Nikkor-Q Auto 1:4 f=200 mm

Off and on I pick some old lens and today I was able to pick up a real nice clean one of these, So I put it on my Z7 and it still shows just how good many of these old Nikkor's really are. shot this wide open, right out of the camera untouched other than size.

 

 

That lens doesn't focus very close, but is very forgiving of extensions. If you have an extension tube, you should try it. It makes a surprisingly nice lens for chasing insects and the like.

I had a pre AI manual focus 200mm Nikkor Q from my Photomic F days. When I got a D70 I filed off some of the flange on the mount of the lens to operate on the D70. It turned out to be very sharp. Here's a crop of an outdoor shot I did of my daughter.

That lens doesn't focus very close, but is very forgiving of extensions. If you have an extension tube, you should try it. It makes a surprisingly nice lens for chasing insects and the like.

that shot is right at minimum, Il have to try a tube and see how it does.

Nice. I have found that many of the older Nikkor lenses do well on modern digital bodies. The ability to focus accurately and/or quickly with mirrorless makes these classics a lot more fun with a Z ML body.

Quite aside from optical quality, the older Nikkor lenses were beautiful small sculptures, preserving, to some degree, the aesthetics of the 1930s to the '50s.

 

Here is a Nikkor-Q-c 13,5cm f/3,5 (RF)

 

I don't think anybody makes lens hoods like that anymore;)

Edited May 6, 2021 by JDMvW

It was too cold and windy today for bugs, but here's a quickie on a D7100 with 68 millimeters of extension.

 

There was a discussion about this lens on digital cameras in July 2019. As you can see from my post, it works for me on my D750.

 

Here is a link to the thread. NIkkor-Q 200. Is it as bad? | Page 2 | Photo.net Photography Forums

I don't believe the optical construction was changed between the pre-AI 'Q' version and the last Ai-S model. (Edit: I stand corrected- it was). The Ai-S version obviously has better and more effective AR coatings though.

 

It's a good-enough lens, but suffers from Nikon's seeming inability/unwillingness to address LoCa properly. You'll undoubtedly see some green-magenta or yellow-blue fringing around OOF high-contrast edges wide open if you look hard enough. Apart from that it's pretty useable and compact.

 

Personally, I'd rather have the Ai-S version that not only has better coatings, but is lighter in weight than the old scalloped focus-ring behemoths. Or the AF 180mm IF-ED Nikkor that doesn't weigh much more, but is a stop faster.

Edited May 7, 2021 by rodeo_joe|1

+1 on the 180 IF-ED. One of the two screw drive lenses I would like to use with AF with on a Z, The other is 105/2/DC.

 

I will check OAL since I have both (somewhere), but I do think the RIFR and later AI/AIS 200/4's are revised formulas. The later lenses seem shorter, but could be an optical illusion.