I needed some quicky advice. What's the best / cheapest 35mm prime nikon-mount lens I can buy for the letus extreme? I need to purchase something ASAP, so if you can provide links I would really appreciate it. It has to be wider than 25mm which is what I have right now.
What's The Best Wide-Angle Lens for the Letus Extreme?
- Thread starter TheThe
- Start date
Shooter
Veteran
"best and cheapest " can not be used in the same sentence when it comes to what you want.
BTW - I have never heard of a 25mm Nikkor lens before.
Reference site
\http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/nikkor.htm
BTW - I have never heard of a 25mm Nikkor lens before.
Reference site
\http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/nikkor.htm
Last edited:
Thanks for the link. By the way, the 25mm lens I was referring to is the Zeiss ZF one. That one is definitely 25mm. On the best / cheapest wording (notice how I didn't include the word "and") I simply meant the better one for the money. If I had $1,500 I would just go for the Zeiss ZF 18mm and be done with it... But I need to get something cheaper for right now... So if anyone knows what the best choice is for around $600-ish or so please do let me know.
el presidente
Well-known member
Have you considered changing the mount to FD?
they cannot be adapted very easily for use on non FD cameras, that makes them better value meaning more "bang for ya buck" (ahem parden the expression).
they cannot be adapted very easily for use on non FD cameras, that makes them better value meaning more "bang for ya buck" (ahem parden the expression).
I already own the 25mm, 50mm and 85mm Zeiss ZF lenses. So I'm just trying to maintain everything as consistent as possible.
smithy
Well-known member
The term BEST and/or CHEAPEST...doesn't exactly go hand in hand. I find that using my 24mm and 28mm Nikkor Primes are good. But they are not even in the category of Zeiss lenses. You have to consider, how often would you be using that wide of a lenses and your current bankroll. I use mostly my 35mm., 50mm and 85mm as my bread and butter lenses. I use my wides mostly for effect shots as well as areas that are tight in nature. What you already have should suffice, even though it is nice to get a 135mm at times because it really creates a nice bokeh on closeups, that you might look into. Especially if you taking ECU of people facial reactions to add character to your story. I also use a directors lupe that really cuts down on lense selection time when setting up my shots.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
The The, I am hunting for a dual purpose WA for my Nikon still shooting and for use on my Letus Extreme. I have been investigating this for months. Unfortunately there are no easy answers...
Nikon D Primes - 28mm, 24mm and 20mm
I already own the 28mm.8D, it is a POS, very soft in the corners and soft all over. After reading bascially every test and review on the web, the 24mm and 20mm are marginally better, but neither are great lenses, they are okay lenses.
Nikon AI and AIS primes - 20mm 3.5 and 20mm 4.0
Both are very highly thought of and can be found if you look around, they are sharp and mechanically works of art, much more in line with your Cosina Japanese Zeiss. Unfortunately, a 3.5 or 4.0 prime is too slow for use on an adapter IMHO, unless you mostly shoot exteriors.
Nikon 14mm 2.8 AFS prime - Great lens, but bubble element lens in front means you would probably have a hard time using it with a matte box and the only filters that can be used are internal. Also probably out of your budget range, even used.
Nikon 18mm and 15mm primes - Both are susceptible to ghosts and flares in the extreme and are also probably too slow for adapter usage
Nikon 14-24 AFS G - Too expensive and doesn't have an aperture ring
Based upon my research, there is no ideal $500.00 to $600.00 WA Nikon lens that is perfect for 35mm adapter use. There are WAs that are perfect for usage like the 17-35 2.8, but they are way out of your budget range.
The 18-35 AFS ED is a decent little lens but too slow at a 3.5 at 18mm and a 4.5 afterwards.
My compromise will be the 20mm 2.8D prime. It is not a great lens, it is too soft in the corners and overall, not a razor sharp lens. But it does provide a 94 degree AOV, will autofocus with my film cameras and will hopefully be semi-acceptable on my Letus.
There are a lot of opportunities for Nikon to put out some new higher quality wide angle primes but so far, the new 35mm 1.8 DX is the only offering and DX is useless on an adapter and 35mm isn't really wide anyway.
There you have it.
Dan
Nikon D Primes - 28mm, 24mm and 20mm
I already own the 28mm.8D, it is a POS, very soft in the corners and soft all over. After reading bascially every test and review on the web, the 24mm and 20mm are marginally better, but neither are great lenses, they are okay lenses.
Nikon AI and AIS primes - 20mm 3.5 and 20mm 4.0
Both are very highly thought of and can be found if you look around, they are sharp and mechanically works of art, much more in line with your Cosina Japanese Zeiss. Unfortunately, a 3.5 or 4.0 prime is too slow for use on an adapter IMHO, unless you mostly shoot exteriors.
Nikon 14mm 2.8 AFS prime - Great lens, but bubble element lens in front means you would probably have a hard time using it with a matte box and the only filters that can be used are internal. Also probably out of your budget range, even used.
Nikon 18mm and 15mm primes - Both are susceptible to ghosts and flares in the extreme and are also probably too slow for adapter usage
Nikon 14-24 AFS G - Too expensive and doesn't have an aperture ring
Based upon my research, there is no ideal $500.00 to $600.00 WA Nikon lens that is perfect for 35mm adapter use. There are WAs that are perfect for usage like the 17-35 2.8, but they are way out of your budget range.
The 18-35 AFS ED is a decent little lens but too slow at a 3.5 at 18mm and a 4.5 afterwards.
My compromise will be the 20mm 2.8D prime. It is not a great lens, it is too soft in the corners and overall, not a razor sharp lens. But it does provide a 94 degree AOV, will autofocus with my film cameras and will hopefully be semi-acceptable on my Letus.
There are a lot of opportunities for Nikon to put out some new higher quality wide angle primes but so far, the new 35mm 1.8 DX is the only offering and DX is useless on an adapter and 35mm isn't really wide anyway.
There you have it.
Dan
jenningsp
Well-known member
you could get a used 14mm f2.8 tamron for $749 - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/162054/Tamron_AF69N700_14mm_f_2_8_Aspherical_IF.html