Nikon D lenses for F100? (DOF preview error related)

[Odot]

So i finally scored a F100 and from what i have read, some lenses have issues wit DOF preview button so i wonder if i could get a D lens because that 28mm G is crazy expensive compared to the D (will get a used one).

Any idea? While we at it, can you also recommend me a good 28 or 35 from a different brand? Maybe i can save some pesos here. Thanks!

 

[mweintraub]

Never heard about a DOF button issue with newer lenses.

If you're going to get a 28mm, don't get the 2.8 AF version. Look at the AI-S 2.8. Or if you always need to focus towards in infinity, the f2 is better.

 

[flavio81]

While we at it, can you also recommend me a good 28 or 35 from a different brand? Maybe i can save some pesos here. Thanks!

There is no substitute for Nikon lenses! (Except Canon, of course).
But beware there are some under-performing lenses, for example the 35/2.0 AF version.

My favorite 35mm for nikon are the PC-nikkor lenses, if you can afford it go buy the PC 35/2.8 and you will love it, it can do the perspective change tricks AND has amazing performance.

In fact there are two Nikon lenses i will never sell, and both of them are my 35mm PC-nikkors.

 

[Odot]

I forgot to add that i want a AF lens for my F100

 

[dpurdy]

To answer the D question, I have D series lenses for my F100. I thought they were the preferred lenses.

 

[flavio81]

I forgot to add that i want a AF lens for my F100

I will give you a very cheap very very cheap recommendation: The AF 35-80/4-5.6 lens.

No one wants it, so it's really cheap. It has low distortion, high contrast, and is sharp, also it is very compact and really light. A great lens, and I regret selling mine. It can do 35mm without problems.

http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/AF3580mm/

Another zoom that is not expensive is the AF 28-85/3.5-4.5, first version. It's high performance spot was at 35mm where distortion is null and performance is great even wide open. (I did several tests with a full frame Kodak DCS SLR/n to assess its performance and came up with this conclusion). At F/8 all focal lenghts are great. Downside is that it is a heavy lens, but well built. I regret selling mine.

"G"-series lenses are an abomination, a disgusting work of the devil, so avoid them.

 

[Prest_400]

I will give you a very cheap very very cheap recommendation: The AF 35-80/4-5.6 lens.

No one wants it, so it's really cheap. It has low distortion, high contrast, and is sharp, also it is very compact and really light. A great lens, and I regret selling mine. It can do 35mm without problems.

http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/AF3580mm/

Another zoom that is not expensive is the AF 28-85/3.5-4.5, first version. It's high performance spot was at 35mm where distortion is null and performance is great even wide open. (I did several tests with a full frame Kodak DCS SLR/n to assess its performance and came up with this conclusion). At F/8 all focal lenghts are great. Downside is that it is a heavy lens, but well built. I regret selling mine.

"G"-series lenses are an abomination, a disgusting work of the devil, so avoid them.

Didn't know about that 35-80. Frankly, the Nikon AF zoom line is quite varied, and counting different iterations it can be a bit confusing.
I picked an F80 with a 28-80 3.5-5.6D, despite its lowly kit status, it was alright. There was an older kit 35-80 which isn't that one. The gripe with zooms (cheap ones) is distortion and the darker aperture.

How about the 28-70/3.5-4.5 too? It can be picked affordably and was praised for being the first nikkor zoom with some aspherics. I'd second getting the AI, the 28mm is wide enough that stopped down requires little focusing. Haven't heard much good from the 28 2.8D AF.

If you like nifty fifty, a second hand 50mm 1.8 is real nice. Picked one for 60€ plus some patience, two weeks ago.

 

[flavio81]

How about the 28-70/3.5-4.5 too? It can be picked affordably and was praised for being the first nikkor zoom with some aspherics.

I have no experiencie with it, but the competing Canon EF lens of identical range and aperture is an excellent zoom, so I would expect the Nikon offering to be as good.

 

[mweintraub]

There is no substitute for Nikon lenses! (Except Canon, of course).

Except for Sigma Art lenses now adays.

 

[ic-racer]

The 28 1.8 G is a nice lens. I got this a few years ago and it is perhaps one of the best 35mm lenses I have owned. I have quite a few lenses. Maybe 100 or so.

 

[Leigh B]

"G"-series lenses are an abomination, a disgusting work of the devil, so avoid them.

It seems my opinion of G lenses is much lower than yours.

The devil would never admit to having created them.

- Leigh

 

[Odot]

Since i will only use it for the street, i would rather get a prime lense because of the weight:

Yongnuo 35mm for 95$ (its for a full frame DSLR so i assume it would work):
http://petapixel.com/2016/09/01/yongnuos-35mm-f2-lens-nikon-f-dslrs-costs-just-95/

If i had to get an affordable zoom:

NIkon 28-80 3.3-5.6 G - 190g
Sigma 28-70 2.8 - 510g
NIkon 28-85 3.5-4.5 - 540g

 

[BMbikerider]

I have no experiencie with it, but the competing Canon EF lens of identical range and aperture is an excellent zoom, so I would expect the Nikon offering to be as good.

