• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Least favorite Nikon prime lens'

Nikon 2

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Feb 19, 2023
Messages
1,658
Location
Moyers, Oklahoma
Format
Multi Format
How about sharing your least favorite vintage Nikon lens…?
 
Ok, I'll start with an unfair bit: The only Nikkor I ever owner, an AI-ed pre-AI 85 1.8. I hated the way the focus action felt, it certainly wasn't in the best of conditions, but aluminium is simply the wrong material. I'm ok with it on my Minolta MD-III lenses, they feel better, but not great, and at least they're light-weigh in return.
 

Could it be a CLA will help…?
 
Not really a Nikon thing, have not found that I use a 135 very often. I had a Nikon nonAI 135 and sold it.
 
Least favorite I've ever used... Undoubtedly the non-AI 43-86/3.5 zoom! My parents got one in the mid-60s for our Nikkorex and Nikkormat bodies to use in their studio. Alas, it turned to be soft-focus at all focal lengths, too soft for paying work, and was quickly consigned to use for only family vacation slides.

Now of the lenses I have today, my least favorite is the non-AI 50/1.4. Sure, it's a famous classic lens and an important milestone for Nikon, and okay, so many famous 60s historical events were shot with it... But I don't LIKE the 50mm angle of view, so I never mount it. I never put the 50/1.8 Zuiko on my OM-2n either.
 
Gee, I never had a Nikon lens that I did not like. I will go sit in a corner for a while.
 
Nikon 2 said:
How about sharing your least favorite vintage Nikon lens…
Click to expand...
The 50mm f/1.8 AI-S. I love it for the combination of compactness and optical quality, it basically feels like an SLR version of M-Summicron. That's why I'm keeping mine.

But I do not like the feel of focusing. It feels lightweight and unrefined. Like non-lubricated surfaces rubbing on each other with a bit of looseness. I've tried 3 copies: the "E" variant, the Japanese variant and the other one which focuses at 0.6m. Maybe this can be solved with reapplying helical grease... but somehow the 21mm, 28mm and 105mm AI-S lenses feel great without it.
 
RalphLambrecht said:
Nikon 20mm f/2.8; far too wide for almost everything.
Click to expand...

However when it is useful it does produce great photographs. The 16mm f2.8 D Fisheye is less useful, but the shorter focal length Fisheye lenses which produce a circular field of view are so useless that they do not even make good doorstops or paperweights.
 
Use it as a conversation piece...!
 
Non-AI 50 mm f/1.4, be it the old, all-metal one, or newer model with rubber grip. I don't usually shoot wide open and the lens is large/bulky.

24 and 20 mm primes are also not my cup of tea, mainly because of heavy geometric distortions.
 
Do you consider 1986 "vintage?" If so, my choice is the 28mm f/2.8 AF.
  • A 5 element/5 group design derived from the 28mm f/2.8E. That series E lens was designed to compete with low-end third party lenses.
  • Slick plastic body
  • Thin manual focus ring with no tactile feedback.
That effort epitomizes Nikon's belief that only amateurs wanted autofocus gear and that pros would stick to manual focus. It took Nikon 8 years to realize its mistake and replace it with the 28mm f/2.8D, but even that lens wasn't as good as their AI-s 28mm primes.
 

The 5 element / 5 group design of the 28mm f/2.8 AF is far inferior to the 28mm f2.8 AI-s 8 element / 8 group design optically and mechanically...!
 
RalphLambrecht said:
Nikon 20mm f/2.8; far too wide for almost everything.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I don't own that lens--but I had a lot of fun once with a borrowed version shooting up-close-and-personal at a party with one and a macro flash. Got some amazing shots with it. Not that I'd necessarily do it again though.

Since this is "least favorite" not "lens I hate", I'll offer my 50mm/F1.8 AF-D. It *is* sharp, I can't complain about that. But it's not the most interesting focal length, the aperture is often asymmetrical when stopped down (which is weird looking and probably affects the bokeh, even if it's not, I guess, functionally a problem), and it's by far the most plasticky and insubstantial feeling Nikkor I own.

At least it's not like the comparable contemporary Canon offering. I had a lot of friends--and young photographers I was mentoring--who would come to me asking why/complaining that the front of their lens had fallen off. I had to report to them that, according to the internet, this was a very common problem. So it could be worse.
 
I've never thought about it, which must mean I don't dislike or avoid any of them. The different optical designs down the years all have their own characters with early lenses especially having a particular charm, and even the plastic ones achieve hero status when it comes to weight saving on a long hike. There are clearly lenses you'd choose first if starting from scratch, but a small f/3.5 has it's useful place as does a large f/1.4.
 
Normal lenses for me are 35mm and 50mm. The least liked 50 is the plastic one found on the Nikon em in late 80s.

Sharpness and detail was fine
However after a lot of use the focusing got progressively looser and sloppy, did like the light weight AI setup but it no where near as rugged as my 50 2.0 that came on my Nikon FM.

Harlequin
 

Those Nikon 50mm f/2 AI lenses are surprisingly sharp..!
 
Nikon 2 said:
Those Nikon 50mm f/2 AI lenses are surprisingly sharp..!
Click to expand...

I think that is true of all the classic 50mm f/2-f/1.8 'double Gauss' lenses, no matter the maker. A definite sweet spot in lens design.

Though the FEB (Former Eastern Block (?)) could make a dog out of anything if they tried, or didn't, as the case may be.

Least favorite Nikon - don't really have one. The 20mm f3.5 AIS suffers from lateral chromatic aberration - I suppose that is the worst of it. In general, I'm a fan of f/3.5 - f/2.8 lenses, they are light, sharp, low flare and cheap - what's not to like.
 
Last edited:
RalphLambrecht said:
Nikon 20mm f/2.8; far too wide for almost everything.
Click to expand...

After years of lusting for the ultra-rare rectilinear 15mm for my Rollei system, I rented the Nikkor 14mm G lens a while back. Now I thought that was too wide for almost everything. It makes the 20mm seem just right
 
Nikon 2 said:
How about sharing your least favorite vintage Nikon lens…?
Click to expand...

My least favorite Nikkor is a 24mm f/2.8 AF-D. It's optical quality is only passible at best, rendering around the same level as my 35mm f/2.5 Series E.

I only use it on my APS-C digital bodies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register