Two questions about Nikkor Micro 55mm AI-s

I just bought this lens and I have two questions about it:

 

1) The optics seems to be ok (really sharp), but the lens rattle when shaken. Could this be a problem?

 

2) When I mount the lens to my Nikon D3300, it is somehow upside down (the aperture numbers are pointing downwards). My modern lenses have white dots, so I know immediately how to mount them, but this lens has no mounting dot, so I am just guessing and maybe I am doing it wrong?

 

Thanks for any answers.

When I mount the lens to my Nikon D3300, it is somehow upside down (the aperture numbers are pointing downwards). My modern lenses have white dots, so I know immediately how to mount them, but this lens has no mounting dot, so I am just guessing and maybe I am doing it wrong?

 

That sounds strange. Could you post an image of this lens mounted on your D3300 so that we can all see how the lens is mounted?

Thanks.

It does seem odd. I've just tried my old Kiev tilt-shift, and while the mount bayonet only connects one way, it does seem possible to rotate it in the wrong direction. I wonder if this is somehow what happened?

 

The rattling sounds weird (as it were) too, though. Is the aperture holding its position steadily if you look through the lens?

the lens rattle when shaken

 

What does the rattle sound like, and how hard are you shaking the lens? If the sound is fairly quiet and high-pitched, it's probably the aperture blades. It's not unusual for there to be some play in that mechanism. As long as each f-stop works as expected in terms of exposure, it's fine.

I can mount the lens only when I match up the black bulge (in the red circle) on the lens and white dot on camera body.

Use the black dot on the chrome grab ring (the silver-colored ring just forward of the aperture ring) as a guide when mounting the lens. Align that black dot with the white dot on the camera, and rotate the lens counterclockwise as seen when the camera's front is facing you.

 

If it won't go on when aligning the black dot with the white dot, I suspect the bayonet mount on the lens was put on wrong—though I don't know if that's even possible. If you have another manual-focus Nikkor lens, set both it and this lens to f/22 and observe the relative positions of the aperture fork and the little cutout on the bayonet; the relative positions should be the same on both lenses.

I dont have other manual lens. I can only mout it when I alignt the black thing (in the red circle on this photo) with the wite dot on my camera.

I just found a picture of another Nikkor Micro 55mm lens. The black dot on the bayonet mount is in a different place.

http://www.rockycameras.com//ekmps/shops/rockcameras/images/-55mm-f2.8-ais-micro-nikkor-boxed-nice-nikon-micro-nikkor-55mm-f2.8-prime-macro-lens-inst-boxed-mint-99.99-%5B4%5D-73505-p.jpg

I was going to say that didn't look like the right location of the bunny ears relative to the mount. The screws hold it on look a little distressed, too. I suspect you should be able to unscrew the mount from the back of the lens and reattach it rotated anticlockwise (as viewed from the camera end). I'm a little surprised the screws seem to be at exactly 120 degrees from each other, since this shouldn't have been possible otherwise. You might find what's rattling if you take the mount off, though I don't suggest being too vigorous with a partly-dismantled lens. If someone amateur enough to attach the mount at the wrong orientation has had a go at it, that might bode poorly for whether everything inside is right!

This lens does have a floating element, but I don't recall mine "rattling" any(I no longer own it).

 

In any case, as others have said the mount is definitely on wrong. The AI-S "crescent" and lens lock notch should be CCW(when viewing the mount straight on) of the aperture/focusing index.

I was going to say that didn't look like the right location of the bunny ears relative to the mount. The screws hold it on look a little distressed, too. I suspect you should be able to unscrew the mount from the back of the lens and reattach it rotated anticlockwise (as viewed from the camera end). I'm a little surprised the screws seem to be at exactly 120 degrees from each other, since this shouldn't have been possible otherwise. You might find what's rattling if you take the mount off, though I don't suggest being too vigorous with a partly-dismantled lens. If someone amateur enough to attach the mount at the wrong orientation has had a go at it, that might bode poorly for whether everything inside is right!

 

Agree with Andrew.

The mount has been removed in the past and incorrectly reinstalled.

If you have a GOOD fitting screwdriver you can try

- unscrewing and removing the mount,

- then rotate is so that the pin hole (the U shaped slot) is at the 9-oclock position,

- then screw it back in.

That lens is definitely not put back together correctly. The mark for f5.6 should be at the very top when the lens is mounted on a Nikon body. Edited May 2, 2018 by ShunCheung

Those screws in the mount look like someone used a Philips screwdriver (instead of the correct JIS one) and mangled them a bit. I'd simply return the lens instead of "screwing" around with it.

Given that this is the 55/2.8 lens, which I believe was often troubled by oil on the aperture blades, I wonder if someone reassembled it wrong on purpose so as to disable the automatic aperture lever. I am assuming that when mounted, this lens as it's currently put together will not operate automatically, and the aperture is 100 percent manual, so a sluggish aperture will not show up. I would not mess with this one if you can send it back.

The mount also holds the aperture actuator lever. If the lever isn't in the correct position, then the iris won't open and close. That could also account for the rattle.

 

Basically, someone's dismantled the back end of the lens and made a complete botch of putting it back together. If they're that much of a klutz, then what else have they done to the lens?

 

Send it back!

The AiS Micro-Nikkor 55/2.8 is a fairly complex lens mechanically because of the rear CRC group ("floating" element group). Whoever had this one apart was apparently not competent enough to reassemble it correctly. Send it back and don't attempt to use it on your D3300. Buggered up as it is it may damage the mechanical stopdown linkages in your camera.

 

That latter point about the stopdown linkage is well taken. I think in this case, looking at the mis-assembly, that the aperture lever of the lens will simply not hit the camera's corresponding linkage, but I am not going to muck up a lens to confirm this, and it's a bad sign anyway.

 

Another thing one should keep in mind also with any used lens when you first get it: there's a tiny screw in the mount which prevents it from over-rotating. If that screw is missing, and you accidentally over-rotate the lens when mounting, or accidentally try to remove it backwards, the lens's aperture lever will jump over the linkage in the camera. It will then not come off without breaking or bending something. Once upon a time, you could remove the back of a film camera, and maybe move the levers so they'd just cross back without damage, but not with digital.

 

Thanks for the answers. I returned it. I hope it didnt somehow damage my camera :)

BTW, they gave me another 55mm lens. I will try it tomorrow.

Edited May 11, 2018 by alan_kovarik