dan_brown4 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I've got a good assortment of AF lenses to shoot with, but I'm hankering to add a high grade AIS lens to the kit since I'm shooting with a D200 now. Question: , What AIS lenses are perfroming well on digital, and are there any "must have" lenses. Perhaps a lens that is too affordable to pass up on? Maybe a 35/1.4; 105/2.0; 300/2.8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvey_edelstein1 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I would like to know what lenses you are using now. It makes little sense to duplicate focal lengths and still have gaps to fill with your next purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd peach seattle, washi Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 105/2.5 AIS comes to mind. Nothing quite like it in AF, and it's relatively cheap. Also the 105/1.8, which doesn't have as much of a following. I have used the 24/2.0 and 35/1.4 AIS on D2H bodies and they are quite handy. Neither is very cheap though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik_loza Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Aaahhh.... Holiday season NAS. We all get it. The D200 is looking awfully tempting to me these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Think about what you are going to use those lenses for. The 105mm was great for portrait on film, but on the long side on a DSLR for that same purpose. Personally, I wouldn't use a 300mm without AF-S since that is an action lens for me. There are reasons that some lenses are now "affordable": most people don't like them any more. So will you like them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwcombs Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Good point, to not duplicate existing lenses you have in AF. If you do want to add an AIS lens, get a lens that will add value to using an MF lens over an AF on the D200, such as macro or PC. I had the same inclination when I got my D200. Looking forward to the use of older lenses. But it subsided when the AF performance of the D200 was beyond my expectations, and I soon forgot all about NAS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_brown4 Posted December 6, 2006 Author Share Posted December 6, 2006 Thanks, good stuff guys. My primes go to 24mm on the wide end, with a gap between 85 annd 180. I was looking over the keh inventory, and a few lenses that looked interesting were: 200/4 AIS - Nice little tele with 300mm eq. 135/2.8 Series E - Compact and cheap. 105/2.8 or 4.0 Micro AIS - Don't have a macro at this time. 105/2.5 AIS - Really affordable, really good (I hear). 100/2.8 Series E - Tiny telephoto, really cheap. 55/2.8 or 3.5 Micro. 50/1.2 AIS - Fast glass (at a price!) 35/2.8 PC Nikkor - Could be fun. 20/3.5 AIS - Wider than I have. 18/3.5 AIS - Even wider, but not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_smith3 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I like to use my 55mm macro AIS on my d 200. I use it as a macro lens and a general purpose 55mm. Joe Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwcombs Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Thanks a lot Dan. You've just ignited the embers again. (I was so over this stuff....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klix Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Ones I use most on my D200 (not in any particular order): - 20mm/3.5 AIS with K1 ring - 24mm/2.8 AIS - I've grown to really like this focal length. I also have a 24/2.8 AFD lens. - 55mm/2.8 AIS - with or without the PK-13 - 105mm/2.5 AIS - 50-135mm/3.5 AIS - if you can find one at a reasonable price, BUY IT! I have others, but find that I use the above more than the others. For macro, the 105/4 is fine (especially with the PN-11), but I really, really lke the Kiron 105/2.8 in that focal length for macros. The 200/4 AIS is also a fine lens, but I don't use it as much as the others. Good luck! KL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennett ho Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 The 50mm F1.2 does cost a bit at KEH(and in the US). I got a brand new on in Tokyo for around $375. Whether it's worth it or not I'll leave that up to you. The glass itself is superb and among my favorite to use. I find the 28mm F2.8 AIS another great walk around manual lens that is tack sharp and great for wide-angle perspective close-ups(0.2m close-focusing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron l Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Why don't you consider new lenses? They're more expensive but superior IMHO. You can focus manually all you like but when you need to get moving, it's tough to beat the autofocus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_cochran Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 In the "too affordable to pass up" league, I find even the lowly 50mm <i>f</i>/1.8 series E is a joy to use on the D200. With the crop factor, it gives a medium portrait field of view. Likewise the 50mm <i>f</i>/1.4 AIS. <p> All the other reasonably fast primes are nice in their own way, too. I've got the Katz-eye screen in my D200 (highly recommended if you're concentrating on AIS lenses), and any fast prime makes the screen brighten so much compared to the kit lens I have (18-70 DX). Though the D200's AF is very fast, I find it still focuses