Just wondering..Any nikonians crazy over manual nikkors like me and still use them?

[TPLMD]

Wow! Almost sold off my 50mm F1.8 lens for $20 (that’s what the buyer quoted) being a Series E (Economical or El-cheapo) lens. Had second thoughts because the picture quality was very good / comparable with my other F1.2, F1.4, F1.8 50mm primes. Later I found out that the main difference was in the helix coil (made of plastic) only and that some Series E lenses are also multi-coated like their more expensive siblings.

I said I wanted to sell off some of my manual lenses when I purchased a flash from you sometime back but still haven’t got around to organizing my 3 cabinets full yet. I thought nobody appreciated manual lenses anymore … until I saw this thread. Ignited my passion for these heavyweights again. Thanks XC.

Recently acquired a rare manual Nikon mounted CZ 180mm F2.8 Sonnar T – it has 20 to 30 blades that make up the aperture (the most I’ve seen from Nikon lenses is only 9).
Bokeh & the natural color rendition of this lens is superb. XC, add this piece of glass to your collection if you come across it.

 

[shocky]

Hi came across some old pre AI nikkor lens, and heard that they need to be filed or something. Does it mean that before filing they cannot be used on D70 or D80?

 

[Ansel]

Hi came across some old pre AI nikkor lens, and heard that they need to be filed or something. Does it mean that before filing they cannot be used on D70 or D80?

Yes. There is danger of damaging certain part of the camera.

 

[XC Pictorial]

Wondering as well how many of the old screw on nikon hoods you guys have?
I have got a very puny collection of only HN-1, 2, 3, 5, and 24

Just found that i have HS-8 and HN-28 as well

 

[peanutbeer]

Yes. There is danger of damaging certain part of the camera.

then is it recommended to use such lens??

 

[Ansel]

then is it recommended to use such lens??

No, you mustn't unless you file it first. Use it on old Nikon F, F2, Nikkormats or FM/FE. Even FM2 and FE2 also cannot use this type of lens.

 

[XC Pictorial]

no sh!t... :sweat:

at wide open the lens has a dof that works out to only 5-6mm..

"The DOF is so shallow, the tips of the eyelashes will be out of focus if the eye ball is in focus. Crazy!"

" it has a very creamy-smooth rendition of OOF areas. IOW, bokeh's pretty good wide-open."

 

[XC Pictorial]

then is it recommended to use such lens??

nope.those i have unfiled, i just mount then on my EOS bodies with adaptor

 

[Ian]

Firstly I've a small armoury of MF Nikkors, about 65 of them, ranging from 6mm/2.8 fisheye to 1200mm/11. with ALL bases covered in between.

By no means are all manual Nikkors as good as their modern AFS counterparts, in particular in the supertele end of the game. My 400/2.8 AFS-II blows the doors off my old AIS version and in the 600mm range the AFS is superior too. Nothing though comapres to the baby 300/2 which is still one of my favourite medium telephotos for assignments.

All of the modern AFS zooms are far superior to their old AIS equivalents, the 80-200/2.8 AIS is not in the same optical class as the AFS or even AFn-D. The AIS version is however far better as a club! the only exception I can think of is the 25-50mm that was produced in the early to mid 80s.

If you are collecting older glass avoid like the plague the horrible 43-86mm zoom, it's a truly awful lump of rubbish, even a modest cosina lens outperforms it. It was truly Nikons worst ever lens.

Ian

 

[nightwolf75]

Firstly I've a small armoury of MF Nikkors, about 65 of them, ranging from 6mm/2.8 fisheye to 1200mm/11. with ALL bases covered in between.

By no means are all manual Nikkors as good as their modern AFS counterparts, in particular in the supertele end of the game. My 400/2.8 AFS-II blows the doors off my old AIS version and in the 600mm range the AFS is superior too. Nothing though comapres to the baby 300/2 which is still one of my favourite medium telephotos for assignments.

All of the modern AFS zooms are far superior to their old AIS equivalents, the 80-200/2.8 AIS is not in the same optical class as the AFS or even AFn-D. The AIS version is however far better as a club! the only exception I can think of is the 25-50mm that was produced in the early to mid 80s.

If you are collecting older glass avoid like the plague the horrible 43-86mm zoom, it's a truly awful lump of rubbish, even a modest cosina lens outperforms it. It was truly Nikons worst ever lens.

Ian

woah... 6mm and 1200mm .. only saw them in pics over at mir.com.my... :what:

i've played ard some of those ancient AIS zooms b4, and agree why early photogs dun particularly take to zooms. next on my scavenger hunt is the 85/2... ;p

 

[Ian]

woah... 6mm and 1200mm .. only saw them in pics over at mir.com.my... :what:

i've played ard some of those ancient AIS zooms b4, and agree why early photogs dun particularly take to zooms. next on my scavenger hunt is the 85/2... ;p

I still own a few AIS zooms which for sentimental reasons I don't dispose of. A couple of them are still quite useable professionally though I prefer the AFS versions as they have better contrast and are generally better lenses all round.

The 85/2's a great little lens, tiny compared to the f/1.4 version and a lot lighter, image quality is almost as good too. If you can try to get one from the early to mid 80s as those are the best of them.

I just wish Nikon would release an AFS version of the 300/2 and 800/5.6 superteles and a new 18mm PC Nikkor for digital use would be a godsend too. If they did release them I'd buy on the spot.

 

[TPLMD]

Ian, do you wish to part with your 6mm/2.8 fisheye?
I am a collector and wish to add this to my collection.
PM me if you're willing. Thanks.