I will go along with a recommendation for the small, but very good, 3.5/4.5 28/70 AFD lens. I had one which was almost permenantly fixed to my F6 when touring over Europe on 2 wheels. I sold it when I bought a 28/105 AFD becuase it suits my needs better. It (the 28/70) was very sharp and so long as the camera was on a tripod I could get a 12x16 colour print from every negative.

 

[Prest_400]

Since i will only use it for the street, i would rather get a prime lense because of the weight:

Yongnuo 35mm for 95$ (its for a full frame DSLR so i assume it would work):
http://petapixel.com/2016/09/01/yongnuos-35mm-f2-lens-nikon-f-dslrs-costs-just-95/

If i had to get an affordable zoom:

NIkon 28-80 3.3-5.6 G - 190g
Sigma 28-70 2.8 - 510g
NIkon 28-85 3.5-4.5 - 540g

edit:
theres also a Sigma 28-70 2.8 - 4.0 and i wonder what the diffewrence in quality is compared to the 2.8

May I assume you have budgeted $100?

As I wrote before, I got an F80 with the 28-80 kit lens. I have this and a 35-70 f3.3-5.6(?) from my Dad's old kit.

For the 28-80 I'd recommend looking for a comolete kit with another body. You can easily find it attached to a F80/N80 and paying the same as you would for the lens alone ($50). Also an F100 is quite some camera and the construction of that lens is toylike, there's some nice barrel distortion at 28-35mm if you like to demonstrate earth's curvature.

I did my research on nikon zooms that were available at those prices and you did not list the 28-70 f3.5-4.5: Around 350g. I infact do have curiosity about it.
Cannot link at the Mir or Kenrockwell (as controversial and crazy he is, he has good info on nikkors) sites which have some tech info on it.

Again, for the kit zooms I'd strive for getting a kit as you may find the lens with a body. That 28-70 was a kit for the F90 and I saw a F90 kit go for $50 here (Spain).

That sigma 2.8-4 I found some users opinions not being very favourable with, and infact seemed to be a cheap lens.

I did want a prime and a 35mm would have been nice, but I see that the 3.5 f2D isn't very cheap. Down to $150 used. The yongnuo I don't know, perhaps save up a bit for the Nikkor or try a zoom or 50mm.

 

[Odot]

May I assume you have budgeted $100?

As I wrote before, I got an F80 with the 28-80 kit lens. I have this and a 35-70 f3.3-5.6(?) from my Dad's old kit.

For the 28-80 I'd recommend looking for a comolete kit with another body. You can easily find it attached to a F80/N80 and paying the same as you would for the lens alone ($50). Also an F100 is quite some camera and the construction of that lens is toylike, there's some nice barrel distortion at 28-35mm if you like to demonstrate earth's curvature.

I did my research on nikon zooms that were available at those prices and you did not list the 28-70 f3.5-4.5: Around 350g. I infact do have curiosity about it.
Cannot link at the Mir or Kenrockwell (as controversial and crazy he is, he has good info on nikkors) sites which have some tech info on it.

Again, for the kit zooms I'd strive for getting a kit as you may find the lens with a body. That 28-70 was a kit for the F90 and I saw a F90 kit go for $50 here (Spain).

That sigma 2.8-4 I found some users opinions not being very favourable with, and infact seemed to be a cheap lens.

I did want a prime and a 35mm would have been nice, but I see that the 3.5 f2D isn't very cheap. Down to $150 used. The yongnuo I don't know, perhaps save up a bit for the Nikkor or try a zoom or 50mm.

I did budget 100 but if we can get something nice for 250 bucks max, so be it.

The thing about the 28-80 is that i keep reading that the AF is slow and since i dont have it, i cant say how slow it really is for street.
The Sigma 28-70 seems to be sharp but lacks contrast and has a loud AF. I can change the contrast in Lightroom so no biggie here, the AF sound? I dunno.
That YOngnuo was dumb cheap but it lacks sharpness so i dunno.

Ahhh.. i hate this already

 

[John Koehrer]

The "D" lenses relay subject to camera distance for some of the different modes of metering.

 

[removed-user-1]

So i finally scored a F100 and from what i have read, some lenses have issues wit DOF preview button so i wonder if i could get a D lens

The F100 is an awesome camera. I regret selling mine. I used various Nikon lenses with it, AI, AF, AF-D, G... had a 24mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.4 D lenses and I never experienced an "error" with DOF preview - more like a functional limitation.

