a great beginner macro lens ....even better on a digital back

Macro work is one of those things that most photographers would like to try. There are many ways to achieve the closer focus necessary for macro work...from extension tubes to bellows and even reversing rings. The best method for the beginner who wants to give it s serious try is the dedicated macro lens as it is the simplest method and the one that will most likely let the photographer retain the metering and autofocus abilities of the camera.

There are lots of people who will tell you that there are tried and true "rules" regarding macro photography and the equipment you need. I feel that you need to really seriously consider your needs and desires before you start listening to any of these "rules" as there is a big difference between the needs of a photographer shooting bugs and one who just wanted to make a flower fill the frame. There's a huge difference in the equipment needed for microscopic work and that needed for facial close-ups.

The theory behind macro work is simple to understand. Take any lens and the more space you can put behind the rear element and the film plane, the closer the minimum focus distance of the lens. This is extension tubes work...they put more space between the rear element and the film plane. In view cameras (large format) there is really no theoretical limit to how far this concept can be taken. The more bellows you have the closer the minimum focus distance.... and the greater the reproduction ration. There are PRACTICAL limitations to this.... like, there comes a point where the lens is so close to the subject that the camera blocks almost all the light to the subject or scares the subject away.

In general, wider focal length lenses are easier to achieve greater magnification ratios at less expense, but they do so at the practical disadvantage of being much closer to the subject when they achieve the desired magnification. So in the case of a 60mm lens the lens will be significantly closer to the subject than a 200mm macro lens will be when they both achieve the same magnification. In the case of the 60mm Micro Nikkor the 1:1 magnification ratio is achieved at 8.75 inches.... while the 200mm Micro Nikkor will be 19.4" away from the subject while achieving the same effect. This is very important if you are doing this in the studio and have significant lighting needs or if you are in the field and don't want to frighten away an insect. In the case of the many photographers who use macro lenses for portraiture (many prefer the flat-field look) the distance between the two lenses in "working space" between the model and photographer is much better with the longer focal lengths. Believe me, you will get much better results with a model if you are 2-3 feet away than if you are 8 inches away. Safe space is a hard thing to violate...

Now the real problem is price. If you look at the 200mm Nikkor you will see that it is significantly more expensive $1400) than the 60mm lens ($340) yet both achieve the same 1:1 ratio. You are paying for the greater working distance. .... Often you also lose a bit of light in the longer lenses so the 200mm is an F/4 and the 60mm is an F/2.8. Depending on your needs you might really be glad you had the extra stop of light especially if you want to take the magnification beyond 1:1 with the use of extension tubes. Now there are more to it than that...some things like the reduced edge distortion found in the 200mm lens will appeal to some as a great benefit and be worth the extra money.

Now that we've covered the basics of dedicated macro lenses...lets look specifically at the 60mm Micro Nikkor F/2.8 AF lens.

Here are the specifics from the Nikon Website

Lens Construction: 8 elements in 7 groups
Picture Angle: 39 degrees 40 minutes (35mm format), 26 degrees 30 minutes (Nikon DX format)
Minimum Focus Distance: 8 3/4 in.
Maximum Reproduction Ratio (Macro Setting): 1:1
Attachment/ Filter Size: 62mm
Dimensions (diameter x length - in.): 2.8 x 2.9 inches
Weight (oz.): 15.5 oz
Nikon Lens Hood: HN-22
Case(s): CL-S1
Included Accessories: 62mm lens cap, rear cap

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Construction quality: This lens is a real relief to me in terms of construction quality. If you read my other lens reviews you will see that I am very tough on Nikon's latest lenses...especially the DX designs for their poor attention to detail, poor fit and finish and downright cheap construction. The 60mm Nikkor is a "D" lens and as such it was designed with film backs in mind, although it works perfectly with digital backs (more on that later). For a $340 lens you get a lot in terms of construction quality. It has a nice "heft" to it and a solid feel. There is a very large focus ring, which has a bit too much "play" in it that I would normally like. The aperture ring is plastic, an unfortunate design characteristic of most newer "D" lenses.... however the rest of the lens has a refreshing amount of metal in its construction. I have no doubt that it will hold up better than most of its DX counterparts which are almost completely plastic. For a $340 lens it is VERY well constructed. I have $1000 DX lenses that are not as well made.

