the Micro-Nikkor family of lenses. These include the 105mm f/4.5 UV lens mentioned above, as well as 120mm f/4 and 200mm f/5.6 Medical-Nikkor lenses for medical applications. The Medical-Nikkor lenses have built-in ring flashes.

DX Micro-Nikkor

Nikon released the AF-S Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G VR in 2009 for their DX (APS-C) line of DSLRs. The 85mm is an internal-focus lens with VR image stabilization. In 2011, the AF-S Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G was released, which has an extending focus mechanism. These lenses achieve a 1:1 magnification, which is equivalent to 1.5:1 magnification on 35mm film or a full-frame camera.

See also

• Nikon F-mount
• Nikon Z-mount

Notes

1. ^ Also called "floating elements". Focusing moves more than one group of elements in order to compensate for aberration fluctuation over a wide range of magnifications.
2. S-mount version uses the focusing helicoid of the camera for near-infinity focus and requires using a bellows for macro focus.
3. ^ Mechanical working distance from front of filter ring to the subject. Nikon sometimes specified the optical working distance (distance between the vertex of the first element to the subject), which is larger for most of these lenses, as their front elements are deeply recessed.
4. ^ The lens or camera mechanically or electronically compensates for the change in effective aperture as magnification is adjusted, therefore keeping exposure constant. Macro lenses without a compensating diaphragm either require all light to be exposed through-the-lens (TTL) or require manually adjusting exposure when magnification is changed.
5. ^ The effective aperture diminishes with all lenses as magnification is increased. A simple unit focus design will loose two stops when set for life-size reproduction (1:1). Designs with CRC can counteract this to some degree.

References

1. ^ Sato, Haruo. "NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights No.25: Ai Micro Nikkor 55mm F2.8 (First Part)". Nikon.
2. Vink, Roland. "Nikon Lenses". photosynthesis.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
3. Sato, Haruo. "NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights No.26: Ai Micro Nikkor 55mm F2.8 (Latter Part)". Nikon.
4. Sato, Haruo. "NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights No.85: The Truth About Micro NIKKOR Micro-Nikkor Auto 55mm f/3.5". Nikon.
5. "Nikon (Nippon Kogaku K.K.) RF Micro-Nikkor 1:3.5 f=5cm (50mm f/3.5) for Nikon S-Mount Rangefinder cameras". 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
6. Haw, Richard (2020-05-02). "Repair: Micro-Nikkor 5cm f/3.5 (LTM)". Retrieved 2024-12-01.
7. ^ Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
8. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
9. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
10. ^ Calculated
11. Vink, Roland. "Nikon Lenses". photosynthesis.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
12. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
13. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
14. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
15. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
16. ^ Rockwell, Ken (2022-08-17). "Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro-NIKKOR". Retrieved 2024-12-01.
17. "PF10545MF-UV" (PDF). Nikon Tochigi.
18. ^ Rockwell, Ken (2022-07-26). "Nikon 105mm f/2.8 FX AF MICRO-NIKKOR". Retrieved 2024-12-01.
19. ^ Rockwell, Ken (2022-07-26). "Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR G". Retrieved 2024-12-01.
20. ^ Cox, Spencer (2023-01-26). "Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro Review". PhotographyLife.com. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
21. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
22. Schneider, Jaron (2022-08-04). "Nikon Has Discontinued 35 DSLR Lenses Over the Past 3 Years: Report". Petapixel. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
23. Vink, Roland. "Nikon Lens Versions and Serial Nos".
24. ^ Vink, Roland. "Nikon Lenses". photosynthesis.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
25. Based on OpticalBenchHub data found at "Optical Bench".
26. "Nikon 200mm f/4 Micro Exposure Factors". Retrieved 2024-12-01.
27. Rockwell, Ken (2023-06-23). "Nikon 70-180mm Micro-NIKKOR (1997-2004)".

• Nikon F-mount lenses
• Nikon lenses