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Nikon Macro Lens Focus Ring.?

Hi I just bought a Nikon 85mm macro lens. (AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR). The lens works great but I have one question about the focus ring. Once the lens reaches its maximum or minimum focus the ring can still be turned. You can feel when the focus ring maxes out but it still turns after that. Its very smooth so I wonder if there is some kind of damper on the focus ring or maybe a safety. The auto focus motor works fine and its virtually silent. Its also the fastest focus motor I've ever worked with. The instructions don't say anything about this and I couldn't find anything on the internet. Its my first Macro lens so I have no idea.

3 Answers

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  • 9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Keerok is completely misinformed yet again.

    The lens features a full time manual focus feature. So, even with the lens set to autofocus you should be able to manually adjust the focus by turning the focus ring after you have half pressed the shutter button to focus.

    Turning it will not cause your lens to disassemble nor will it damage any of the components inside the lens. This is a common feature on macro lenses and some very high end lenses. Most of my Canon professional grade L lenses feature a manual override option when it comes to autofocus.

    Source(s): Professional wedding/gig/sports photographer.
  • keerok
    Lv 7
    9 years ago

    Let's clear things up. All lenses have a maximum focusing distance set to infinity. That's the sleeping 8 symbol. When your focus index (mark, line, indicator) points to infinity, the focus ring should stop focusing. If it doesn't stop, check the lens if it is indeed focused to infinity (try clouds or the moon). If not, the lens will have to be adjusted.

    Now to the minimum focusing distance. Since your lens has macro abilities, the minimum distance I suppose goes down to a few inches. It should be clearly indicated in the box or manual of the lens. Again, the focus ring should stop exactly at that distance which is usually clearly marked (and at times with the word MACRO proudly displayed over it. If the ring continues to turn after that, try turning it until it stops. Check focus when it stops and measure the distance. If that is the actual minimum focusing distance, the lens may have been assembled in the wrong way. It can be fixed but if it's new, you can have it replaced.

    Here's something to think about. If the focus ring doesn't stop turning, the lens may eventually disassemble itself.

  • 4 years ago

    particularly shallow intensity of field is rather easy while taking photographs macro. you notice maximum experienced macro photographers shoot with the digicam fastened on a tripod and use apertures of a minimum of two stops down from the utmost aperture (if the lens is a f/2.8, then the aperture used is the two f/5.6 or f/8). this supplies you the two the sharpest photographs and a few intensity of field. My ex-spouse shot loads of butterfly photographs and her maximum easy f/supply up replaced into f/22 or f/32 to drag the utmost intensity of field. using organic lighting fixtures and superb grain movie (ISO 25) , this stated as for a shutter velocity of a few million/8th 2nd in staggering sunlight. As you will see that, there is extra to taking photographs macro photographs than only having a excellent lens. My colleagues who shoot using a macro lens, tell me that the NIkkor one hundred and five mm f/2.8 lens is possibly the final macro lens. it is by technique of the forged "standoff" they might get at a million:a million image to undertaking ratios and the hot Nano-Crystal lens coating that produces beautiful, sharp photographs.

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