vintage Nikon glass on af100

O

Orlando McNulty

Active member
Hi. I'm just wondering how people are finding using older Nikon nikkor glass on the af100. Which lenses in particular work the best. I am thinking of getting a 17-35mm f2.8, a 24-70mm f2.8, and a few fixed lenses.

Any tips on where to buy used lenses, and which ones in particular are notable.

Thank you!
 
I have about 7 of them, and I like them all. Though I would say that my new Voigtlander 25 f.95 is better than all of them in overall optical quality. My subjective opinion. I have a 28 f 2.0 which I like, an old 50 f 2 which has a nice bokeh, the 35 f 2 is really sharp, as is the 105 f 2. The 85 f 2 is quite nice, and I have a nice zoom, an 80-200 f4 all the way through, that ofcourse gives me the 35mm equivalent of a 160-400.
I got a good deal on these lenses because I bought them at the used lens counter of the local camera store. People go in those stores to buy newer digital cameras and trade in their old manual lenses. So in the general public, there's low demand for those lenses. But not for us. I think I did better in the store than I could have done on Ebay, and you can actually inspect and try the lens out, and return it if you need to.
 
I found someone who sells old cameras at a flea market. Used lenses at camera stores are worth it too, but you won't find a ridiculously good deal like the flea market. :D
 
Here is the Holy Grail of serial number reference on every Nikkor ever made. I think..
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html

Nikon has been using the same F mount since the 60's, well it changed a little when "Ai" versions came in but that wont make a difference on a AF100 or 5D/7D. So any of the Nikon version adapters for the AF will work. Most of my Nikkors are from the 90's that I shot stills with but I did pick up a late 60's 135mm 2.8Q that is in mint condition for $80 bucks. It's not multi-coated so if a little sun is hitting the glass, it turns to 1970's magic. Haha..
 
I love my old Nikon Glass, and it is all I use on my AF100. My Nikon 35mm 1.4 is my favorite, with my Tokina 11-16mm, Bower 85mm 1.4 (great bang for buck), and Nikon 50 1.4 being my goto kit My 24mm finds alot of use, but I wish I got the f2 over the f2.8. I kinda wish I had a 20mm sometime in close office buildings when the 24 is to tight, and I dont want to use the super wide tokina. Def. get the fast glass, 1.4 if possible. I also like the AI series the best, with AI-s and n-AI as a second choice, and AF/G as a last resort.

Also, I LOVE the bower 85mm 1.4. New it is under $350, sharp, and fast. That and the Tokina 11-16mm are my favorite non-nikon brand nikon lenses, I would go for nikon brand glass for everything else.
 
Try the used dept at B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/35mm-Lenses/ci/3018/N/4294247086
and Adorama.com, and of course Ebay. There are tons of them out there, and very affordable. Especially the fully manual ones, and you can check reviews at kenrockwell.com so you know what you're buying.
Get an adapter from Rainbowimaging and you even can use the DX lenses without aperture ring.
There are also a bunch of decent Vivitars (F-mount, get the Series 1) out there, even more affordable.
 
Lenses I use:

Primes:
20mm f3.5 AI-s (I like it, but I eventually want to upgrade to a faster 20mm lens)
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/2035.htm
35mm f2 D-AF (I love the crisp look, but it is a plastic housing and worries me a little, so I'll eventually upgrade)
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35af.htm
50mm f1.4 D-AF (I love the crisp look, but it is a plastic housing and it now wobbles a little while rack focusing, so upgrading this lens is priority #1)
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5014af.htm
85mm f1.8 D-AF (I love the crisp look, but it is a plastic housing and worries me a little, so I'll eventually upgrade)
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/85AF.htm
105mm f 2.5 AI-s (Awesome lens, there is a faster f1.8 105mm Nikon that I'll eventually upgrade to, but it is not a priority right now)
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/105f25.htm
135mm f2.8 AI-s (Another awesome lens, there is a faster f2 135mm Nikon that I'll eventually upgrade to, but it is not a priority right now)
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/135f28.htm

Zooms:
Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 (Best lens I own!)
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm

Bottom line I like the look of all the lenses and I got most of them fairly cheap. I will probably eventually be upgrading all of the primes tho for a better, faster, or more robust version.
 
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Looking forward to using my Nikon's on my AF due to arrive in next few weeks.

35mm 1.4 is a great 80's photographers journo lens, 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.2 both exceptional, 105mm 2.5 (old metal casing paid $50 at used camera store). Just found and had declicked a crap 70-210mm 4.0 Macro Vivitar that I found same used camera store for $30. Great find! 35-70mm 2.8 Nikon ($200) vintage push pull sticky but great glass and new Tokina 16-50mm 2.8 that I am loving. I would say the 85 and the 105 are my favorite prime lenses for beauty, documentary pick up shots portrait etc. Nikkor 135mm 2.0 is the lens I covet most and the new Duclos 70-200 mod! I had all the lenses declicked by my local camera repair dude, makes a huge difference having the half stops.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800765724-USE/Nikon__Telephoto_105mm_f_2_5_AI.html $125 on BH now! Great deal, great lens.
 
I bought most of my lens on Ebay with pretty good luck. 24mm f2.0 $290.00, 35mm F1.4 $500.00, 85mm F1.8 $200.00 and 80-200mm F2.8 $725.00. I also found a 14-24mm F2.8 $1400.00 at a local camera shop (Houston Camera Exchange). My favorite is 35mm F1.4 and the 80-200, I shot some Kite-boarding footage with the 80-200 this past weekend and it performed awesome on a Sachtler Soom FSB8 head no visible vibrations from wind or touching camera. One piece of advice before you pull the trigger on a lens check out Kenrockell.com for his review.
 
I have a range of Nikon glass from the early 70's on. All work really well except an early 70's 35mm f1.4 does have a warm/yellowish cast - maybe due to the 40 year old coatings? So I would recommend any lenses from 1980's on.
 
The Nikon 35mm 1.4 might be one of those lenses with a radioactive thorium element that tends to yellow over time. To get rid of the yellow cast, point the glass at the sun for about a week... the UV rays clear it right up. I had the same thing on a Canon FD 35mm f2, which was yellow to start, but now is water clear.

For more info: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/0054IM
 
I bought the Voigtlander but when I found out that the Novaflex actually has an aperture control ring which I can use on the newer lenses, I snapped that up and I'm glad I did. I have 3 Tokina lenses that I can now use the stops on. If you are not worried about using newer lenses then the Voigtlander will work just fine and much cheaper too. I'm actually selling my Voigtlander adaptor if anyone is interested.
 
pianoboy said:
The Nikon 35mm 1.4 might be one of those lenses with a radioactive thorium element that tends to yellow over time. To get rid of the yellow cast, point the glass at the sun for about a week... the UV rays clear it right up. I had the same thing on a Canon FD 35mm f2, which was yellow to start, but now is water clear.

For more info: http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/0054IM
Click to expand...

Thanks pianoboy for the good info. Would you believe I returned the lens to the shop I brought it from today before I read your thread!
 
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