Ai Or Ais for fiming?

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vortex677

Well-known member
Can somebody tell me what is better to be used for filming. I have a letus adapter and i have a nikon mount. I want to buy the nikon 50mm 1.4 ai or ais version please let me know which is better for film. Thanks in advance for all information provided.
 
There will be no appreciable difference between the two mounts. Either one could be preferable, you will need to research each individual lens. AI are earlier models, AI-s are later. The main difference as applies to adapters is the aperture, AI stops down to f16, AI-s to f22. You will be using an open aperture settings anyway so it doesn't matter. In many cases the optics will be the same. In some cases the optics will be upgraded in the AI-s model but not always for the better. According to Ken Rockwell (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/50f14ai.htm) the 50mm f1.8 is cheaper and performs better. Opinions are mixed on Ken Rockwell's reviews but taken with a pinch of salt his site is the usual first port of call for lens reviews. A great comprehensive site with more information and less opinion is: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index4.htm

Personally I use 50mm 1.8 series E with no issues and cost me about $60. 50mm is by far the cheapest and most boring lens. A normal 35mm and portrait 85mm are much nicer focal lengths. After that a wide 20mm or 24mm and medium tele 105mm or 135mm will give you a nice selection and cover most your bases. Explore both those sites, do your research and before you know it you will be addicted to buying lenses.
 
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Additionally, AI generally has a longer focus throw than AIS. On top of what was mentioned about the AIS, it was revamped for faster/quicker focusing thus a very short throw. As mentioned, you will generally find the same optics, however some do have better and upgraded optics.

This chart helped me decide if I could've saved some extra $$ by going AI over AIS. http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html

Good luck!
 
AF lenses are also useable - they have less focus damping (looser focus feel), but some of them are classics, like the 80-200 2.8 and the 35-70 2.8.

If you ever spot a 100mm series E 2.8, snatch that baby up - mojo, mojo, mojo. I paid like $90 for one.

Check ebay for people selling old Nikon bodies - you can sometimes get a consumer-ish body with a nice lens for less than just the lens.

And KEH.com is a fantastic resource for used glass.
 
Thanks everyone. Michael I have the 100mm i bought it off ebay as well. I got it dirt cheap because I made a best offer and told him I was looking for a lense with no internal dust which is immpossible to find. So he gave it to me for a good price of 60 buz. It looks brand new but has a few specs of internal dust in it and it didint effect the quality of picture anyways so it was a steal.

Egg Born Son
I have many primes. accept a 35mm. It's just for some of my shots i'm looking for that special 50mm focal length. My usual is 85, 100, and 105mm depending on the situation. I will look more i9nto someof these lenses like you said. I am looking to purchasing a 35mm as well. I have toyed around with the 50mm 1.4 and love how fast it is and the sharpness of the picture. Guess I have alot of home work to do. Thanks a bunch guys.
 
AI-S because they are newer and sometimes have modifications to the design that were not present in the AI version, and because AI-S has higher resale value if you decide to sell them down the road.
 
Bear in mind when looking at these lens evaluation sites that they have almost always been reviewed from an exclusively still photo perspective. An inferior lens with superior automated functions may edge out a better quality but inconvenient MF lens in their assessment. Things like a long lens throw are beneficial for video but may be considered bad for stills. A push-pull style zoom lens can create issues used for a video (especially when loose) but allows you to conveniently focus and zoom with the same control. Your set up and support gear may influence which features you will want to look for.
 
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Egg Born Son said:
Bear in mind when looking at these lens evaluation sites that they have almost always been reviewed from an exclusively still photo perspective. An inferior lens with superior automated functions may edge out a better quality but inconvenient MF lens in their assessment. Things like a long lens throw are beneficial for video but may be considered bad for stills. A push-pull style zoom lens can create issues used for a video (especially when loose) but allows you to conveniently focus and zoom with the same control. Your set up and support gear may influence which features you will want to look for.
Click to expand...

^ BOOM! This.

AIS may have better resell value, but as noted... with such a short throw, not the best for us video users. AI in most cases will have the same optics with longer throws. Yes, they are older and perhaps some are less sharp. But majority are only shooting DSLRs. If you want tack sharp for 4k use, then you're budget is substantially higher.
 
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