Nikon Lens - Any good?

[AcroSteve]

So my mom was cleaning out some old stuff and gave me some Nikon items. One of which she used to use to take Macro shots of flowers and such.


Well, to my surprise, the lens is a AF Micro Nikkor 55mm 2.8. Notice that is a Micro, not a Macro. What is the difference?

The manual says it is good down to about 9". but I put it on my D200 and it will focus at about 3" from the end of the lens. Should be fine for most macro work, no? Could that 9" could be the distance to the film plane? That might be closer to what I experienced


Also in the mix where some screw on Close-up "lenses". A 5T and a 6T. They seem to make a slight difference, but not as much as I would have expected. Are they worth fooling with?


Anyway, is that lens decent, or what?


The body and other lens are not much to brag about, I suppose. A N2020 and a Nikkor 28-85mm 3.5. I already have a Nikon VR ED 24-120mm 3.5, so I don't suppose that lens really does me much good. But since I could really only get about $20 for it, I suppose i will hold on to it.



Now, where is that cleaning pad? I can't take any pics with all this coraline on my glass.

 

[AcroSteve]

Wow, just checked ebay, and that screw on close-up set seems to be a desired item. So it must be worth using.

 

[GlassReef]

Your lens is among the best short macros made for SLRs.

 

[AcroSteve]

That is good to know. However, I have some work to do. I am getting some sort of errors and the shutter won't fire on my D200 with this lens.

I suspect it is aperture related.

 

[Misled]

Turn the aperture ring to the higest number, 22 I think it is on that lens. The EE should go away. I don't remember if it has a lock. If it's not all the way "down", higest number, the shutter won't fire.

 

[AcroSteve]

Yes, it has a lock on the highest setting - 32.


And thanks, Locking it did the trick.

 

[snorvich]

Excellent lens. But, from my experience best used with a solid tripod. Also, the screw on closeup lenses are excellent. Play around a bit and I suspect you are going to like your results.