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 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 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.[1]
Longer focal-length Micro-Nikkors were released later, with the 105mm first appearing in 1970 and the 200mm 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.
| 60mm AF | 60mm AF‑S | Z MC 50/2.8 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | S and LTM | F | F | F | F | F (AF) | F (AF) | F (AF‑D) | F (AF‑S) | Z | |
| Introduced | 1956 | 1961 | 1963 | 1969 | 1979 | 1986 | 1989 | 1993 | 2008 | 2021 | |
| Focus method | |||||||||||
| Focus motor | Camera motor | Ultrasonic | Stepper | ||||||||
| Close range correction (CRC) | colspan="6" | ||||||||||
| Angle of view (diagonal) | 43°–28° | 42°–30° | 40°–27° | 47°–? | |||||||
| Magnification (without macro rings) | Short mount | 1:1 | 1:2 | 1:2 | 1:1 | ||||||
| Working distance | - | 11cm | 11cm | 11cm | 7cm | 5cm | 6cm | ||||
| Aperture | Preset | Auto | |||||||||
| Compensating diaphragm | colspan=5 | ||||||||||
| Diaphragm blades | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 rounded | 9 rounded | |||
| Aperture at magnification | - | [4] | [5] | ||||||||
| Aperture at infinity | |||||||||||
| Elements/groups | 5/4 | 5/4 | 5/4 | 6/5 | 8/7 | 12/9 (2 asph, 1 ED) | 10/7 (1 asph, 1 ED) | ||||
| Filter size | ? | 52mm | 62mm | 46mm | |||||||
| Diameter | ? | 65mm | 66mm | 66mm | 64mm | 74mm | 70mm | 73mm | 75mm | ||
| Length | ? | 53mm | 56mm | 55mm | 62mm | 74mm | 75mm | 89mm | 66mm | ||
| Weight | ? | 325g | 240g | 240g | 290g | 420g | 450g | 425g | 260g | ||
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 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.
| 105mm AF | 105mm AF‑S VR G | Z MC 105/2.8 VR S | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | F | F | F | F | F (AF) | F (AF‑D) | F (AF‑S) | Z | |
| Introduced | 1970 | 1975 | 1985, 2006 | 1983 | 1990 | 1993 | 2006 | 2021 | |
| Focus method | Bellows | colspan="2" | |||||||
| Focus motor | Camera motor | Ultrasonic | Stepper | ||||||
| Close range correction (CRC) | colspan="5" | ||||||||
| Angle of view (diagonal) | - | ||||||||
| Magnification (without macro rings) | Short mount | 1:2 | 1:1 | ||||||
| Working distance | - | 28cm[6] | 27cm[7] | 24cm | 13.3cm[8] | 15.4cm[9] | 13.4cm[10] | ||
| Aperture | Preset | Auto | |||||||
| Compensating diaphragm | colspan="4" | ||||||||
| Diaphragm blades | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 rounded | 9 rounded | ||
| Aperture at magnification | - | [11] | |||||||
| Aperture at infinity | |||||||||
| Elements/groups | 5/3 | 6/6 (quartz) | 10/9 | 9/8 | 14/12 | 16/11 | |||
| Filter size | 52mm | 62mm | 62mm | ||||||
| Diameter | 64mm | 75mm | 69mm | 67mm | 75mm | 83mm | 85mm | ||
| Length | 44mm | 96mm | 108mm | 84mm | 105mm | 116mm | 140mm | ||
| Weight | 230g | 500g | 515g | 515g | 560g | 750g | 630g | ||
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 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.[12]
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.[13]
| Mount | F | F (AF‑D) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | 1978 | 1993 | |
| Focus method | colspan=2 | ||
| Focus motor | Camera motor | ||
| Close range correction (CRC) | ? | ||
| Angle of view (diagonal) | |||
| Magnification (without macro rings) | 1:2 | 1:1 | |
| Working distance | 50cm | 26cm | |
| Aperture | Auto | ||
| Compensating diaphragm | |||
| Diaphragm blades | 9 | 9 | |
| Aperture at magnification | [14] | ||
| Aperture at infinity | |||
| Elements/groups | 9/6 | 13/8 | |
| Filter size | 52mm | 62mm | |
| Diameter | 67mm | 76mm | |
| Length | 172mm | 193mm | |
| Weight | 800g | 1200g | |
The 70-180mm 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.[15]
Nikon announced another 70-180mm lens in 2023, which is a general-purpose zoom for Nikon Z and not a macro zoom.
Nikon also produced several special-purpose lenses which are often considered part of the Micro-Nikkor family of lenses. These include the 105mm UV lens mentioned above, as well as 120mm and 200mm Medical-Nikkor lenses for medical applications. The Medical-Nikkor lenses have built-in ring flashes.
Nikon released the AF-S Micro-Nikkor 85mm 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 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.
