We love our manual focus Nikkor lenses!

[Ben Ang]

give this thread a little bump =P

the 2 'new' lenses i ve been playing with are the nikkor S 5cm f2, and the Nikkor NC 24 2.8. the former was the first 50mm in F mount and is different from the more common 'nikkor H 50mm f2'; its about 50 years old. rendition is really nice and CA is completely absent. enjoy =)

all shot with minolta linear polariser and KR3 filter on a D700; simple processing in ViewNX2
5cm @ 2.8,

@2.0

@2.0

@2.8

@5.6

 

[homan]

I love our manual focus Nikkor lenses.
Nikon 16mm f2.8 AIS fisheye.

 

[Anthony Lee]

I am using 4 ais lenses, 28f2.8 CRC, 50f1.2, 105f2.5 and a CV 58f1.4 SL II on my NEX 5N. I intend to buy a used D700 to experience Nikon's FF DSLR as I have not tried one before. The most important tool to me to aid manual focusing is to use the correct focusing screen. So, my question to all experienced users here is, which focusing screen is best for manual focusing on the D700 and are they available with direct purchase from Nikon. I know where to source for focusing screens, but I hate changing them myself as I am not good at it. Many thanks.

 

[GReddyZC76]

Sorry. Noob question, is the 50mm f/1.2 ai still available in store? Any rough price?

 

[Anthony Lee]

Sorry. Noob question, is the 50mm f/1.2 ai still available in store? Any rough price?

Lately there were many on sale at BnS here and depending on condition, prices range from SGD 600-750. You can also buy new.

 

[daredevil123]

Sorry. Noob question, is the 50mm f/1.2 ai still available in store? Any rough price?

50/1.2 AIS is still in production, but in low numbers.

You can get it new in stores (probably pre-order it) for around 700+ to 800.

 

[azzurri]

give this thread a little bump =P

the 2 'new' lenses i ve been playing with are the nikkor S 5cm f2, and the Nikkor NC 24 2.8. the former was the first 50mm in F mount and is different from the more common 'nikkor H 50mm f2'; its about 50 years old. rendition is really nice and CA is completely absent. enjoy =)

all shot with minolta linear polariser and KR3 filter on a D700; simple processing in ViewNX2

just saw this. nice lens you got there ben and lovely shots too. you got it ai'd? and how does it compare to the nikkor h 50mm f2?

 

[Ben Ang]

I am using 4 ais lenses, 28f2.8 CRC, 50f1.2, 105f2.5 and a CV 58f1.4 SL II on my NEX 5N. I intend to buy a used D700 to experience Nikon's FF DSLR as I have not tried one before. The most important tool to me to aid manual focusing is to use the correct focusing screen. So, my question to all experienced users here is, which focusing screen is best for manual focusing on the D700 and are they available with direct purchase from Nikon. I know where to source for focusing screens, but I hate changing them myself as I am not good at it. Many thanks.

Hi, the D700 focus screen is quite easy to change. Nikon doesnt make focus screens for the d700 though. I've tried both the Nikon F6 J type screen(S$157 from focusingscreens.com) and the Canon EC-S screen(self modded). for fast lenses, f2.8 and below, the EC-S was a clear winner, but gets dark really quickly after. the F6 J screen is a little more versatile. based on your line up i d def go for the EC-S.

just saw this. nice lens you got there ben and lovely shots too. you got it ai'd? and how does it compare to the nikkor h 50mm f2?

thanks azzurri, the lens doesnt need any major modification. i just removed the rabbit ears and stuck a piece of plastic there the tab is supposed to be. thats all that was needed. its one of my more used lenses now and certainly has a special feel. i feel it fares alot better than the H version. corner sharpness is better, i feel contrast was more crisp as well. it tended to have a warmer rendition. CA is absolutely 0. cant see it in any instance. i think the H fares better wrt flare though.

 

[Anthony Lee]

Hi, the D700 focus screen is quite easy to change. Nikon doesnt make focus screens for the d700 though. I've tried both the Nikon F6 J type screen(S$157 from focusingscreens.com) and the Canon EC-S screen(self modded). for fast lenses, f2.8 and below, the EC-S was a clear winner, but gets dark really quickly after. the F6 J screen is a little more versatile. based on your line up i d def go for the EC-S.