 

[Ian]

Ian, do you wish to part with your 6mm/2.8 fisheye?
I am a collector and wish to add this to my collection.
PM me if you're willing. Thanks.

Hi TPLMD

No way am I going to part with it, it's a tool of my profession and I doubt if many have deep enough pockets to buy it even if I was going to sell which I'm not.

 

[XC Pictorial]

I still own a few AIS zooms which for sentimental reasons I don't dispose of. A couple of them are still quite useable professionally though I prefer the AFS versions as they have better contrast and are generally better lenses all round.

The 85/2's a great little lens, tiny compared to the f/1.4 version and a lot lighter, image quality is almost as good too. If you can try to get one from the early to mid 80s as those are the best of them.

I just wish Nikon would release an AFS version of the 300/2 and 800/5.6 superteles and a new 18mm PC Nikkor for digital use would be a godsend too. If they did release them I'd buy on the spot.

Of cos not ALL the old manual nikkors are comparable/superior than AFD/AFS..

In fact they should be inferior, with a gap of about 20-30 years from then till now, technological advances such as the wide spread availablity of information, using computer simulation to design lens etc. However i guess the main, if not only reason why this is not happening is cost. For eg, i am sure the production cost of a 50mm f1.8D has been able to drop significantly, or they would be able to sell current 100+, relatively very cheap compared to the past.

I think its probably due to cost/profit/demand as well that nikon did not release the AF versions for many of the really good lens available in AI/AIS...

 

[XC Pictorial]

Ian, do you wish to part with your 6mm/2.8 fisheye?
I am a collector and wish to add this to my collection.
PM me if you're willing. Thanks.

No offense bro, but this thead not a WTB, which you can post one in B/S.

And even if selling piority goes to TS right? :bsmilie: Kidding..

Hey Ian, the 6mm is the one with the UFO like head right?

Seen an uncle having it a long long time ago when i started but didnt have the honour to use it.

Mind putting up some shots with it here? thanks

BTW really happy to see ppl who really appreciate them like you posting here

Pity you are not in SG or you can hold an exhibition perhaps

 

[Hobbesyeo]

Firstly I've a small armoury of MF Nikkors, about 65 of them, ranging from 6mm/2.8 fisheye to 1200mm/11. with ALL bases covered in between.

By no means are all manual Nikkors as good as their modern AFS counterparts, in particular in the supertele end of the game. My 400/2.8 AFS-II blows the doors off my old AIS version and in the 600mm range the AFS is superior too. Nothing though comapres to the baby 300/2 which is still one of my favourite medium telephotos for assignments.

All of the modern AFS zooms are far superior to their old AIS equivalents, the 80-200/2.8 AIS is not in the same optical class as the AFS or even AFn-D. The AIS version is however far better as a club! the only exception I can think of is the 25-50mm that was produced in the early to mid 80s.

If you are collecting older glass avoid like the plague the horrible 43-86mm zoom, it's a truly awful lump of rubbish, even a modest cosina lens outperforms it. It was truly Nikons worst ever lens.

Ian

wow.... :bigeyes: Can't even begin to imagine how it would look like with all your lenses together.

 

[Ian]

And even if selling piority goes to TS right? :bsmilie: Kidding..

Well first up I detest collectors as they seldom use the kit they buy and drive up prices for working professionals who need esoteric kit.

Secondly I'd be asking 3-5x the current market price for the lens as it's a good money earner for me.

Hey Ian, the 6mm is the one with the UFO like head right?

Seen an uncle having it a long long time ago when i started but didnt have the honour to use it.

Mind putting up some shots with it here? thanks

BTW really happy to see ppl who really appreciate them like you posting here [/QUOTE]

If it's about 200mm in diameter then it's the 6mm/2.8 and yes It does look like a UFO.

Very few do have the honour to use it as it's one of the rarer Nikkors out there though there's probably more of the 6mm/2.8 than say the 300/2.8 of which there are maybe 150 left that haven't been converted to Cine camera lenses.

Sorry but I no longer post equipment shots or even my work online due to rampant image theft etc. There's other reasons too but they are not for public discussion and no I won't email you shots either before you ask ;p :devil:

I guess I've always liked the older Nikkors as I grew up using them in the 70s and managed to get excellent lenses that you simply can't get in the new AF lineup. Speaking professionally I'd rather use the newer professional grade lenses on assignment than the old lenses as generally the newer lenses are vastly superior overall. This might sound like a pretty hefty charge against the old lenses, but if you use a D2X with mirror lockup and a cable release you'll find it's capable of showing up all the flaws in a lens as the camera can exceed all but the best lenses in terms of resolution. However on the other side of the coin there are some lenses in the old range that shine on the D2X such as a modified 55/3.5 PC Micro Nikkor, 105/2.5 Nikkor, the 200/2 Nikkor and the 300/2 and 800/5.6 spring to mind.

Pity you are not in SG or you can hold an exhibition perhaps

I don't consider that my work's artistic enough for an exhibition. There's two types of photographer, the starving artist and the well fed type who delivers what the client wants. I happen to like being well fed. :devil:

 

[PuM]

I took my 24 years old Nikon FM2 with 50mm F1.8 out for a shooting last week.
It's my first time with my legendary camera for the pass 5 years.
Still love it!
:lovegrin:
http://ipum.blogspot.com/2007/01/because-this-world-is-analog.html

 

[longkangman]

Friend pass me a 105mmf1.8 and I found it is worth and better than the f2.5.

YMMV

 

[lsisaxon]

Friend pass me a 105mmf1.8 and I found it is worth and better than the f2.5.

YMMV

Looks better too! :thumbsup: