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Nikon F4 what lenses would you recommend?

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luca_olympus

luca_olympus

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Good morning, I was recently gifted a Nikon F4. It's a beautiful camera and it has great compatibility with almost all Nikon lenses, so I was wondering which one should I choose. I was thinking about lenses with fixed focal lenght (up to 50mm), with autofocus and that could suit for most situations (like portraits, street, some landscapes,...) and I was thinking on something below €200. If anyone knows what to suggest, that would be great! Thank you all in advance and have a nice day.
 
I've used the 35-70/2.8 AF and 80-200/2.8 AF for 40 years with my F4 and have always been happy with the results.
 
I picked up an F4 from Japan this spring in pretty good condition and I also got a rather mint/unused 35mm f:2 AF-D and a lovely 105mm f:2.8 AF-D MIcro Nikkor. I have been into Nikon since '68 and have many Nikon lenses both MF and AF. I use my lenses presently on a D600 and a D7100 and the AF lenses as well as the MF lenses. work well on them. The F4 has a rather primitive AF compared to my digital cameras and you can tell the difference and it also has Matrix metering which is another nice feature.
As Far as what lens to use, what do you normally use when shooting full frame either digital or film? My "normal" focal length for about 5 decades has been 35mm rather that the usual 50mm.
As you just joined the forum recently, tell us what your experience is in analog photography and what kind of equipment you have and what you plan to do with your new camera.
Good Luck and welcome to the forum!
 
Since the F4 is pretty heavy, might well pair it with the trio of classic pro lenses that are heavy and brilliant. And they are dirt cheap nowadays since lots of people have moved to mirrorless by now.

17-35/2.8
28-70/2.8
80-200/2.8
 
I use MF AIS lens on my F4. I Have the 50, 28 and 105, don't miss the AF at all as the F4s Af is not that good. Other very inexpensive option, somewhat slow is the 35 to 70 3.5 to 4.5 light, image quality at 8 is good, a bit soft wide, distortion is well controlled. I think there is D version of this lens as well, cannot speak to the quality as I have never used it.
 
I prefer the ultimate set to have would be :
  • 20mm, 28mm, 50mm, 100mm, 200mm, all AF lenses, OR
  • 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 50mm, 100mm, 200mm,... all AF lenses, OR
  • 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 50mm, 100mm, , 150mm, 300mm ,... all AF lenses.
The f/ of the lens, determined by availability, cost, and your preference.
 
Personally, these are the only Nikkor camera lense I own. I have two 24mm lenses because one is compact (24/2.8) and the other is the heaviest 35mm lens I own of any brand or focal length (24/1.4)

50 AF-D 1.8
35 AF-D 2.0
28 G 1.8
24 AF-D 2.8
24 G 1.4
20 AF-D 2.8
28-80 G 3.3 (x 2, silver and black)
 
Just remember that you should choose a lens with an aperture ring.
 
Check out the 60mm f2.8 Micro AF-D. Great for close-up work, but totally usable for normal shots, too. Very sharp, nice rendering.
 
I'll chime in with the Nikkor AF-Zoom 20-35mm f:2.8D. As they say, a 'In Period' lens for the F4. The F4's AF is up to the task when you use the AF lock on the front as kind of a 'back button' focus, focus-lock-recompose-shoot.

The 20-35 was Nikon's response to Canon's original EOS-1 20-35mm f/2.8, which when I was a news photographer was a snazzy kit. That and an AF 80-200 and maybe a 50 or 85 would be many shooters daily choice along with a 300mm 2.8.

The Nikon has an aspherical front element and a fine performance on film. It used to be considered a heavy and big lens but not any more. With an F4 and the standard 4-cell MB-20 I would pair it with an AF 180mm f 2.8 for a light-ish capable travel set up.
 
I usually have the AF 50/1.8 D and an AF 35-105/3.5D in my bag, if I take the F4 out. These two largely cover what I need, to be honest.

If I carry one of my manual Nikons too, I sometime put some MF lens on the F4, although this kind of defeats the purpose of having an AF camera. But F4 is rather happy to work with the AI or AI-S lenses I own, like a 28 or 105/2.5 are magic. Bit slow, but that is not bad, in film photography.
 
luca_olympus said:
thank you!
Click to expand...
ic-racer said:
Pretty much anything in this brochure:

Click to expand...

I'm afraid I must disagree. That catalog includes DX lenses, which are not designed to illuminate the full 35mm film, and "G" lenses which lack an aperture ring. Neither is a great choice for an F4.

If you want a prime 50mm or shorter for under 200 euros, you should be able to find a used 20mm f/2.8D, 24mm f/2.8D, 28mm f/2.8D, 35mm f/2D, or 50mm f/1.8D in decent shape. I'm not a fan of the 28mm f/2.8D, but any of the other lenses could be right for you. While most of the zooms suggested by others are fine to use on an F4, that's not what you asked about.
 
Add a cheap used Lensbaby 2.0 to the collection.
 
benveniste said:
I'm afraid I must disagree. That catalog includes DX lenses, which are not designed to illuminate the full 35mm film, and "G" lenses which lack an aperture ring. Neither is a great choice for an F4.

If you want a prime 50mm or shorter for under 200 euros, you should be able to find a used 20mm f/2.8D, 24mm f/2.8D, 28mm f/2.8D, 35mm f/2D, or 50mm f/1.8D in decent shape. I'm not a fan of the 28mm f/2.8D, but any of the other lenses could be right for you. While most of the zooms suggested by others are fine to use on an F4, that's not what you asked about.
Click to expand...

Good points!
 
Always loved the 180mm 2.8 AF-N although I used it on my FE2. Sharp, contrasty, nice bokeh, great handling even in manual focus and it's well made with its sturdy crinkle-finish.
 
I used the 80-200 zoom on my F4 with great success. You might find one for around $200.00.
 
Arthurwg said:
I used the 80-200 zoom on my F4 with great success. You might find one for around $200.00.
Click to expand...

I prefer my Tamron 28mm -300mm zoom and my Nikon 28mm to 200mm zoom lenses.
 
Hello I would like to ask this forum, is f4 compatible with the tokina 11-16mm f2.8 (IF) DX lens? will there be vignetting or other issues?
 
My number 1 Nikkor recommendation is and will always be the 50mm f2 Ai. The rendering of this lens is unmatched by any other!

The F4 works very well as a manual focus camera with the appropriate focusing screen.
 
I prefer the size/weight & quality of prime lenses. My choices would be the older manual focus lenses. AIS 24mm f2.8, 35mm f2, and 50mm f1.4
 
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