nikon film cameras

[JDMvW]

I am shocked, shocked to discover that not all Nikon F mount lenses work on the universal Nikon F mount.

 

o_O

[Vincent Peri]

I am shocked, shocked to discover that not all Nikon F mount lenses work on the universal Nikon F mount.

 

o_O

 

 

 

Hmm... I just watched

Casablanca yesterday...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

[ben_hutcherson]

Well, to be fair, you could take a 70-200mm f/2.8E FL and stick it on your Nikon F.

 

You could even meter with any of the metering prisms other than the last(and best) FTN. You'd just have to be sure to set the maximum aperture, and then move the tab on the front to the f/2.8 position.

 

You just couldn't use any aperture smaller than f/2.8.

[arthur_gottschalk]

 

85mm F1.4 AF-D

[q.g._de_bakker]

 

On what digital bodies have you compared the two?

D800E and D810.

Never on film.

[ben_hutcherson]

D800E and D810.

Never on film.

 

In my testing on a D810(and even D800) the f/2.8 is noticeably better. I suppose either my f/2.8 is exceptionally good, my f/4 is exceptionally bad, or otherwise both are consistent with testing like DXOmark which ranks the f/2.8 better when used on both the D800 and D810. I have posted full-resolution samples using the f/2.8 and D810 here in another thread. I have 24-120 samples taken that same day and will try to dig them up.

 

I don't notice much if any difference on my Df, but that's a different ball game. I actually use the Df more often with the lighter 24-85 VR.

[AlanKlein]

Slow early AF, with screwdriver AF lenses only (AF, AF-D). Doesn't autofocus with AF-S, can't control aperture of G lenses manually. And like the other film cameras, no aperture control at all with E lenses, no AF with AF-P. Compatible with manual focus AI lenses, but not pre-AI.

I meant which of the AF lenses are better lenses. The standard kit zoom that came with it isn't very sharp. So I was thinking of getting a better AF one. Any recommendations? Tks.

[ben_hutcherson]

I meant which of the AF lenses are better lenses. The standard kit zoom that came with it isn't very sharp. So I was thinking of getting a better AF one. Any recommendations? Tks.

 

If you want a normal zoom and can find one without haze, the 35-70mm f/2.8 is hard to beat. It's a push-pull design and although heavier than the kit lens, is a lot lighter and more nimble than any of the f/2.8 "normal" zooms that came after it.

[ben_hutcherson]

Here's a thread where I showed samples of the 35-70mm f/2.8. If it looks that good on a D810, you can be sure it will look good on film.

 

How much better is a modern 24-70mm zoom than an older f/2.8 normal zoom?

[Richard Williams]

I meant which of the AF lenses are better lenses. The standard kit zoom that came with it isn't very sharp. So I was thinking of getting a better AF one. Any recommendations? Tks.

I don't know what the kit zoom was at that point, but the 28-105 that came out a few years later (not really a kit zoom, but often bundled with the F100) is very good, has a useful range, and does semi-macro close focusing. Or you could go for one of the pro zooms like the 35-70 f/2.8 that Ben mentions, or the 28-70 f/2.8 that followed it. You generally won't go wrong with the AF primes from this period, though the 35/2 has a reputation for developing sticky aperture blades. The 50s, like the 50/1.4, are as excellent as you'd expect. The 105/2 DC is a really special lens for portraits (not for the DC effect, just generally):

 

Nikon 105mm f2 DC Users

 

I'm rather a fan of the old 70-210 f/4 AF, the fixed aperture version - it won't win any prizes for focusing speed, but everything else is good. See this link:

Dante Stella - 70-210 f/4 AF Nikkor

Edited August 10, 2020 by Richard Williams

[ben_hutcherson]

the 28-70 f/2.8 that followed it.

 

The 28-70mm f/2.8 won't AF on the N6006, unfortunately.

[Richard Williams]

The 28-70mm f/2.8 won't AF on the N6006, unfortunately.

Good catch! It's AF-S, of course. I suppose the 'missing link' in the other thread, the 28-80 f/2.8 (prototype?), would be the ultimate standard zoom for these cameras if you could ever find one.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Richard Williams

[ben_hutcherson]

Good catch! It's AF-S, of course. I suppose the 'missing link' in the other thread, the 28-80 f/2.8 (prototype?), would be the ultimate standard zoom for these cameras if you could ever find one.

 

Yes, that lens would have been great for this generation AF cameras. Admittedly the F4 should work perfectly with the 28-70mm f/2.8, but the early cameras won't. I imagine a lot of people were still using their fairly high end N8008 when the 28-70mm came out.

 

As much as I like the 35-70mm f/2.8, it's a bit cramped for me on the wide end.

[Richard Williams]

Yes, that lens would have been great for this generation AF cameras. Admittedly the F4 should work perfectly with the 28-70mm f/2.8, but the early cameras won't. I imagine a lot of people were still using their fairly high end N8008 when the 28-70mm came out.

 

As much as I like the 35-70mm f/2.8, it's a bit cramped for me on the wide end.

It seems really odd that nothing with a wider range reached production until the end of the 90s, especially if that 28-80 is what it seems. Looking back at the dates, Canon had a 28-70 f/2.8 in 1993 (with USM), yet when the strikingly advanced F5 launched in 1996 Nikon's fast standard zoom was still this limited range push-pull screwdriver lens from the previous decade, while their 80-200 was an early 90s refresh of another one-touch design from the same period. The 80-200 got its long-lived two ring makeover the following year, but it wasn't until 1999, six years after Canon, that you could put a 28-70 f/2.8 on that F5. Of course that year Nikon pulled out all the stops - a trio of AF-S f/2.8 zooms, the F100, and the D1.