What are the Nikon lens legends?

E. von Hoegh · Feb 16, 2021

benveniste said:
I'm not sure that any lens rises to the level of "legendary," but I would like to get my hands on a 300mm f/1.4.

Legendary requires 8x10 sheet film and a twelve or fourteen inch Goerz Dagor. use the 8x10 format for a while and you will be shocked by what a good job 24x26mm can do.

Christiaan Phleger · Feb 17, 2021

Well I acknowledged that Topcon was the first 300mm f/2.8 and of course I referenced the Nikkor H 300 as seen in Nikon own story at

https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0011/index.htm

Ha the real reason Canon brought out their 300mm f/2.8 Fluorite in 1974 is that when they got shown up at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Games they started to grow the Fluorite crystals and it took a year to make the 'glass' big enough. I jest, but the truth was probably pretty close; while yes Fluorite is a great material for reducing CA the thermal expansion issues especially with the 300/2.8 with the black barrel caused a 'loss of sharpness' kinda what you don't want in telephoto. In addition I've heard (but not directly confirmed) that those early Fluorite glass lenses can crack with strong heat/cold cycles, come in at half time to a cold press room and the fast change could crack the large elements at the edges, again not a great thing for working pros. I think this is why the early black barrel Canon Fluorite tele's are relatively rare to be found these days.

I wouldn't say that Canon was ahead by any means in the telephoto range in the mid to late 1970's. Canon did have the 800mm f/5.6L, a non-L level 600mm f/4.5 (a dog by some accounts and unverified by me) a decent 400mm f/4.5 (no Internal Focussing) and that black 300mm 2.8. In the same era to 1980 Nikon would have the ED-IF range of 200/2, 300/3.8, 400/3.5, 600/5.6, the near legendary 600/4 (one I debated about inclusion to my list) with the soon to be telephoto standard accessory of the TC-14, the 800/8 and a 1200/11. Granted, in the 1980's Canon would counter with the FD set of stellar white lenses of the 300mm f/2.8L, 400mm 2.8L (which could be considered a more useful response to the Nikkor 300mm f/2+TC14c) and the inside secret of the 500mm f/4.5L (which would motivate Nikon to design their own stellar response in the 500mm f/4P). At this point of the manual focus era it could be considered that Nikon and Canon would be equal, save only for a 600mm f/4 that Canon would save for the EOS design change. So to be clear, Nikon was clearly ahead by the 80's but Canon would soon pull even and most would argue pull ahead in the early AF era with in lens AF motors, but I'll save that ramble for another cup of coffee.

DREW WILEY · Feb 17, 2021

Well, I'm not going to comment on 8X10 film and 14" Dagors like von Hoegh, except that I could buy a whole wheelbarrow full of Nikon gear if I sold that particular lens; but I won't do that. 35mm is still just a centipede beneath the feet of an elephant in that comparison. But centipedes can be fun too. The only Nikon lens I ordinarily shoot anymore is the classic 85/1.4 Ais, though I have also kept the 55/2.8 micro for copystand use in the lab. Both are "just right" for my needs.

David Lingham · Feb 18, 2021

+ 105mm 2.5
+ 55mm micro 2.8
+ 24mm 2.8
+ 50mm 1.8

mooseontheloose · Feb 18, 2021

Well, I went to the Nikon Museum today and took some photos. The light was pretty dim in there and the glass cases had a lot of reflections in them from the lights, so it was difficult to find a good angle sometimes. But I thought this would be a good place to show them. This is a small selection of photos from the museum that I took today, I've kept it mostly to lenses for the purpose of this thread.

(I don't know about others, but I find it useful to be able to compare similar lenses to each other to make it easier to know what to look for when buying one for myself).

First up: a few images from the Nikonos section. I know a few people have mentioned the lenses for these cameras, I'll see if I can find a clear photo to add to this section:

mooseontheloose · Feb 18, 2021

More from the Nikon Museum: camera displays, and the large glass ingot (one of the largest in the world). There's a good section here on how they make lenses and more.

mooseontheloose · Feb 18, 2021

Alright, here's the first section on lenses - a few misc. ones, plus some a larger display:

mooseontheloose · Feb 18, 2021

28mm, 35mm, and 55mm lenses:

mooseontheloose · Feb 18, 2021

Last set from the Nikon Museum: mostly 85mm and 105mm lenses:

ChristopherCoy · Feb 18, 2021

Boy that F5 is a thing of beauty.

