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Older Nikkor Lenses
try http://www.aiconversions.com/ Marty McBride wrote: Sep 17 12 02:21 pm Link I wish I had some old gear to play with. Sep 17 12 02:27 pm Link Christopher Hartman wrote: Start with a Nikon Series E 50mm pancake. About $50 and a fantastic lens. Sep 18 12 03:57 am Link Tim Foster wrote: OH....my first lens ever that came with my Nikon FM. Very sharp, but haven't used it in years. Sep 18 12 07:33 am Link Creative Digital Imagez wrote: If I recall correctly, pre-AI lens will damage your camera if you attempt to mount it. This was true of pre-AI lens fitted onto AI Nikon bodies. You had to get an AI conversion done (didn't need to be AIS, just simply had to be AI'd) in order for it to fit without damaging the camera. cyberean wrote: Some of the Nikon film bodies had this switch option for that purpose (around the time that you'd still have some non-AI'd lens around). But a Digital SLR will not have this benefit, as they are only designed for AI lens or later. Sep 18 12 07:39 am Link Christopher Hartman wrote: I play with old gear all the time on my Olympus E-P3 lol. (nothing in nikon mount though, but I use an SMC Pentax-M 50/1.4, Jupiter-11 135/4, Tamron SP 90/2.8 1:1, etc on the olympus). Sep 18 12 07:42 am Link All of those are excellent lenses, though the lack of multicoating means you need to be mindful of off axis bright light sources to prevent flare or ghosts. Older Nikkors work quite well on digital cameras and 99% of them are built a WHOLE LOT BETTER than the ones Nikon is spitting out now. Some of them are junk mechanically, including some with PLASTIC bayonet mounts.......WTF?? It is possible to find some AI conversion kits on Fleabay and other places and DIY. I did this with an older 105mm non-AI Nikkor. But keep in mind that some lenses are a lot easier to do than others unless you are a repairman who knows how the things come apart. Some are easy and some are difficult. I have an older non-AI 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor I could not find a conversion kit for so I converted it myself using a Dremel and cut off wheel. What you will have to do is cut out a segment of the aperture ring (remove it from the lens first, you don't want brass or aluminum pieces getting inside the lens!) that will cover the entire range of the aperture movement. To look where the notch has to start with that particular lens, find a photo of an AI or AIS Nikkor variant of that lens and look where the notch starts. Use an aperture number as a reference point. Take enough of the aperture ring off so that the edge clears the tip of the aperture prong by a mm or so to ensure you will not get any binding Feb 02 13 06:14 pm Link I owned all three of those for years. Great lenses. Solid workhorses. Just watch for flare. Feb 02 13 07:25 pm Link . Feb 02 13 07:41 pm Link Got old and just repeated myself. Sorry. Feb 02 13 08:43 pm Link The 50mm is great. The 35mm is pretty awful. The 105mm is somewhere in between. All of them will have lower contrast, and colours will be less accurate than newer versions. They will also be much more prone to lens flare, haze, CA, etc. They were designed for black and white film, which has greater contrast and (depending on developing) resistance to haze than colour does. If you shoot black and white, and bump up your clarity or contrast a little, you'll love these lenses. Shooting colour, the only one you'll probably like is the 50mm. Feb 03 13 08:02 am Link Marty McBride wrote: Have each of them. Convert is one option, but another is just go get an older nikkormat, break out some film and rock and roll! Feb 03 13 09:38 am Link gl-amour wrote: I use my old Nikkor lenses on my Canon. Feb 03 13 03:20 pm Link Marty McBride wrote: I had all those back around 1972. BTW...Can't you use them on your digital bodies manually? I've never tried since I sold mine LONG ago. Feb 03 13 03:31 pm Link If you shoot mf lenses on a modern Nikon, consider one of these:http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Viewfinders/4752/DR-5-Screw-in-Right-Angle-Viewfinder.html It has revolutionized my use of MF glass, particularly my 50 f1.2 and Samyang 85 f1.4. Great accessory. Feb 23 13 05:43 pm Link |
