For Sale Benefit Sale: Nikon F3 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AIS (not Series E). $130

Benefit Sale: Nikon F3 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AIS (not Series E). Glass is crystal clear. All shutter speeds are right on the money. Focus smooth and buttery. Frame counter works perfectly. Meter right on. Everything just as it should be except the little flip-up portion of the rewind lever came off so now rewinding is a bit slower. Cosmetics show just a tiny spot or two of lightest use. Even the little JCII sticker is still there! Modestly priced at $130 to allow APUGers to sample some wonderful hardware at sub-eBay prices. Please, "flippers" are banned from this sale. You know who you are. I reserve the right to deny sale to same. All proceeds including shipping charges will benefit our local community radio station, WCUW, broadcasting at 91.3 FM in Worcester, MA and also streaming at www.wcuw.org. Buyer pays only actual shipping. Enjoy!!

Just To Clarify. The lens you're selling isn't the AIS version, but the much better "long nose" AI version (which is possibly the best lens Nikon ever made).
Good luck with the sale.

Hmmm.... I feel thirty years of Nikomania crumbling away underneath me. Here is the back of the lens. This screenshot is from the Nikon USA support page. Is this not AIS? Eeek!?

PM sent

Looks like this is already sold, but if not I would like to be the next owner! (Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to send an PM. I can be contacted at chjebo@myfairpoint.net )

loman said:

Just To Clarify. The lens you're selling isn't the AIS version, but the much better "long nose" AI version (which is possibly the best lens Nikon ever made).
Good luck with the sale.

Click to expand...

If you look here:
http://www.destoutz.ch/lenses_standard_50mm_f2.html

it implies that there are two releases that look like the 50mm f/2 Ai separated by two releases that look almost like an E series lens. I have always thought that the fabled 'long nose' has a reduced extension of the filter threads like so:
http://www.destoutz.ch/lens_50mm_f1.8_3209712.html
and not a straight cylinder:
http://www.destoutz.ch/lens_50mm_f1.8_1828564.html

I have a sample of the first, 318xxxx, and it does outperform my 50mm f/2 Ai by a very small but visible margin, but this is on a 65" wide digital image and you have to work to see it. The f/2 wide open has its own lovely thing going. I shoot Tri-X so I don't care about pixel-peeping. The 50 f/2 H.C. was already so good I wonder if Nikon was chasing the 50mm summicron, out of determination and pride. It would be nice to know the whole story before all those guys are gone.

That having been said the buyer robbed the bank on this one; outstanding bargain.

s-a

Thank you for the interest, everyone. The camera and lens have been sold! Much appreciated.

Jon