Growing Lens Supply

no way.

you can get a 50mm F1.4 manual for 50 bucks. Also, stay away from electronic lenses. You want to have full manual control.

go here:

www.keh.com

much better deals.

Even www.ebay.com. I got my entire set for a thousand bucks. 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm, 135mm
 
That lens will give you full manual control. I'd spend the extra $$$ and get the 1.4 AF-D. That way you have a fast lens for your Letus and full autofocus for your D80
 
I just bought this lens....10 minutes ago...from BH...to use with my coming Brevis35mm.

50mm1.8F and 24mm2.8F.
 
Marco.L said:
I just bought this lens....10 minutes ago...from BH...to use with my coming Brevis35mm.

50mm1.8F and 24mm2.8F.
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Well that's good to know!

Do any of you have any experience with the Nikkor lens? Are they good - not great, but good?
 
sinapps said:
That lens will give you full manual control. I'd spend the extra $$$ and get the 1.4 AF-D. That way you have a fast lens for your Letus and full autofocus for your D80
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Unfortunately that's an extra hundred dollars :(.
 
To expand on PaPa's suggestion, so far I've purchased:

Nikon/Nikor 28mm AI (f2.8)
50mm AI (f1.4)
200mm AI (f4)
Soligar 17-105mm (f3.5) Constant aperture, Para focus zoom lens

All from ebay and have spent about $270 in total. All are in great shape. You just have to be patient to find the deals.
 
HVXOU said:
Hey guys,

I do not own an adapter yet, but I do own a Nikon D80. I love to shoot still photos, and I am saving to buy a Letus with the Nikon mount. Anyway, I am looking for a descent 50mm lens. I would love something like a Zeiss, but that's a little out of the price range right now.

I was thinking about this one... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/247091-USA/Nikon_2137_Normal_AF_Nikkor_50mm.html

Thoughts?
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DO NOT GET THIS LENS. Follow Papa's and mvansomeren's suggestions.
We have a lot of nikon 50mm lenses in our facility, this one included.

WHY NOT?
1. because this has a small degree of turn when focusing that makes it difficult in use with your adapter.

2. in manual mode (since this is AF) the focus knob/barrel doesnt have a smooth viscous drag that allows you to rack smoothly. Its kinda loose and wont make your focusing smooth.

THIS LENS WHEN USED WITH YOUR DSLR HOWEVER IS A VERY FAST AND RESPONSIVE LENS.

A used manual AI 50mm f1.4 is much better than a AF f1.8 when used in an adapter.


Ted
 
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I would steer anyone away from the Nikon 28mm 2.8 D, I have one with my Letus and it is a POS, vignettes like crazy, super soft in the corners. Not a great still lens either.

I own ten Nikon lenses and the difference in build quality between the older MF AI-S and the newer D and G series is astounding. The old MF lenses are works of art, silky smooth focus mechanism, clearer picture, etc. The newer D and G series lenses are okay but not built nearly as well as the older MF lenses.

My favorites are the 85mm 1.8 AI-S and the 50mm 1.4 AIS. Bought both of them off of Ebay for good prices and both basically look like brand new factory fresh lenses. Love them.

The Zeiss ZFs are better but the law of diminishing returns proves out here, they are a little better and cost a LOT more than the older AI-S Nikons. Noth worth it for most users, unless money is not an object.

Dan
 
Ok, I understand the effectiveness of the manual focus over the autofocus, but as it stands right now, I don't have the money for the adapter, and I probably won't for a while. My biggest concern is the quality of the picture, because I can put up with a little bit of a touchy focus. I also like the idea of being able to use it for both devices, but having the full features for both. Is their any merit to the idea?

Thanks guys.
 
If I were you, I would go to a used camera supplier and just pickup and feel the difference. I have 4 D lenses and they are good. But the old Nikons that I have and use on the Letus are better built and look better.

Keep in mind that I also use these MF Nikons on my D300, I can even enter the lens data into the menu and I get matrix metering and flash info. Pretty cool. Unless you are shooting sports or candids, AF is way overrated anyway, we all used MF for decades. If you are a good photographer, you can manually focus without too much trouble.

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
If I were you, I would go to a used camera supplier and just pickup and feel the difference. I have 4 D lenses and they are good. But the old Nikons that I have and use on the Letus are better built and look better.

Keep in mind that I also use these MF Nikons on my D300, I can even enter the lens data into the menu and I get matrix metering and flash info. Pretty cool. Unless you are shooting sports or candids, AF is way overrated anyway, we all used MF for decades. If you are a good photographer, you can manually focus without too much trouble.

Dan
Click to expand...

Your point is well take, thank you.
 
Also, take a look at the 58mm Voightlander 1.4. It's about 350.00. It rates as high as the ZF's optically and it has a build and focus draw on par with them. They're both actually made by the same company (Cosina).
 
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