Quantaray 500mm f8 Mirror
Most Quantaray lenses were made by Sigma and some were made by Tamron and Tokina. This lens performs like a Sigma Mirror lens. It is reasonably sharp if you can hold it steady. It has the typical ringed bokeh we see from mirror lenses. Contrast is surprisingly high. While it is not a Zeiss or even a Tamron in quality, it is still far better than any of the off-brands flooding the market.




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Nikkor 55mm f3.5 Micro Ai
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Macro Ratio
Year Introduced:
Tested with...
52mm
Nikon Ai
f3.5-f32
.3 meters
1:2
late 1970's
Eos T2i - APS-C

The light was failing so I grabbed an onion. Don't ask. The 55mm Micro-Nikkor is known for being tack sharp. No news here, it is tack sharp. Bokeh is smooth thru f11. Contrast is good at all apertures. Bokeh fringing is well controlled. In normal shooting the Micro-Nikkor performs as well as Nikon's fast primes. In my past experience with this lens on 35mm bodies I found it handled high contrast scenes very well. If you are buying your first Nikon and you want a 50mm do not discount the Micro-Nikkor 55mm because it isn't a fast f1.4.
Bokeh fringing is the last thing you want in a macro lens. This lens doesn't disappoint. Not only is fringing non-detectable but contrast in out-of-focus areas is excellent, too. It is no wonder that this was the lens of choice for most copy stand work.
There are several versions of this lens. The Micro Nikkor 55mm f3.5 P version is the best for general shooting. It performs well at infinity unlike the other versions.

f3.5 - ISO 400

f11 - ISO 400

f4 - ISO 400

bokeh fringe - f3.5
none

bokeh fringe - f4
none / great contrast

bokeh fringe - f5.6
none at edges

f5.6 - ISO 400