Micro NIKKOR DX 16-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED, Complete

1907 Penny

With the recent arrival of the Nikon BR-6 Auto Diaphragm Ring, my new macro lens is complete. I now have complete control over aperture, the ability to focus and compose wide open, and a 52mm filter thread on which I can install the filter of my choice. I thought I would put it through its paces with a 1907 penny.

   

I left off the AF-S and VR designations from my new lens name, because with a reversed lens in manual only-mode, they just don’t apply. It was no bother at all to guestimate the exposure, check the histogram and readjust. Being able to stop down greatly increased the depth of field, and It was easy to control the aperature by means of a standard cable release. Live view was helpful, as it provided a nice depth-of field-preview and focus assist.

Nikon D90 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR + BR-6 Auto Diaphragm Ring + Cable Release + Filter 

There are no stops to the aperture settings, it’s completely infinite from f/3.5 to f/22. This “shorty” cable release allows me to lock in any setting. Longer ones assist in keeping the camera from moving. Predictably, the sharpest images were somewhere in the middle, probably around f/8. f/22 yielded the greatest depth of field, as seen in the far shot, but was less sharp overall.

The zoom ring controls the magnification/working distance, and the focus ring fine tunes the focus. I set the focus ring at infinity, and back it off just a bit. Then, I get the combination of working distance and zoom worked out so the image is sharp. Then, I fine tune the focus with the focus ring to avoid changing the camera distance. Lighting was accomplished with a halogen desk lamp, but now with the BR-6, a ring flash is an option.

I can see myself making a custom cable release with f-stop settings for this. I can also see myself trying to shoot hand-held at f/8-f/11 with a powerful ring flash, or in bright sunlight. But ideally, this setup is for studio work under controlled conditions.

For field work, extension tubes will be my next step, because they’ll preserve all metering, exposure an focusing functions. They should work great with my already close-focusing Nikkor 16-85mm, and I suspect will work equally well with the super-fast Nikkor 50mm f/1.4