Hi Ben, thanks. During my Canon days, the #S focusing screen was a must in all my Cameras. I will ask focusingscreen.com to modify one for me. I was the person who got them to modify this screen for Pentax K5 and it was only made available when I sold my K5. The main problem with substituting another brand's screen is b/f focusing which requires fine tuning with shims. The ones modified by focusingscreen.com come with shims as they take into consideration the thickness of the screen required for a specific model. With the huge number of legacy lenses available I really don't understand why Nikon doesn't provide an alternative screen for manual focsuing. This was the same problem I faced with Pentax when I moved from Canon. Can't seem to get the best of both worlds. Hope someone comes out with an FF mirrorless soon. Thanks once again.

 

[Ben Ang]

i had the same idea and went with the F6 J screen for compatibility, but the canon S is definitely better though darker. its fantastic cos you can focus any where on the image and dont need to focus-recompose or play around with the AF points. i would love to be able to swap them out depending on the situation, but they need different shims... anw, it shouldnt be an issue cos focusingscreens.com ships their screens with plastic shims which work great.

Hi Ben, thanks. During my Canon days, the #S focusing screen was a must in all my Cameras. I will ask focusingscreen.com to modify one for me. I was the person who got them to modify this screen for Pentax K5 and it was only made available when I sold my K5. The main problem with substituting another brand's screen is b/f focusing which requires fine tuning with shims. The ones modified by focusingscreen.com come with shims as they take into consideration the thickness of the screen required for a specific model. With the huge number of legacy lenses available I really don't understand why Nikon doesn't provide an alternative screen for manual focsuing. This was the same problem I faced with Pentax when I moved from Canon. Can't seem to get the best of both worlds. Hope someone comes out with an FF mirrorless soon. Thanks once again.

 

[Anthony Lee]

i had the same idea and went with the F6 J screen for compatibility, but the canon S is definitely better though darker. its fantastic cos you can focus any where on the image and dont need to focus-recompose or play around with the AF points. i would love to be able to swap them out depending on the situation, but they need different shims... anw, it shouldnt be an issue cos focusingscreens.com ships their screens with plastic shims which work great.

It's actually not darker but more contrasty. You will not know when you use it on Nikon because you focus wide open. On lenses which must be used with stop-down metering, the screen actually stay clear even at f8 and even f11, while others will turn frosted/blurred/darker and become non-usable.

 

[Ben Ang]

the first day i used it remember being thrown off by the noticeably darker image, esp true when the sun starts to go down. once you get used to it i think its ok though. you're right that the good thing is that it remains usable at small apertures. i can stop down my converted lenses to 8 and 11 and still be able to compose and shoot with good exposure. all the other focusing aids would have been gone case at those settings.

It's actually not darker but more contrasty. You will not know when you use it on Nikon because you focus wide open. On lenses which must be used with stop-down metering, the screen actually stay clear even at f8 and even f11, while others will turn frosted/blurred/darker and become non-usable.

 

[proteonXPR]

i love manual lenses!!

i think a lens is not only the picture it gives but the experience it gives the user in the process

 

[Ben Ang]

bump!!

Nikkor NC 24mm f/2.8 =)

 

[Zichar]

With the 45 PCE, full tilt

​

No tilt

​

 

[azzurri]

bump!!

Nikkor NC 24mm f/2.8 =)

nice shots! got that lens too and got to start using it more. beginning to get used to the 24mm angle

 

[qtmonster]

That's a fantastic shot of the Louvre! Brings back memories from our trip last year

I brought along Tokina 11-16mm on that trip. Though it's a sharp lens, it did produce a noticeable distortion on landscape shots.

 

[homan]

D7000 with 16mm F2.8 AIS fisheye Hand-hold.

 

[Ben Ang]

Bump! my fav Nikkor 50 1.2 AIS. all wide open, most with polariser

Personal favourite =)

 

[SurrealDreamWalker]

Bump! my fav Nikkor 50 1.2 AIS. all wide open, most with polariser

WOW!!! very N I C E !!!