too often on the wrong thing. Rather than fight the system by selecting focus points and such, I find that focusing manually is often more convenient and more precisely controllable than autofocus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugh_davis Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Dan, Respectfully suggest a visit to the Oslo Oracle, Bjorn Rorslett's site at www.naturfotograf.com. He reviews a lot of the older MF lens performances on digital bodies, with some interesting results. Regards, HWD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_schulze2 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I know that AIS lenses are great, they have an amazing build quality and they will virtually last forever. But why waste money buying old lenses that aren't optimized for digital? Over the past 30yrs a lot has changed in glass coatings and overall image quality from lenses. If you ask me an $80 plastic zoom lens is better than a $350 in terms of image quality, but if you are going to be beating up your camera then by all means buy the AIS lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_brown4 Posted December 6, 2006 Author Share Posted December 6, 2006 "If you ask me an $80 plastic zoom lens is better than a $350 in terms of image quality" Don't kid yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee hamiel Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Dan: I'm going to suggest a 135 f/2 giving you a 200 f/2 fast long lens. I have the 180 2.8 & it's also great. The only AF lenses I have are a 20 f/2.8 & a 105 f/2 DC - the rest are all AI/AIS lenses. The one lens I sold that I wish I kept was the 50 f/1.2 AIS now that I have a D200. Lastly - I had a couple of 300 f/2.8 AIS's over the years as well as a 400 f/2.8 AIS & also had a 300 f/2.8 AF-I - did not have any of them by the time I bought the D200 but would guess that they are great as well on the D200. The 35 2.8 PC lens is a great lens & a lot of fun. Good Luck & let us know what you get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofey_kalakar Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 45 f2.8 AiP--set it to f22 and use the sub command dial to set apertures.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle0017 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 My fav primes on my D200 are: 20mm f2.8; 50mm f1.8; 105mm f2.8 (great macro and portrait); 180mm f2.8 (excellent med range tele); and 300mm f2.8 manual focus (gotta have quick hands and eyes, but produces tack sharp pics with great bokeh). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim_Tardio Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I use a 105/2.5 and a 28/2. Both are excellent on the D200. To my eyes, the older lenses have a smoother contrast to them...which is to say they have less contrast than the newer lenses. <p> The 28/2 is really outstanding. I also use the 45/2.8, another excellent choice. Do get the Katzeye screen, however. It really does make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendon Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I was thrilled when I learned the D200 could be teamed up with some of my old MF Nikkors. But much of my excitement was short-lived, because my wide-aperture lenses are so finicky about nailing the focus. Perhaps my older eyes and slower reflexes are to blame, but I suspect that part of the issue is the monotonous focusing screen in the newer cameras; I had really come to depend upon the split-image and microprism parts of the screen (on MF Nikons) to get the focus right. This is a bigger issue for the longer focal- length lenses, like the 105mm f2.5, that I find impossible to use effectively with a D70 or D200 when the subject isn't still. The 35mm f1.4 is a GREAT lens, and I am able to focus it well enough to get sharp images. Good luck and happy shopping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim_Tardio Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Like I said above, Brendon. You need the Katzeye screen to really take full advantage of these lenses. Pop one in and your split-image focusing will be restored...you'll love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mescamesh Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 For all those AF Freaks: There is NO AF 35/1.4 NO AF 28/2 NO AF 20/3.5 (nearly no flares when shooting with the sun in front of you) and so on! The optical quality can be superior (MF 85/1.4 has much less purple fringing than AF 85/14, 28/2 and 35/1.4 are simply outstanding) and for macro works a MF is much better than most AFs (AF 200/4 is great, too) regards, stevie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebecker Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Dan, If you're still looking to purchase Nikkor ais lenses, I have 4 for sale which I posted to the PN classifieds yesterday. They are: 24mm f/2.8, 28 mm f/2.8, 25-50 mm f/4 and a 80-200 mm f/4. No, I'm not clearing all of my MF glass out, they are wonderful lenses. I'm keeping my 35mm f/1.4, 50-135mm f/3.5, 50-300 mm f/4 and 400mm f/3.5. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie_caswell Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I didn't like the 35mm f/1.4 but the 300 f/2.8 AIS is just a stunning lens!<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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