James Markus wrote:
Laura, I remember it was $1595 at the local camera store, but google ai says
"The Nikkor 70-180mm Micro f/4.5 was introduced in 1997 and its original price was $1,100."
Used, I saw it climb to $2500. It is like the 28mm f1.4 afd which has been all over the place since Nikon stopped making them.
Jim
I always thought the price and sales trend on this lens was pretty interesting. I paid $1149 for mine when it first came out, at my local Nikon authorized dealer. I don't recall the exact year, but late-90s as I used it on F5 bodies for a few years.
The lens' sales globally were very low. I recall seeing posts somewhere later on - I believe from Thom H, IIRC, in an article on his site - with data illustrating extremely low sales of this lens (and likewise the 200 AF-D Micro), explaining why Nikon never bothered with any sort of update beyond the D version. After I bought my copy of the lens, my local dealer had another copy that lingered on the shelf for years. They're a pretty high-volume store and for a number of years mine was the only copy they sold.
Anyway, after the 70-180 was discontinued, the price skyrocketed, as @James_Markus notes. For some reason it attained sort of cult status and used copies posted for sale would sell super fast for crazy prices. I think a lot of people didn't understand what the lens actually was, mistakenly thinking it was sort of a 200 Micro that zoomed. It's a useful lens that I still like, but it's not that! And of course now, nice used copies can easily be found for less than $400.
grantgoodes wrote:
Excellent advice! Things like your desired magnification and working distance are vastly more important than lens reputation. If you only need up to half life-size (1:2), there are a whole lot more options, while life-size (1:1) comes at a price in both $$$ and usability of the setup. If you're shooting coins or stamps, working distance isn't so much of an issue, but obviously insects are another mater. Also, lighting: On a table indoors, you can tolerate poor working distance as it's possible to utilize multiple artificial light sources, but in the field shooting mushrooms, you need enough room to allow for natural light or a ring-flash. Ultimately, all the Micro-Nikkors are quite excellent lenses (and in fact the oldest ones are perhaps the best corrected), and achieving sharp macro results is almost always dominated by technique, not the lens.
My favourite setup is my PB-4 with a 135mm enlarger lens as I can use it on a good tripod for mushrooms and even shift/tilt my plane of focus. As I said, the 70-180 Micro-Nikkor fell of my list as its effective focal length at 1:1 and 180mm is so reduced that working distance isn't nearly as good as my 135mm setup, and I already have a 105/2.8 Micro-Nikkor otherwise....Show more →
jbear & grant,
My mobility is not so good anymore, but not scaring the critters, and a long working distanced can be solved by this combo. D7200 with a Nikkor 200mm f4 ais, and modified TC-16a = 480mm that is good down to 23 inches and further out - good for bugs to birds. Just saying - it's not the same as getting your knees and elbows wet, but it is a good substitute for me.
highcontrast wrote:
I always thought the price and sales trend on this lens was pretty interesting. I paid $1149 for mine when it first came out, at my local Nikon authorized dealer. I don't recall the exact year, but late-90s as I used it on F5 bodies for a few years.
The lens' sales globally were very low. I recall seeing posts somewhere later on - I believe from Thom H, IIRC, in an article on his site - with data illustrating extremely low sales of this lens (and likewise the 200 AF-D Micro), explaining why Nikon never bothered with any sort of update beyond the D version. After I bought my copy of the lens, my local dealer had another copy that lingered on the shelf for years. They're a pretty high-volume store and for a number of years mine was the only copy they sold.
Anyway, after the 70-180 was discontinued, the price skyrocketed, as @James_Markus notes. For some reason it attained sort of cult status and used copies posted for sale would sell super fast for crazy prices. I think a lot of people didn't understand what the lens actually was, mistakenly thinking it was sort of a 200 Micro that zoomed. It's a useful lens that I still like, but it's not that! And of course now, nice used copies can easily be found for less than $400....Show more →
I have this mental thing I do about pricing which is kind of like bidding on ebay. I set a mental price of what I would be willing to pay in my head. Once an item reaches that price - "need" or "want" get kind of fuzzy.
Can't remember if you mentioned what mag. you need, but a 300 f4 AFS or PF with or without a TC and/or Canon 500D diopter is an AWESOME "macro" set-up with great stand-off distance!
Back in the day the 70-180 was a great lens for shooting in the field on travel because it did double duty as a smaller version of a 80-200/2.8 and as a macro. Much "macro" field work is not requiring 1:1, more like 1:2-1:4. There it is a very good lens and working distance is not bad. You could also put tubes and macro diopters in front of the 300/4 AF lens (screw drive was what they had then) but it had a 5 foot MFD, so needed quite a bit of extension to get close.
James Markus wrote:
Riccardo, Excellent film work. Velvia was my favorite color transparency film. Only used Provia a handful of times,
Thank you Jim, I have only film photographs taken with the 70-180.
