check out my awesomely beat-up Nikkor 35mm AI f/1.4

jenningsp

jenningsp

Well-known member
i just bought this sexy beast at my local photography store. yes it's beat-up but everything works perfectly :D

some specs:

it's f/1.4 so this baby is lightning fast!!!! also it kills my old 35mm f/2.5
it has 7 aperture blades... not at nice as the AIS version which has 9, but i bought this to use wide open, so that doesn't matter too much and i'm not opposed to heptagon(septagon?) shaped bokeh.

besides the wide aperture the biggest reason this baby is awesome is it's focus draw. it's a full 180 degrees from it's minimum 0.29 meters to it's infinity at 7 meters. this is much better than the AIS version and kills my 35 f/2.5 which is a measly 90 degrees.

another plus is these older lenses have a bit of dampening when you pull focus. it's makes them a joy to use. unlike my 35 f/2.5 which it so touchy that you almost always miss your mark - not helped my it's poor focus draw.

35mm is my most used focal length indoors and it was always a pain to use my old lens. i recommend you all go out and find one of these puppies :D

here are some photos of it with my FG-20

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catch
patrick
 
$200 AUD = $172 US
well i'm in australia, so we're dealing in australian currency and everything is more expensive here... our brand new lens prices are double what's on BandH. that's why I order everything online :D but when i saw this lens i just had to buy it. i was all set to order the same lens on KEH for more than twice as much.
still i would expect to pay a bit less than i did in the US, considering the sate it's in, but they're just not that available.
 
Brothers!
 

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mine's obviously the older brother who's come back from Nam and never been quite the same.... 387057
 
the 35mm 1.4 is a very rare lens, thats why I ask, they fetch a pretty penny if you can find them, and good find to you!

Jon
 
i'm still trying to find the 85mm AI f/1.4

i've never seen it. i was told they exist but i haven't found any confirmation. i can find the AIS version occasionally but the AF-D seems to be everywhere.
the only 85mm AI i can find is the f/1.8. maybe that's all that exists?
 
I have never seen or herd of an 85:1.4 that would be a great lens, Im just trying to get my hands on a cheaper 1.8, the prices have just gone insane on these lenses. I could imagine the 1.4 has a whole lot of glass if there is one. in the AI line of corse.


Jon
 
KEH.com has some decent prices on their "BGN" grade lenses, but they're not alway in stock, you've got to check every couple of days and snap them up quickly. last week they had some BGN 85mm AIS 1.4's in stock but i think they're gone now. their "EX" grade lenses are a bit over prices in my opinion, but they're alway in stock.... i wonder why? :D
 
I got the 85 f2. still a good and bright lens even though it looks battle damaged on the exterior, but very slightly reddish compared to 80 f1.9 645.

Ted
 
i was talking about the 85mm AIS f/1.4. keh always seem to have a lot of 35mm AIS f/1.4 lenses... it's an ok price. not cheap but not too expensive. you're generally paying for the security that keh offers as a well known good quality dealer.
 
heheh... forget what your first post is about already? hahaha...

but yea, the 85 seems to be something hard to come by... I didn't even know they had those, but then again I am just now starting to be concerned with glass...

add some grabs to the thread if you can
 
Steve Shovlar said:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/8514AF.htm
Rockwell reckons its a great lens but expensive. Buy the 85mm 1.8 instead and save money.
Click to expand...

That's not what he said, especially not for slow video-cameras as opposed to still cameras:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Recommendations[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This is a tough call because the 85mm f/1.8D AF is also so good, so why spend three times as much for 2/3 stop? [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It has better bokeh than the f/1.8 version, is built much more like a tank, takes today's standard 77mm filters and seems to have better AF accuracy than the f/1.8 model allowing you to make good use of the maximum aperture.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]On the other hand, I don't have an 85mm f/1.8D AF because it's not much faster than my 80-200 f/2.8 and I'm out of room in my bag. In this case, f/1.4 certainly is a lot faster than f/2.8, so that makes it more of a temptation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Personally, I don't do much available light hand held shooting with an 85mm. Remember that you loose a stop or two of low-light ability compared to a 50mm or 28mm f/1.4 because of the longer focal length. You can shoot successful at slower speeds with a wide angle lens.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If you want a fast 85mm it's a winner."[/FONT]
 
Don't know if any of you are avid still photographers but my advice would be to take all Ken Rockwell advice with a large grain of salt. He is knowledgable and smart but often his proclamations are ridiculous.

Dan
 
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