Optical Review Blog No. 56 – Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8

Nikon is known for many things; among them is its insane level of detail regarding its macro lenses, or micro lenses in Nikon parlance. For those who aren’t in the know, macro photography is photographing small objects and reproducing them at life-size. Nikon produced its first macro lens in 1956 for the rangefinder or S-Series of cameras, a 55mm f/3.5; this got carried into the F-Mount in 1961, the Micro-Nikkor 1:3.5 f=5.5cm. This lens was improved through its lifetime, eventually becoming the legendary AI-S Micro-Nikkor 55mm 1:2.8, then got an AF make-over and eventually was superseded by this lens, the Micro-Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8. First introduced in 1989, this lens is wild at how sharp and how close you can get into your subject. It was the one macro lens that I do regret getting rid of. Still, I’m happy to have one in my collection again! This is not the later Type-D version, but the Type-D lens has the same build and specs as this older lens; this generation cannot communicate focal distance to your flash.

Lens Specifications
Make: Nikon
Model: AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8
Focal Length: 60mm
Focal Range: ∞ – 0.219m
Aperture: f/2.8 – f/32, 7 Straight Blades
Structure: 8 Elements in 7 Groups

Build Quality
Don’t let the exterior of this lens fool you. It might look flimsy, but as soon as you pick it up, you know you’re dealing with an all-metal lens. Yes, the exterior of the lens body is plastic, but the internals, mount, and filter ring are all metal. The lens also has the ring-style auto/manual focus switch, something Nikon added to a tonne of professional-grade lenses of the era; the DC-Nikkor 105/2D is like that in my toolkit. The lens is heavy but surprisingly compact; the front element is deep inside the barrel. Nikon released a lens hood for this model (HN-22), which is unnecessary. One thing to note is that when focused in the front section, it extends from the body as the interior rings move up, like the second mouth of the Xenomorph from Alien. But even then, the front element is well protected. I will also note that once you start to get in close, you loose that f/2.8 wide-open aperture and get into f/3.5. It isn’t too much of a deal breaker, because there’s a chance you’re stopping down the lens already but it should be noted. The one thing you have to watch out for is that depending on how you’re lighting your subject, the lens will cause shadows; an external flash is a must on some camera models. If you shake the lens, you will hear some movement inside; that’s normal as the lens uses close-range correction technology. It’s a well-made lens with fast autofocus for its age. But you do have to watch out for which camera you mount this on; it requires an autofocus motor in the camera body itself. But if you like this focal length, Nikon did release a modern version, the AF-S Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G.

Image Quality
I call only a handful of lenses perfect, and since most of the lenses I’ve reviewed are Nikon, they’re all from Nikon. The Micro-Nikkor 60/2.8 is no joke; this is an optically perfect lens. This lens is sharp at any aperture, from wide open at f/2.8 all the way stopped down to f/32; of course, you do have to watch out for diffraction once you get down past f/16, but it doesn’t impact the overall quality of the image. You also don’t often look at out-of-focus rendering in macro lenses; others may not light the rendering on the Micro-Nikkor 60/2.8. I find it rather pleasing. Yes, it’s not anything special or unique. It renders smoothly, and the points of light are more disc-shaped than bubbles, but there’s nothing bad about the rendering. The lack of distortion should also come as no surprise; at least without getting close to your image, you start to see slight distortion, but at viewing distance and to the naked eye, your straight lines are straight. When shooting wide open, there is only a slight amount of fall-off on your corners, and only when you’re focused to infinity and once you start to focus in close does that go away quickly, and even at infinity, once you’re stopped down to f/4, it is all but eliminated. There is also no vignetting or softness. There are also no problems with lens flare thanks to the lens coating and the depth of the front element (even when focused as closely as possible), so while there is a lens hood, you don’t need to have it for your lens. The lens offers accurate 1:1 replication regarding macro functions, so you get life-size results. The one downside with the lens is that you have to be careful when using flash because of the focal length and the way it functions. An on-body flash is out; on most cameras, it will cast a shadow on your subject; you’ll be better with an external speed light or off-camera flash. You may even run into trouble with the Nikon R1C1 Close-Up setup. Off-camera strobes are your best bet, but be careful how you set them up.

Applications
As the name implies, the number one application for this lens is macro photography. But in the case of the 60mm lens, you do want to stick to inanimate objects because you have to get in close to your subject, and certain living things get a bit skittish if you’re sticking this lens right in their face. And since I don’t work much with wildlife photography, the 60mm is excellent because I can see the primary use for video work and product photography, where I want to get closer and have wicked-sharp photos for the items being reviewed. But this lens isn’t a one-trick pony but a great portrait-length lens. Also, the fast aperture (f/2.8), 60mm focal length and almost zero distortion make for flattering and sharp headshots and couples images. You must also ensure the make-up is on-point, as you’ll see any flaws because of the image quality. But if you’re far enough back it doesn’t matter so it works well for street work also. And knowing that this lens has no distortion it also works well for landscape and architecture work if you have enough space to use the lens. It’s an excellent lens for when you want to have that capacity for macro photography, but it isn’t your sole purpose at the same time. Just make sure if you’re using it for macro or wider applications to use that limiter switch so you’re focus isn’t running back and forth too often.

The Low Down
If you’re looking for a good general-purpose macro lens to add to your Nikon AF collection and are on a bit of a budget, then the Micro-Nikkor 60/2.8 is a great option; not only can you get it for slightly less than the Type-D it will also work great on your older manual focus cameras that support AI(-s) lenses because it has the aperture ring. You can find this one and the Type-D version for under 300$ on the used market. Now, if you’re more into photographing living things, the 60mm f/2.8 is not your first choice because you have to get super close, which might rattle the subject. You’ll want to get a bit more spendy and go with the 105mm and even the 200mm Micro-Nikkors. Both are built to the exact specification and are both ultra-sharp lenses. But they’re going to cost you. I know someone who owns the Micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4 and might have to borrow it for a future review. But for now, the 60mm and the 100mm in my A-Mount kit are far more in line with what I use macro photography for, so I won’t be stepping up to longer focal lengths.

Further Reading
Don’t just take my view on the Micro-Nikkor 60/2.8, check out these other reviews. As a side-note I’m including the AF-D reviews here at they are more prevalent.
Ken Rockwell – Nikon 60mm f/2.8D Micro-NIKKOR
Photo Art from Science – Micro Nikkor 60mm AF-D Review
Nikon Rumors – Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D Lens Review