my worst Nikon Lens

Kino · Apr 4, 2019

My ENORMOUS Nikon Nippon Kogaku Auto NIKKOR Telephoto-zoom1:4 F=8.5-cm ~25cm f/ 4.5 Lens is not a great performer, but the shear size makes it a good conversation starter...

jerrybro · Apr 5, 2019

We use a D300S to take product pictures that the Mrs posts online for her seasonal crafty business. I picked up an AF zoom 28ish to 100ish lens cheap that was just garbage optically. I finally got her a 60mm Micro Nikkor that is a phenomenal improvement.

Before that I had an AIS 50mm 1.8 pancake lens that was no good. I don't see how that can be related to the AI 50mm 1.8 lenses I have used, they were all great.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

ronnies · Apr 6, 2019

The Nikkor 35-70mm F/3.5-4.8 that came with my brother in law's Nikon FM10. Both lens and body made by Cosina.

Ronnie

Devin@RFCo · Apr 8, 2019

Mine is the Zoom~Nikkor 35-70/3.3-4.5

But it’s only the worst in my stable, it’s actually a pretty decent performer stopped down. Small and very lightweight. With a lens hood and solid hand it’s just as good as the next kit zoom.

LiamG · Apr 9, 2019

I certainly haven't sampled the whole catalog, but I've never had a nikon lens that was actually "bad" in some measurable way. My worst lenses are the ones that have failed to do the task I asked of them, so my worst nikon lenses are the 28 1.4 af-d and the push-pull 80-200 2.8 af- both could not focus accurately/fast enough with AF for the sports work I was doing when I got them. I still have the 80-200, though, and it works great for what I'm doing with it now, so it's all just contextual.

narsuitus · Apr 9, 2019

LiamG said:
I still have the 80-200, though, and it works great for what I'm doing with it now, so it's all just contextual.

What are you now doing with it?

LiamG · Apr 9, 2019

narsuitus said:
What are you now doing with it?

Landscapes, manual focus only. It's heavier than an f/4 or f/4.5 but it's what I already have.

Devin@RFCo · Apr 9, 2019

Liam, if you ever tire of the weight and can do without the zoom. the 180/2.8 ED is IMHO the best Nikkor lens ever made.

LiamG · Apr 10, 2019

Devin@RFCo said:
Liam, if you ever tire of the weight and can do without the zoom. the 180/2.8 ED is IMHO the best Nikkor lens ever made.

It's on my list for sure, I was never happy with the AF performance of any of the screw drive versions, but now I don't care about that aspect.

Devin@RFCo · Apr 10, 2019

Heck the non ED is just as stellar.

Here are two shots from a Ultra Bargain 50$ 180/2.8 AI that was absolutely infested with fungus. A little clean up found the lens was permanently etched. But it seriously had no impact on this phenomenal lenses performance.

These are straight out of camera (no edits, but they’ve been compressed across the web a few times) Nikon D700.

David Lingham · Apr 11, 2019

I have a 35-105 manual zoom that has never impressed me. Always soft and with a different look to that of a prime lens. I'm told the quality varied with this lens, mine is perhaps not a good one.

Mick Fagan · Apr 11, 2019

David Lingham said:
I have a 35-105 manual zoom that has never impressed me. Always soft and with a different look to that of a prime lens. I'm told the quality varied with this lens, mine is perhaps not a good one.

I bought one of those in 1984 for a winter trip, it was just released around May as I was getting ready to leave and I thought it would be perfect for motorcycle travelling. Very soft, lack of contrast and I have seen at least one other that was the same. It is my worst lens, I still have it and loan it to outright beginners as no matter what they do, they could never make it worse.

Mick.

littlejackal · Apr 13, 2019

My worst Nikon lens is the 50 1.8D.

Coincidentally, my best Nikon lens is the 50 1.8D.

..

Come to think of it, it’s also the only Nikon lens I own so far

68degrees · Apr 13, 2019

Theo Sulphate said:
I have a 35-135 f/3.5-4.5 AIS Nikkor that's always produced soft images. Don't know why.

Maybe I should try a faster film to ensure both a sufficiently high shutter speed and smaller aperture.

Theo I have the same feeling about my 35-105 but its so darn versatile, small and good looking. Plus it has a nice handy macro button that I like. But it does seem kind of soft and slow. Maybe Ill try again with f8 and faster shutter speed on tripod and see.

John_Nikon_F · Apr 15, 2019

The 43-86 Zoom-Nikkor-C wasn't that great. The AI version actually was ok, and, was surprisingly, a lens that my former D-word Nikon, a D2x, was perfectly happy with. That body was very picky about lenses, so, imagine my surprise, when the bastard child of the AI Nikkor line had good contrast, sharpness, etc, without color fringing or aberrations, on a body that preferred high end glass. The single coated 43-86 is sharp, but has almost zero contrast. The C was an improvement, but not enough to make me consider keeping the lens around for more than a week or two.

I did have a 35-70/3.3-4.5 AF version as a "kit" lens for my original F5. It did well. Only issue I noticed was the rather plasticky feel to the lens.

Theo Sulphate · Apr 15, 2019

RalphLambrecht said:
I shot this at 1/60s f/8 from a distance of 6 feet.

That's better than my results. Perhaps the problem is directly behind the camera.

my worst Nikon Lens

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