A weekend of manual focus lenses

<p>I recently took a four-day trip to Chicago and decided to bring only manual focus lenses with me. Namely the Nikkor 28mm f/2 Ai-S, the Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 Ai, and the Voigtländer 180mm f/4 SL APO Lanthar. I thought I'd just share a couple of observations/reflections from my trip:<br /><br />I usually travel with three AF primes, the Nikkor 28mm f/1.4 AF-D, the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-D, and the Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 AF-D, all for use on my Nikon D700. The MF primes I took instead are a lot smaller and a lot lighter (almost 1.2 lbs lighter, in fact!) It really did make a difference --- both from the size and from the weight. My camera bag felt lighter, and the 28/2 was small enough that I slipped it into my jacket pocket while I had the Noct mounted on my camera.<br /><br />The 28/2 is a fine lens, and has a somewhat different "look" from the 28/1.4. In particular, it focuses really closely, and is very high quality close up. I find this very useful for taking photos of food. The bokeh is generally okay, but I really do not like what it does with out of focus points of light. It is no replacement for my 28/1.4 overall, but may actually be better for food in a restaurant.<br /><br />The Noct is incredible, and I should shoot with it more often. I have the Ai version, which has a much longer focus throw than the Ai-S version. I bought the Ai version purposely, because I thought it would be helpful to get critical focus at f/1.2, and I think it does, but WOW is it a slow lens to shoot with. It's hard to shoot portraits with this lens only because you have to have a patient and tolerant subject. Otherwise, this lens is very versatile --- nice and sharp overall at f/5.6 and beautifully dreamy at f/1.2. Out of focus highlights when the lens is not wide open can have a distracting septagonal shape. Obviously, at f/1.2 the aperture blades aren't imaged at all. Still, it is not a convenient lens to use, but I love the results.<br /><br />I only used the Voigtländer a couple times on this trip, and didn't deploy its near macro capability at all, but I got a couple shots of distant buildings in the Chicago skyline with which I'm very pleased. For traveling I think this might be a better choice than my 180/2.8 --- it's a little smaller and lighter, and is not so inconvenient to use. AF is useful for action, although the 180/2.8 is a slow performer at AF. The Voigtländer has such a wonderfully silky MF feel.<br /><br />Anyway, just wanted to share a bit if a change of pace for me. I realize that I'm already bit of dinosaur for toting around AF primes from a previous generation, instead of modern, professional zooms, and that bringing out old-school primes just sends me back in time even further. I don't get to use them very often in event photography, so it's fun to pull out some old friends for a personal trip, and refresh my manual focus muscles!</p><div></div>

<p>Here's an example with the Noct:</p><div></div>

<p>And here's an example with the Voigtländer:</p><div></div>

<p>Hi Samuel,<br>

Greetings from another dinosaur :) Great to hear about your experience. I love MF Nikkors and MF glass... I own probably about 10 MF Nikkors, 3 CV's and 4 Zeiss... and I am very pleased with this stuff. I take at least a MF lens with me all the time, even when I am shooting an event. I tested some of my old glass on D800 and I am very pleased by the results. My preferred MF Nikkors are 28/2 AI-S, 45/2.8 AI-P, 58/1.2 NOCT and 105/2.5 AI-S. Very close is 55/1.2 AI...<br>

Keep 'em at work! </p>

<p> </p>

<p>I like the look of the Noct. I always wonder if its design/performance is still highly gifted... is quite common these days to have lenses with aspheric elements.</p>

<p>Nice pictures. Makes me want to break out my 200/4 Ais.</p>

<p>Nice Shots, Samuel. I'm using my MF Nikkors with great success on a Sony NEX 5n. The Micro-Nikkors are especially useful and fun. </p><div></div>

<p>Ninety percent of my work is still getting done with MF lenses. I only actually own two AF's and that's about all I want. </p>

<p>Rick H.</p>