Recommendations for 35mm MF Nikon lens for an FM

BradS · Nov 20, 2019

wjlapier said:
If it were me I'd stick with Leica glass...

??? How does that work?

abruzzi · Nov 20, 2019

BradS said:
??? How does that work?

I'm guessing it has a leitax conversion, so it mounts straight up--no adapter needed:

http://leitax.com/conversion/leica/elmarit-35-3-cams/index.html

reddesert · Nov 20, 2019

Nikon prime lenses were professional tools that were priced as such new. (I'm not trying to make a prestige argument, just pointing out that they are/were a distinct species from, for example, slow consumer zooms of the 90s-00s.) Their used prices are often significantly cheaper now, with the exception of really fast lenses. But the demand has never completely dropped. I'd guess that the market/demand for them is fairly stable. Meaning that you can always try some out in your preferred focal length, and if you don't like them, sell them without losing much.

There's also a good reason why the market/demand for these lenses is stable. They're professional tools; I wouldn't get real worried about whether any particular website got an example of one type or another and it didn't photograph a test chart well.

alentine · Nov 21, 2019

wjlapier said:
If it were me I'd stick with Leica glass...

Flange focal distance of leica R lenses is: 47mm.
Flange focal distance of Nikon F lenses is: 46.5mm.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance
It's possible at least theoretically to adapt nikon F lens to leica R body.
A thick R replacement mount on a nikon F lens can compensate for that 1/2 mm to bring focus to infinity directly, or normal thickness R mount replacement and the compensation can be attained by focusing, but do not know if the lens will retain the same performance.
Agree that elmarit R 35mm could be the best 35mm lens performer in all leica R and maybe M lenses.

wjlapier · Nov 21, 2019

The 35mm Elmarit works beautifully. So sharp it's like there is no anti-alias filter in the F4 It's a Leitax adapter as was mentioned above. Aperture or manual mode on the F4. Center-weighted metering.

As for the reverse using Nikon on R bodies there would have to be some modification to the lens body not just the mount to work. The lens would be "in" the body of the R camera and might hit the mirror--I had this problem a while back adapting a Canon 85L FD and Minolta 58mm f/1.2--both lenses hit the mirror. The question to me would be what Nikon lens would you want to use on an R body that Leica doesn't already have, and would that Nikon out perform the Leica version.

dave olson · Nov 27, 2019

Nikon's micro 55 f 2.8. Does double duty as a prime lens as well as a micro lens.Being a micro(macro) lens it needs to be sharp.

cooltouch · Nov 29, 2019

I've owned a Nikon 35mm f/2 O lens for about 30 years. It was "AI'd by Nikon," meaning it had an AI aperture ring added to it sometime before I bought it. It's a very nice lens. I seldom use the f/2 speed, though. I prefer the f/8-f/11 sweet spot, personally. So if you can find one of these lenses that has been converted, or "AI'd", I can recommend it.

locutus · Nov 29, 2019

If you feel like drifting a bit from Nikon but still want to stay all AIS compatible and with perfect manual focus mechanics... Look for a second hand Zeiss ZF 35mm.

It's has far sharper corners then the Leica R 35/2 and none of the Nikon MF 35's compare to it favourable at f/2 as it not only is sharp but also very contrasty wideopen (the Nikon 35/1.4 has terrible veiling flare, and the various f/2's always seem a bit soft off center).

Only downside with the Zeiss is the 2 stop vignette wide open, which atleast drops to half a stop by f/4.

RalphLambrecht · Nov 29, 2019

logan2z said:
I recently picked up a Nikon FM that came with the 50mm/1.8 AI lens. I'm more of a 35mm focal length guy and was thinking about adding one of those. For the type of photos I take I almost never shoot wide open so I don't really need a super fast prime like the f1.4. I was thinking about looking for an f2 AI-S but read that it suffers from some barrel distortion and vignetting, although (like most lenses) this improves when stopped down (I was also a bit surprised that they're in the $300 range for a nice example - I thought these 'vintage' lenses had fallen out of favor ). I've discounted the f2.8 since it seems that it is not one of Nikon's better lenses of this type.

