Just Completely Serviced

Nikon Micro Nikkor 55mm f/2.8

AI-s Manual Focus Macro Lens

Lens tested working 100%

The classic AI-S Micro Nikkor 55mm f2.8 from 1980's. It incorporates floating elements in the design and is one of the sharpest lenses Nikon ever made, even in very close range - perhaps you can remove the "one of". And many believe it is one of sharpest macro lenses across different brands. At wide open it is already very sharp. The all metal construction and smooth operation make it a joy to use. The lens design has a deeply recessed front glass inside the cone of nicely machined full length of extinction rings, which eliminates the need of a shade or a protective filter. If you are going to keep a couple of manual focus Nikon lenses, this 55mm 2.8 Micro Nikkor is definitely one of them.

Like all AI/AIS lenses from 40 years ago, this lens also needs service to restore its performance. The main culprit is the grease in the lens. It usually has separated and the lighter oil part has evaporated and condensed onto the internal glass surfaces to form a film of numerous tiny oil droplets (oil haze) - very detrimental to image quality as it softens the image quite a lot. The oil haze is much worse than a little swirls of cleaning mark on the coating or a few sporadic dust particles inside the lens.

Some of the lenses, if they have experienced hot/cold conditions for example in a storage unit, the lighter oil may have got onto the blades to cause a sluggish or completely stuck aperture. Even if not yet on blades, often the oil has crept close to the aperture cartridge and before long it will get onto the blades. The grease on the focus helicoids may have deteriorated (separated, lighter oil is gone, heavier part has gummed up) to cause a stiff focus ring or very loose focus action with some play. If the lens has been on beach or in dusty environment, the focus action may be gritty.

The lens here has just been completely serviced. We cleaned it inside out. Internal glass surfaces have been cleaned and oil in vicinity of the aperture cartridge as well as gummed up grease at various places has been cleaned off. Focus helicoids have been rebuilt with modern grease applied. The lens will serve you many more years without you worrying about those issues mentioned above.

The lens mechanics are excellent. Aperture blades are dry and snappy. With the rebuilt helicoids, the focus action is smooth with proper resistance, with the feel of a new lens. The aperture ring clicks to stops positively. Filter threads are good - filter screws on without effort. Lens works 100% - tested on camera.

Cosmetically the lens barrel in excellent or better used condition. The lens barrel has a few minor scratches/scuffs. There isn't much noticeable bright spots. No ding/dent. All lettering is crisp and bright. The lens overall looks clean and nice. Please see photos for cosmetic conditions.

Includes a pair of generic caps as shown.

P.S. Particular to this lens, because Nikon used some sort of "bad" helicoids grease that separates easier, today majority of the copies of this lens have binding/frozen focus action. For some you have to strong-arm it to get the focus ring move slightly. For some it is completely frozen and never turns no matter what. If you buy on eBay and the listing does not show a photo of the lens extended, ask the seller if the focus ring turns. We have seen some sellers attempt to fix it by spraying WD-40 into the lens. WD-40 is a penetrating and degreasing agent. It may get it move initially but it will get frozen again in a matter of a week or two, not mentioning the nasty stuff creeps everywhere inside the lens. Some sellers may mention there are debris/dusts inside the lens. These are actually the condensation of the evaporated lighter oil from the grease as we mentioned above - see last photo for internal oil haze of a typical 55mm/2.8 Micro Nikkor before it is serviced.

The lens has double helicoids design to allow full extension of the lens barrel with under one turn of the focus ring, and a secondary helicoid for the front cell to float. Such design makes it more difficult and more time consuming to service and re-grease. That's why our price is higher than other sellers. We don't call wiping/dusting off the lens barrel "refurbishing", or spraying WD-40 "servicing". We do it properly and our refurbishing process includes disassembly and cleaning the interiors of the lens thoroughly. The process takes a couple of hours. The servicing costs money but gives this legendary macro lens a new life.

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