Old Nikon Glass

ic-racer said:

Price??

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Agreed

cliveh said:

Talking of old glass, are you aware that all glass is fluid in nature and a medieval glass window will be thicker at the bottom than the top, where it has moved over many hundreds of years.

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??

Right now all my Nikon lenses are pre-AI, most of which I've manually converted. It's not too hard to do by hand, I just do it at my kitchen table with a screwdriver or two and a good, sharp file. I like the character of these lenses, and I have had good luck picking them up for cheap locally.

BrianShaw said:

What “small imperfections” are you talking about?

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For example, the 80 mm f/2 is said to exhibit some chromatic aberration in the red-yellow region, causing blurring in that part of the spectrum. Of course, that's where skin tones are rendered. The positive side effect is that minor skin features, such as skin pores and other minor skin imperfections, are not rendered clinically sharp but softened, which is preferred by many. At the same time, eyelashes, eyebrows, and eyes themselves are as sharp as a Japanese kitchen knife—just perfect!

I prefer Nikon manual focus glass.

cliveh said:

Talking of old glass, are you aware that all glass is fluid in nature and a medieval glass window will be thicker at the bottom than the top, where it has moved over many hundreds of years.

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This is a common misconception that is false. Glass panes, especially in stained glass applications were mounted with the thicker side on the bottom for strength

Steve W. Martin an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State University said:

"Window glass at room temperature has a nearly incalculable relaxation time, approaching the age of the universe itself. For all practical observations, this glass is a solid. But its solidity is in the eye of the beholder."

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We've exited the path anyways...along those lines.

I like the old Nikkors mostly for their rendering but with exceptions. The 2/28 NC is wonderful, the 1.4/35 just great and the 50-55mm lenses generally put a smile on my face. A lens which really won my heart is the characterful H 1.8/85. I had a knurled HC, sold it, now I own a K, both AId. So many great choices. One exception on my list is the 2.8/24 mm which always left me a bit unimpressed. Not a bad lens but compared to the 2.8/28 AIS the latter is clearly a better lens. The 2.8/45 P is a dog btw. I don't know what they have been thinking with that one.

RalphLambrecht said:

I love old Nikon glass; I just love the small imperfections and how that adds character to the rendering. That said, I wouldn't buy non-AI anymore, but I also did that to have it converted. How do you feel about old Nikon glass?

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All my favorite photographers, from Henri Cartier Bresson to A. Adams, Eliot Porter, W. Eugene Smith, … all photographed with vintage glass. All of them.
And slow films. No autofocus. And primitive flash, if any at all.
Their work speaks for itself.
Do I really want to see every pore, every wrinkle and skin imperfection on a portrait? Definitely not.
Does a good image merit always perfect focus? Toscanini conducting his last times. Soldiers landing at Omaha beach. These weren’t sharp images. But they’ve made a tremendous impression on our collective awareness.
About Nikkor glass…. Love it. I’m a huge fan of the Non Al Nippon Kogaku. Yes, exposure is tricky. Or perhaps I should say, slightly lengthier. Expose at full open aperture, and adjust as you stop down….
Or just take a meter reading. Easy enough with a Sekonic.
Camera of choice with these old lenses: Df Nikon.
We are living at a wonderful time, when all these legendary lenses are still available, and very modestly priced. And thanks to Nikons vision and craft, they can be used and appreciated on cameras created nearly 70 years later. And they bring character, and vibe to the often clinical and perfect new photographic cameras.
Quite astonishing!
Kind regards, Ralph!

RalphLambrecht said:

I love old Nikon glass; I just love the small imperfections and how that adds character to the rendering. That said, I wouldn't buy non-AI anymore, but I also did that to have it converted. How do you feel about old Nikon glass?

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I love visiting the past, I just don't want to live there any more.

My oldest Nikon lens is a 28mm f/2 from 1971, which is AI converted. It's still serviceable, although on a modern camera the 28mm f/1.8G outperforms it edge-to-edge. I also own a 35mm f/2.8PC from 1972. All told, I own 9 manual focus Nikon lenses plus 4 large format Nikkors.

I still enjoy shooting my FA, but I only do so for my own pleasure. I occasionally get roped into volunteer work; then I pick up my (more or less) modern digital bodies and lenses.