which Nikon zoom lens for FM2n?

[erudolph]

Hi... i'm a new member and pretty inexperienced photographer too. i have inherited a

nikon FM2n which currently has a Tokina 35-135 mm 3.5-4.5 lens on it.

 

i am wondering if it makes sense (would be a big improvement) to switch to a nikon

zoom lens. and, if so, which to go for: the 28-200 mm or the 35-200mm?

 

i'd like to hear people's experiences or opinions of those two lens and how they

compare to the tokina?

 

thanks for any info and help!

ed

[david_h._hartman]

75~150/3.5 Series E, AF 35~70/2.8D, 25~50/4.0 AIS, 80~200/4.0 AIS, AF 80~200/2.8D ED, 50~135/3.5 AIS. I�d skip the two you mentioned. I don�t own the 50~135/3.5 but I understand it has a good reputation. I stay away form zooms with more than a 1:3 zoom ratio. Very often there is too much distortion. Any lens with a variable aperture will be a pain to use on that camera. Many AF lenses have a very short throw on the focus and are difficult to use on a manual focus body.

 

Do buy some prime lenses like a 24/2.8, 35/2.0, 50/1.8 all AI or AIS. The 105/2.5 is a classic, again AI or AIS.

 

Regards,

 

Dave.

[rick_walker]

I'll second everything that Dave said and add a couple more zoom choices. The 35-70mm 3.5 AIS and 28-50mm 3.5 AIS are also quality lenses and work well on the FM2n since they don't have variable maximum apertures.

 

The 35-200mm Nikkor actually has a pretty good reputation, but I don't recommend using "all-in-one" lenses. Most of them have pretty distant close focusing distances and are unpleasant to carry around on a camera all day.

 

If it were me, and I wanted a nice, relatively affordable lens outfit to use with an FM2n, here's what I would look at:

 

24mm 2.8 AIS; either a 35mm 2.0 or 50mm 1.4 AIS (I would prefer the 35mm); 80-200mm 4.0 AIS; Nikon 5T close-up filter to use on 80-200mm.

 

This set will cover just about everything you would want (with the exception of bashful wildlife) and do it with quality.

[albert_smith]

I would agree with the lenses in David and Rick's answers for one every important un-stated reason... with a manual exposure camera such as the FM2... variable aperture zooms are not as quick to use.

 

Put a nice constant aperure zoom on your FM2, zoom to the long end to elliminate conflicting lighting that could skew the exposure, set the aperture / shutterspeed combination, and now zoom freely with no regard to the aperture which will stay at a constant setting. This effectivly tightens up the metering pattern and can get you closer to an optimum exposure in tricky lighting.

 

Variable aperture zooms can be fine in static situation, when you have time to tweak (often in fractions of a stop) the aperture ring after zooming, but for sure the FM2 is quicker and more accurate when f/8 is always f/8... not f/9.4 or f/10.3 depending on where you are zoomed to.

 

For the FM2... think low ratio, constant aperture zooms. Or if you are serious, a couple of primes (like say a 35mm / 85mm combo) will make the FM2 really sing.

[melvin_bramley]

I don't think that the Tokina is such a bad lens.Stick with it & buy more film untill you have more experience & become more critical. If you absolutley must buy a lens;buy a good used Nikkor 50mm F2 (cheap) & use it as a benchmark to see how good a lens can be.

[marker]

I have a used AF 80-200/2,8 early type. On my FM2n i use it in M-mode, then I can manually focus - No problem at all.

 

The pictures are super.

 

Thomas