A couple more images, both taken 25 years ago:
Peony (Paeonia mascula); Nikon F-801, Micro-Nikkor AF ED 70-180/4.5-5.6D, Fujichrome Velvia 50
Grasshopper (Pamphagous sardeus); Nikon F-801, Micro-Nikkor AF ED 70-180/4.5-5.6D, Fujichrome Velvia 50
EB-1 wrote:
Back in the day the 70-180 was a great lens for shooting in the field on travel because it did double duty as a smaller version of a 80-200/2.8 and as a macro. Much "macro" field work is not requiring 1:1, more like 1:2-1:4. There it is a very good lens and working distance is not bad. You could also put tubes and macro diopters in front of the 300/4 AF lens (screw drive was what they had then) but it had a 5 foot MFD, so needed quite a bit of extension to get close.
jbear wrote:
Can't remember if you mentioned what mag. you need, but a 300 f4 AFS or PF with or without a TC and/or Canon 500D diopter is an AWESOME "macro" set-up with great stand-off distance!
As a general remark, with telephoto lenses it's preferable to use macro diopters rather than extension tubes. In fact, the longer the focal length the more the extension we need to get a given magnification.With a 2 diopter close-up lens (e.g., Canon 500D), whose focal length is 500 mm, the attainable magnification with, for example, a 300/4 mm lens is 300/500 = 0.6 X when the lens is focused at infinity. Working distance is equal to the FL of the attachment lens, i.e., 500 mm (197 in.). Not bad.
Unfortunately, it's not possible to get magnifications lower than 0.6X with that combo. A 80-400 with the same (2 diopters) close-up lens does provide magnifications in the range 0.16-0.8 X.
An alternative is to use both an extension ring and the TC, as I wrote some time ago: http://www.naturephotographers.net/rp0600-1.html
I read a couple sites that mention the $1,100, one guy said there was a $100 rebate offered when he bought his, but he forgot to send it in. $1,100 then is about $2,191.77 today. I was browsing around looking at them... Jim's becoming the next Curtis
James Markus wrote:
Laura, I remember it was $1595 at the local camera store, but google ai says
"The Nikkor 70-180mm Micro f/4.5 was introduced in 1997 and its original price was $1,100."
Used, I saw it climb to $2500. It is like the 28mm f1.4 afd which has been all over the place since Nikon stopped making them.
Jim
Laura, I do not take Curtis' mantle - I just point out lenses or camera gear that is interesting to me.
I had to unlock a garden gate today, and this part of my garden is a complete mess. Years ago I planted two Bing cherry trees, and a New Haven peach tree. They are in a neglected state, and have produced food only for the birds and critters. However, they were in blossom today.
Yup, that's what he does as well. So far, I've looked at this lens "around town", and some funny bubble ones appeared on my doorstep recently... Now if only I could stop working 6 days a week. It's getting O L D.
James Markus wrote:
Laura, I do not take Curtis' mantle - I just point out lenses or camera gear that is interesting to me.
I had to unlock a garden gate today, and this part of my garden is a complete mess. Years ago I planted two Bing cherry trees, and a New Haven peach tree. They are in a neglected state, and have produced food only for the birds and critters. However, they were in blossom today.
This thread just cost me a bit of money. I briefly had one years ago. Just bought another one from MPB for $144 that apparently would be graded like new but is sold as spares/repair since it can’t focus to infinity. Will see if it’s usable just for near/closeup and/or maybe try to fix it?
Funny how that works, eh? Hope the lens is fixable, what a bargain!
jpelt78 wrote:
This thread just cost me a bit of money. I briefly had one years ago. Just bought another one from MPB for $144 that apparently would be graded like new but is sold as spares/repair since it can’t focus to infinity. Will see if it’s usable just for near/closeup and/or maybe try to fix it?
I really have enough lenses to keep me happy for a long time, including the 200f4 micro. However if a Z version of the 70-180 micro came out I would get it in a heartbeat! Love that lens, always wanted it but always needed something else first so I never got one. Come on Nikon make an old guy happy!
George DeCamp wrote:
I really have enough lenses to keep me happy for a long time, including the 200f4 micro. However if a Z version of the 70-180 micro came out I would get it in a heartbeat! Love that lens, always wanted it but always needed something else first so I never got one. Come on Nikon make an old guy happy!
They kind of already do make one. Less than one foot at 70mm and 2.8 feet at 180 plus it is an f2.8. Probably a much larger lens.
The Z 70-180/2.8 has similar size and is slightly lighter than the Micro AF 70-180/4.5-5.6D.
Most important, don't forget that the 70-180 micro is a parfocal lens, i.e., a lens that stays in focus when magnification/focal length is changed. I bet it's also sharper in the borders at close focusing distances.
