Moving back to an older Nikon body.

[firecracker]

If you want a 40mm lens, then I think the Ultron is your only choice in a Nikon F mount. But if you can live with a 35mm lens, a 50mm lens, or both, then there are a number of very highly regarded Nikkor lenses at those lengths. Plus you'll pay less than you would for the Ultron.

Dave, thanks for your comment and the info. You're right that it's almost ridiculous to think to pay 250 USD for a new lens that doesn't get good reviews when you can buy a few good quality items for less. However, I don't mind paying for that as long as the lens is substantially good, meaning more than just being good.

Just to be clear, I never pay anything for the hype of something that's new or a brand name because I shoot photos in the environment in all kinds of condition.

It's just that the FM is compact and solid, so instead of carrying around a few different lenses all the time, I thought about choosing one type for the camera. Ideally this combination would serve me as a memo camera perfectly in the same way digital P&Ss for a lot of people in general. There is pretty much no chance for me to go for a digital still camera since all I care about is B&W photos/prints.

Generally speaking, I would've chosen a 35mm lens, but I didn't know that Nikon's 35mm Ai or AiS lenses are still pretty pricy and not nearly as small as other lenses to begin with. So for that reason, a 50mm F1.8 pancake would be a choice, though it's 50mm.

Years ago, on a FM body I used to have a non Ai 35mm F2, which I no longer own, which is probably the same type as the one you mentioned from KEH. I was pretty happy with the results that lens produced. I've also tasted a non-Ai 50mm F2 in the past and enjoyed it very much, and I'm going back to that at some point since it's been sold so cheap lately. I just can't bear to watch good pieces of older equipment being thrown away due to the digital trend.

So, in a way I'm just wondering how other people manage to have their Nikon bodies with lenses being compact and handy. The point is, no P&S or rangefinder cameras for this purpose, but Nikon SLRs because they are right now real hot items for the high quality but the low cost.

And before I head out to the camera store or order online for that expensive lens, I just need someone to slap me in the face a couple of times and wake me up a little. Thank you for doing that.

 

[Mongo]

Sorry...no slap intended! I just wanted to let you know what was out there, and didn't realize you had a lot of knowledge about Nikkor lenses. I feel like I was preaching to the choir.

One other thought that came to me last night (sorry I haven't been online since I wrote my previous message)...there's always the Nikkor 45mm lens in either the old "guide number" configuration or the newer "chipped" version. That'd make a pocketable configuration with the FM for about the price of the Ultron...actually a much smaller package. I imagine a decent guide number 45mm Nikkor would probably set you back about the same amount as the Ultron.

I admit that I never bought a lens for the FE2 with any thought about the size of the lens. I use the FE2 when my primary purpose is to photograph with 35mm, so I've not been bothered by the bulk of the lenses. I've been expanding my set of lenses lately, given the bargain prices on old manual focus glass. I'm stunned at just how inexpensive Nikkor lenses have become, although I expect that the release of the D200 will cause a jump in the price of Ai lenses.

For pocketable, memo-style photography I tend to grab a Contax G1. It's a nice small camera that can capture images with amazing quality...nowhere near as flexible as an SLR but that's why I have the Nikon.

Best of luck.
Dave

 

[firecracker]

Sorry...no slap intended!

I know! I was just being playful with words. But seriously thank you for your thoughts for my sanity check.