Optical Quality: Being a 60mm lens there will be slightly more distortion in the image that with a longer focal length. How much this annoys you will depend upon your normal needs and how critical you are of your images. Many photographers never even notice that there even IS distortion in image when they compare "normal" fields of view with telephoto fields of view. .... If you don't see a difference in your normal photography then you wont notice a difference here. Just as a practical exercise...take an image of a person's face with a 50mm lens...then do the same composition with a 200mm lens and compare the images closely...you will see what I mean.

I find the lens offers excellent sharpness, excellent color with no apparent aberrations or fringing...and little distortion considering its focal length. Optically it is a fantastic lens.

USE:

Now the lens is an autofocus design and most will balk at the use of AF with a macro lens. I find it to be useful in many situations especially when I am not using the lens to achieve a 1:1 ratio. When simply trying to get a bit closer than a normal lens would be able to achieve, the AF works well and is quite satisfactory. Most complaints about AF have to do with the extremely limited depth of field in extreme macro work and also with the limited amount of light that macro photographers often have to work with in the field. The usefulness of autofocus is limited by the amount of light available and the contrast of the subject. With decent light and a contrasty subject you will find the AF to work very well. It will definitely have to be manually focused if you need to be very specific with the placement of the field of fine focus.... especially in "deep" subjects.

The lens has a device to control the "travel" of the focus ring so that the camera does not waste time hunting for focus. With a Macro lens the travel of the focus ring is significant from closest focus to infinity. You might find it annoying if the lens has trouble finding focus. I don't use the stops very much. If the subject isn't cooperating I shoot manually. I do feel the focus ring has a little bit of slop in it. Im not terribly impressed with the precision "feel" of the ring. However I have no problems achieving critical focus with the lens.

Conclusions: In the film age, the 60mm lens was considered and entry level dedicated macro lens. It was a great performer in that it was optically excellent and achieved a 1:1 ratio without the use of extension tubes. Its main problem was the short working distance. To some users the short minimum focus distance might limit them creatively or seriously affect their ability to shoot moving or skittish subjects. For others it will be no problem at all.

In the digital age the 60mm Nikkor gains a new lease on life...almost elevating up one more notch. Since a digital back has a lens cropping factor of 1.5 any lens attached to it acts as if it was 50% "longer" while still maintaining its aperture and minimum focus distances. So in the case of the 60mm Micro Nikkor the lens has the same field of view as a 90mm F/2.8 with a minimum focus distance of 8.75". On a digital back the lens is friendlier than a film back in terms of working distance.


What I like about the Nikkor 60mm F/2.8 macro lens:

1. True 1:1 ratio with no extension tubes while maintaining full TTL metering and AF control
2. Excellent optical characteristics
3. Excellent construction considering the price range
4. Excellent "bang for the buck" especially on a digital back

What I don't like about the Nikkor 60mm F/2.8 macro lens:

1. Sloppy focus ring
2. Short minimum focus distance means minimal "working space" between subject and camera

Overall it's a great lens and I feel strongly it deserves 5 stars. It may not be the PERFECT macro lens for a Nikon back, but you pay an AWFUL LOT MORE to get that perfect lens (the 200mm Micro-Nikkor) and only get a little bit in optical performance and working distance for your money. It's an awesome general-purpose macro lens for the photographer who does not plan on specializing in that kind of work.

update.......


There is two other issues I'd like to address.

The 60mm lens is an awesome handheld lens and its very easy to simply leave it on the camera and go shooting without a tripod. The longer macro lenses like the amazing 200mm F/4 are much less friendly when used handheld. If you want to shoot handheld then the 60mm is the obvious choice. If you are strictly a tripod shooter then the 200mm makes much more sense.

Secondly the 60mm lens is awesome for achieving blurry backgrounds. Simply using it as a standard lens, zoom a tad closer than you normally would be and use a large aperture and its so easy to get blurred backgrounds you wonder why it was so hard before. This is especially true on a digital back where it is extremely hard to achieve blurred backgrounds.


see my review of the Kenko AF macro extension tubes to get a feel for how much MORE you can get out of your 60mm Micro Nikkor