I have a very early non-AI 55/3.5, a later vintage AI-s one, and the 60/2.8 AF-D. At f/8 I can\'t tell them apart. Wide open they\'re all good enough. These are some of Nikon\'s best lenses, and I really don\'t think you can go wrong with one of any vintage. If you watch Ebay very carefully, you can get one for around $60 pretty often.
I do a lot of critical copying work, scanning negatives at around 1:2, where the earliest one is supposedly better ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdarnton/7183241686/in/photostream ).I tried all three, and if there\'s a difference, I don\'t see it. All three are virtually perfect.
I have a very early non-AI 55/3.5, a later vintage AI-s one, and the 60/2.8 AF-D. At f/8 I can\'t tell them apart. Wide open they\'re all good enough. These are some of Nikon\'s best lenses, and I really don\'t think you can go wrong with one of any vintage. If you watch Ebay very carefully, you can get one for around $60 pretty often.
I do a lot of critical copying work at around 1:2, where the earliest one is supposedly better. If there\'s a difference, I don\'t see it. All three are virtually perfect.
May 19, 2012 at 10:03 PM
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