Michael R Freeman

Hood bayonet fitting on the AF 35-70/2.8D ...

All HB series (Bayonet) lens hoods attach via a bayonet fitting on the inside circumference of the the hood to grooves on the outside circumference of the front lens barrel. Filters or other accessories (such as a lens cap) can be mounted, and the hood can be removed or attached while the filter/accessory is attached.

Ditto (although I have been here for 16, albeit much less frequently the past few). It's really sad to see what has become of a once great site that was a thriving on-line community, and really, really sad to see all the goodwill that the current owners of this site have squandered. It's been evident to me for a very long time that they really don't care about the members that have contributed (for FREE) tremendous content to the great photography knowledge base that was photo.net. FWIW, I stopped paying subscription fees to the absentee faceless corporate owner long ago. And yes Ben, I remember Josh Root very well (and Brian Mottershead before him). He and many other former photo.net Heros (remember that little recognition, now gone) are missed. :(

More precisely perhaps ;), the AF-N was the New autofocus lens series that followed the original AF lenses from circa 1986 that had a hard, very narrow plastic manual focusing ring. The AF-N version which succeeded the original lenses has the wider focusing ring with rubber grip. And yes, no autofocus capability on D3xxx and D5xxx bodies.

Exactly. There is a difference. :-)

I have serviced dozens and dozens of Ai and AiS lenses, including complete mechanical teardowns. Well over 100 lenses from 24mm to 200mm. I said the former was generally more robust internally than the latter, not that one gave any more trouble compared to the other.

Nothing wrong with Ai lenses. With a few notable exceptions (28mm f/2.8 for one) many are identically optically to their later AiS successors, although the very latest AiS production models would have slightly improved coatings (SIC vs. NIC). Many Ai lens are more "robust" mechanically than the same lens in AiS, with a much more refined internal construction with tighter tolerances. One advantage of AiS lenses over Ai in the digital age is that many of them can have a CPU chip added to work with lower end "dumb" DSLRs and to allow electronic aperture control, Due to the non-linear nature of the aperture linkage, that's not a practical option on Ai lenses.

That focus stop adjustment mechanism is typical of most Ai Nikkor primes 200mm and shorter. Exceptions are the Ai 50/1.8 and Ai 50/1.4 which uses the same very thin brass "slip ring" as the AiS "long nose" 50/1.8 and other small AiS primes to adjust the focus stop.

Usually when a helicoid set is mated together incorrectly, the focus is WAY, WAY off. Most (maybe all) manual focus Nikkors can be adjusted for infinity focus without dismantling the helicoid. A lot of the small AiS Nikkors are quite easy to adjust, the older Ai and non-Ai Nikkors are a little more difficult. Sorry, no experience with this particular lens, but any professional technician should be able to fix this for you.

The AiS Micro-Nikkor 55/2.8 is a fairly complex lens mechanically because of the rear CRC group ("floating" element group). Whoever had this one apart was apparently not competent enough to reassemble it correctly. Send it back and don't attempt to use it on your D3300. Buggered up as it is it may damage the mechanical stopdown linkages in your camera.

I would second that recommendation. Had both (on an F4). The SB-25 is a much better Speedlight.

I think the F4 is still the best manual focus AF camera Nikon ever made. I still miss mine. Has a fantastic viewfinder, lots of focusing screen options, it is solid as a brick, and the extra mass makes for very stable handholding (who needs VR!). I used it extensively with manual Ais lenses. I preferred the smaller 4 cell MB-20 battery pack loaded with AA Lithiums, which does reduce the bulk and weight quite a bit, but even in its smallest configuration it is still quite a bit larger and heavier than an FE. At one point a few years back the MB-20 was hard to find and commanded a rather high premium on the used market. Don't know if the same holds true today. The F3 has a much better viewfinder than the FE series, both in terms of eyepoint and focusing screens. I believe the DE-2 standard viewfinder has slightly higher magnification than the high eyepoint DE-3, but the DE-2 is a much scarcer item since most F3's sold were F3HP models with the DE-3 finder. Lots of good info on both the F3 and F4 here: Modern Classic 35mm SLR Camera - The Professional Nikon F3, 1980~2001 Nikon F4 Series SLR camera models - Main Index Page

Flat water. From a quiet summer's eve a couple of weeks ago. D7000, AF-S 16-85mm f3.5-5.6 VR.

