Just picked up a Nikkor * ED 180/2.8 for $100!

[okto]

I'd been GASing after this lens for a while, but the $450 KEH wanted for an EX condition one was just too far out of my university-student price range ("Do I really need a fridge? How much can I sell my bed for?").
My parents gave me $200 toward photo equipment for Christmas, so I drove over to the closest real camera store (Leicas and Neopan are my barometer). Lo and behold, next to the zoom I asked to see (which turned out to be a 1970s Tamron--ick) sat an impossibly fat lens with a gold band. Since I hadn't gotten to actually handle one, I asked to see it as well and when I saw "Nikkor 180/2.8 - $100" on the barrel, I almost dropped it.

It's dinged up and worn on the outside, but all the markings are still clear, the gold band is still there, the focus is smooth and the aperture snappy, the felt is still on the inside of the hood, and most importantly, the glass is clear except for some pinprick scuffs in the coating on the front element and totally dust-free.

I LOVE used camera shops!

 

[Shawn Rahman]

Dear okto:

If you don't tell us where you got it, we won't be friendly to you.

Thanks. Now out with it. Please. Pretty Please.

 

[okto]

Lawl.
Arlington Camera, Arlington TX.
Great, great place, large (they have six F3s with MD-4s attached lined up on the shelf!) and comprehensive (Nikon F, Canon FD, Olympus OM, Leica M & R, Hasselblad V, Bronica ETR/SQ/GS) selection of used film gear with pretty good turnover, so there's usually new stuff.

 

[fschifano]

Great lens. I've had one for a long time now. Ask me if I'd part with it.

 

[bdial]

I bought one a while back from a pro who went digital. It looks like it's been through a war, but as fchifano says, it's a great lens.

 

[Rob Skeoch]

If you like the 180 F2.8 you might also like it's sister the 135 F2. both are great to work with.
-Rob