Star-D Gold Line MC 80-200mm 3.9

[jfirestone]

Star-D Gold Line MC 80-200mm 3.9

I have this VERY old lens in a camera bag my mother gave me. It is supposed to be a macro lens, though only says 1:5 as the best macro it does. It fits fine on my Nikon D80, but I can't seem to do anything remotely close focusing. The closet I can be is several feet away or I can't focus at all.

Is this old lens unusable as a macro on my newer camera? Am I missing something? I have googled like crazy and can't find any instructions or anything for it. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[ravncat]

you can test the 1:5 ratio with a ruler, just focus as close as you can, at 200mm, and see how many mm you can fit. If you can fit about 130mm it`s correct. Macro may be a misnomer in this case, just referring to some level of close focus...

[jfirestone]

That's just the thing, I can't seem to focus close at all. The closest I can be to anything is maybe 3-4 feet. Even my regular lenses can focus closer than that. It's almost like it's working backwards or something. I didn't know if there was a reason it wasn't working or something. I used this lens as a kid and I could swear I was able to get very close to my subject.

Can a lens "break?" Aside from the obvious glass cracking and stuff.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by jfirestone

Can a lens "break?" Aside from the obvious glass cracking and stuff.

Yes. In fact, the glass is the least likely thing to break in a lens.

Yours may have a longer minimum focus distance. I know my 70-300 cant focus closer than about 5 feet.

[jfirestone]

I had no idea! Thanks for the info, I guess I'll just stick with my extension tubes.