The final version of the Ai Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 for comparison. No floating group, just simple unit focusing. Both are precision mechanical masterpieces. It's no wonder these lenses have endured for decades.

Having serviced a couple of these, I can assure you that it does. ;-) :- ) It's one of the reasons this lens gets a really stiff focus action when the lubricant dries out. The floating group is a small diameter helical with a steep thread pitch that requires quite a bit of torque to move when the grease degrades. I also think the CRC group is the area of the 55/2.8 primarily responsible for wicking lubricant to the aperture assembly.

LOL! Alas, the latter is wishful thinking, and the value and relevance of the former seems to diminish with each passing year. :) If I remember correctly the older style (side pinch) 77mm cap does fit the end of the hood quite nicely. Not sure about the newer style center pinch cap. I have the HN-24, but if I have a 77mm cap, I can't lay my hands on it tonight. Getting old and forgetful I guess. :rolleyes:

See here: Nikon Lens Hood Specifications - Rick Housh

<p>I used an AF-S 24~85mm G lens on an F4 for years. Worked absolutely perfectly in P or S modes. No issues with metering accuracy. Nor should there be. Functionally a "G" lens in P & S modes on an F4 works *exactly* as an earlier AF-D lens would work in P or S modes.</p>

<p>Happy New Year to all! While sitting at the dining room table for lunch on the second day of the new year, I looked out to see that we had a surprise visitor to the back yard ...</p><div></div>

<p>The twin looks like a Beechcraft 18.<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_18">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_18</a></p>

<p>As far as I can recall, it has always been a policy of the Nikon forum (and probably others) to not allow eBay links. The primary reason for the ban was/is to prevent new users (a.k.a. spammers) from signing up and then flooding the forum with links to their auctions.</p> <p>You can always reference the eBay item number or seller ID sans link if you want to offer an eBay sourced solution to an OP's problem.</p> <p> </p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"...it may have been converted to an AI which would explain why you feel it worked fine."</em></p> </blockquote> <p>From the photo she posted, it has definitely *not* been converted to AI.</p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"how come it mounted fine and shots fine.. ?"</em></p> </blockquote> <p>This lens is definitely non-AI. It might have mounted and "shot fine", but it did not properly couple with the camera meter and it definitely put unwanted pressure on the AI tab. Continued use could result in damage to said AI tab.</p> <p>Do you have a copy of the manual for the FM2N? If so, read the section on page 50 titled "IMPORTANT!". If you don't have a manual, you can download one here, and read the warning:<br /> <a href="http://cdn-10.nikon-cdn.com/pdf/manuals/archive/FM2.pdf">http://cdn-10.nikon-cdn.com/pdf/manuals/archive/FM2.pdf</a><br> -</p> <blockquote> <p><em>"what is the AI aperture coupling tab?"</em></p> </blockquote> <p>You can view an image of the AI aperture coupling tab at this link (<a href="http://codex.bluemooncamera.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IMG_1330.jpg">http://codex.bluemooncamera.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IMG_1330.jpg</a>). The tab and ring is plastic on the FM2N and can be damaged by forcibly mounting a non-AI lens if there is significant interference between the back of the aperture ring and the AI tab.</p> <p> </p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"Is older 55mm 1.2 AI lens ..."</em></p> </blockquote> <p>I have not worked on the Ai 55/1.2, nor do I have a parts diagram for this lens, but my guess from looking at the focusing ring construction (removable nosepiece) would be that no, it does not use tape to secure a split focusing ring. Most small Ai lenses have a significantly different arrangement for focus stops compared to their later AiS successors.</p><div></div>

<p>As I said, you might be shocked and/or surprised. ;-) :)</p> <p>Here is the "part", located under the rubber grip, that is used to adjust the position of the front half of the focusing ring (and thus the focusing extension) relative to the rear half with fixed focusing stops...</p><div></div>