Are there any others I should consider?

I shoot a lot of urban landscapes and some street stuff and am usually shooting around f8, so perhaps the f2's shortcomings wouldn't be apparent to me.

the Nikon 35mm f/2 is excellent.

Russ - SVP · Jan 3, 2020

cooltouch said:
I've owned a Nikon 35mm f/2 O lens for about 30 years. It was "AI'd by Nikon," meaning it had an AI aperture ring added to it sometime before I bought it. It's a very nice lens. I seldom use the f/2 speed, though. I prefer the f/8-f/11 sweet spot, personally. So if you can find one of these lenses that has been converted, or "AI'd", I can recommend it.

I agree with Cooltouch. The Nikon 35 f/2 O lens is fantastic. And very easy to convert to AI. Love mine.

Smaug01 · Feb 3, 2020

Anecdotal, but I have the 35/2 AI and I really like it.

I'm one of those who finds 35 more useful than 50. 50 is good when it's people shots, but without having to be too close to get a tight bust. 35 can be pressed into service for that, and also as a mild wide angle. (which the 50 can't do.)

The folks who are complaining about ghosting flare; I wonder if they're using hoods? I think that's part of the reason the 50/1.8 AF is so good: the lens group is recessed so far back it's like the rest of the lens acts as a hood.

I do have to ask though; if you usually shoot Leica, can't you just get a 35 for Leica? It's one of the focal lengths that rangefinders do well with. (unless your body doesn't have the right framelines...)

logan2z · Feb 3, 2020

Smaug01 said:
I do have to ask though; if you usually shoot Leica, can't you just get a 35 for Leica? It's one of the focal lengths that rangefinders do well with. (unless your body doesn't have the right framelines...)

I do have a 35mm lens for my Leica and it's the one I use almost exclusively.

The FM was, admittedly, a bit of a GAS-induced impulse buy. I just thought it would be nice to have a classic SLR and they're so inexpensive to pick up I couldn't resist. In the same vein, I thought it would be nice to have a 35mm lens to pair with it since that's the focal length that I'm most comfortable with. It's certainly not a matter of need here

Christiaan Phleger · Feb 3, 2020

You could also pair the FM with a period correct K or Ai 35mm f/2.8. There are a couple of different flavors to choose from, I prefer the Ai version over #77xxxx with 6 elements being very light and compact with the 'look'. At landscapes distances at reasonable f-stops it is very sharp and 2.8 is not unusable for lower light street shooting.

Russ - SVP · Feb 3, 2020

35 f/2 “O” version.

dynachrome · Feb 6, 2020

I have two 35/2 Nikkors. One is an old O and the other is a 'K' converted to AI. Both are very good but the newer lens is better in difficult light situations. I find the 35/2.8 'K' and early AI lenses to be excellent. These are six element lenses and are better than the earlier seven element and later 5 element models. For a reasonably compact normal lens the 50/2 lenses from the HC to the AI are very good. I'm experimenting with one now with an Elpro VIb attached. I have plenty of Micro Nikkors to fall back on if it doesn't work so well.

NB23 · Feb 6, 2020

Using AF lenses on a film camera is enough for me to kill my joy. I’d stop photography and recycle as a woodworking hermit instead.

voceumana said:
Ken Rockwell indicates the 35mm f/2 AI-S is subject to "ghosting". Recommend going for the 35mm AFD f/2 instead (works fine on MF cameras, just turn off the minimum aperture lock) or the 28mm f/2.8 AIS. The 28mm has the classic Nikon look, the 35mm AFD looks like it belongs on a digital camera, if you care. I have a collection of classic MF and AF lenses that I used on my manual focus Nikons, as I care about performance and not so much about appearance of the lens.

Recommendations for 35mm MF Nikon lens for an FM

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