I tried to figure what you meant by DOF preview issues; here is what I think you're describing (I could be wrong).

The older AF Nikkors (D and non-D) had aperture rings. I like aperture rings, they make it easy to shoot in Aperture-priority. The rings on the older AF Nikkors could be locked to the minimum aperture for use with Program and Shutter-priority modes. In these modes, cameras could not accurately display actual depth of field, since this is achieved by simple mechanical stop-down to set aperture (the minimum, like f/22), and not the actual taking aperture as set by the exposure mode. Whew, hope that makes sense.

The F100 has control dials for modern lenses without aperture rings, but it also has custom functions. So! Set custom function 22 to 1 instead of 0, and you can use the lens aperture ring to adjust aperture in manual and Aperture-priority modes, and the DOF preview will show the taking aperture of a D or non-D AF lens, in those modes. You'll still need to set the minimum aperture in P or S modes.

Hope this helps!

 

[benveniste]

So i finally scored a F100 and from what i have read, some lenses have issues wit DOF preview button so i wonder if i could get a D lens because that 28mm G is crazy expensive compared to the D (will get a used one).

The 28mm f/2.8D will function nominally on an F100. While it was an improvement over the E-series derived 28mm f/2.8 AF, it still lags behind the 28mm AI-s Nikkors.

Any idea? While we at it, can you also recommend me a good 28 or 35 from a different brand? Maybe i can save some pesos here. Thanks!

I have a Sigma 28mm f/1.8 EX. In the U.S. it sells used for slightly less than the 28mm f/2.8D; I listed mine for $240 and got no offers. It's soft wide open, but firms up quite quickly as you stop down. It also has an aperture ring and a useful close focus ability. The downside side is it's large and requires 77mm filters. The previous Sigma version got by with 58mm filters, the Nikon uses 67mm and even the Nikon 28mm f/1.4D only used 72mm filters.

At these focal lengths, I prefer the flexibility of a zoom so I can try different perspectives on the subject. For about the same price as a 28mm f/2.8D, you can buy a used Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 ATX. I used one with an F100 for about 2 years before I switched to a 17-35mm f/2.8D. Before that, I used a manual focus Tokina 24-40mm f/2.8 AT-X, mainly on a Nikon FA. Both flared a bit more easily than my Nikkors of the same era, but otherwise were reasonable performers.

 

[flavio81]

It seems my opinion of G lenses is much lower than yours.

The devil would never admit to having created them.

- Leigh

LOL!!!

 

[Odot]

Update: i went for the Sigma 28mm 1.8 Aspherical II, waiting for it to be shipped off - does anyone have any experience with it? Either way, i will check it out and see.

Other than that, my F100 just got in today, it is in mint condition, no stickyness but the door smells like Michael Jordan in the 4th quarter. Any reasonable advice?

 

[Huss]

Other than that, my F100 just got in today, it is in mint condition, no stickyness but the door smells like Michael Jordan in the 4th quarter. Any reasonable advice?

Wipe down with rubbing alcohol/ispropyl then apply a coating of this:

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g15812-ultimate-black/#v6920qHlyOWjx1Kw.97

I am not kidding. I received a camera where the black rubber had turned into that nasty grey/milky white, and this brought it back to looking like new. And..it also is great on the black plastic mud guards on my Jeep Wrangler! (which is what I originally bought it for)

 

[cooltouch]

I've owned AF Nikons for only a couple of years now. First was an F4, then an N80. For lenses, well, I wound up with a 70-300 ED AF-D as part of an F3 kit I bought, so when I got the F4, the 70-300 found a home. Then I picked up a 28-105 AF-D to round out the zoom range. Most recently I bought an N80 with 50/1.8 AF-D. So I have a nice little assortment of AF-D lenses now. I am very happy with their performance, but I suppose just as important is the way they handle. One thing I really like about my D lenses is they all have a reasonably wide focusing collar that is well damped, with a long enough focusing throw such that they feel very natural to use for manual focus work. So this means that I can comfortably use them on my AI-mount Nikons. I dislike G lenses -- even though both of my cameras allegedly support them -- because I want that aperture ring. Without it, I can't use a G lens on my earlier manual focus Nikons and I don't like having such a restriction. Also, it appears at least that even more plastic is being used in G lenses than D, so that's another reason why I prefer AF-D lenses. Optically, I have no complaints. My D's deliver great images.

Huss, thanks for that link. When my N80 arrived, it was sticky and I found that neither alcohol nor acetone would cut it. So rather than trying to get rid of the sticky substance, I decided to see if I could render it inert. My solution was a light dusting of flour. Yep, the bread kind. I worked it into the grips and its color disappeared. And so did the stickiness. But I'm always open to other methods. I have an old Metz 60 CT-1 and its cables have become very sticky, even sort of slimy. So maybe this Meguiars might work better on something like that.