George Mann · Feb 18, 2021

David Lingham said:
+ 105mm 2.5
+ 55mm micro 2.8
+ 24mm 2.8
+ 50mm 1.8

Replace the 1.8 with the multi-coated 2, and you have yourself a list.

George Mann · Feb 18, 2021

My own list in order of preference of focal length.

+ 28mm F2
+ 50mm F2 (multi-coated)
+ 105mm F2.5 (2nd version)

Nitroplait · Feb 18, 2021

George Mann said:
Replace the 1.8 with the multi-coated 2, and you have yourself a list.

and replace the 24 with 28mm 2.8 AiS and I'll second that.
And since the 200mm f/4.0 is basically free, I'd throw that on top.

DREW WILEY · Feb 18, 2021

Well, I did learn something from this thread, and have often wished I had an older single-coated Nikon normal lens for sake of a gentler hue rendering. So I found a clean 50/2H that's already been Ai'd, which should arrive in a few days.

George Mann · Feb 18, 2021

DREW WILEY said:
So I found a clean 50/2H that's already been Ai'd, which should arrive in a few days.

It's a great lense for b&w. But you must use a proper lens hood for best results.

jimjm · Feb 18, 2021

mooseontheloose said:
Last set from the Nikon Museum: mostly 85mm and 105mm lenses:

View attachment 266827 View attachment 266828 View attachment 266829 View attachment 266830 View attachment 266831

Thanks for the photos Rachelle. I'll probably never make it to the Nikon museum, so these are great to see.

DREW WILEY · Feb 18, 2021

Thanks, George. I have an appropriate hood on hand. I use 35mm mainly as a spontaneous snapshot system in relation to poetic small prints, generally with TMY400 or Delta 3200, for when I want a look quite different from my large format work.

macfred · Feb 18, 2021

Many 'legendary' lenses have already been mentioned (105mm f/2.5 and the 28mm f2.8 ai-s for ex.) but for me there are two others I would not want to miss.
- Nikkor 45mm f/2.8 P AI-S (Ken Rockwell calls this lens 'one of the worst Nikon has made' ... I love it!)
- Ai Zoom Nikkor 25-50mm f/4 (a heavy hunk with good image qualities also mentioned on 'NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights' https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0046/index.htm )

markjwyatt · Feb 18, 2021

Paul Howell said:
The 105 2.5 was my favorite lens, 180 2.8 and 58 1.2 come to mind.

I have one in Contax mount (Sonnar type), and it is a little clutsy on a rangefinder, but I am starting to really like it.

mooseontheloose · Feb 18, 2021

jimjm said:
Thanks for the photos Rachelle. I'll probably never make it to the Nikon museum, so these are great to see.

I didn't know there was a Nikon Museum until recently, so it worked out well that I could see it on this trip. Canon also has a gallery nearby, but no museum.

David Lingham · Feb 19, 2021

George Mann said:
Replace the 1.8 with the multi-coated 2, and you have yourself a list.

George, The 50mm came with a FM that I bought from new in 1977 or 78 along with the 105mm and the 24mm at the same time. All still in regular use. Since then I have added a F2A, 20mm 3.5 and 200mm f4.

138S · Feb 19, 2021

macfred said:
Many 'legendary' lenses have already been mentioned (105mm f/2.5 and the 28mm f2.8 ai-s for ex.) but for me there are two others I would not want to miss.
- Nikkor 45mm f/2.8 P AI-S (Ken Rockwell calls this lens 'one of the worst Nikon has made' ... I love it!)

There is nothing wrong in loving a Tessar like that pancake (new Tessar-type optical design), just it will deliver some soft corners when fairly open:

Its tiny size can be a great advantage sometimes...

...but it's true that it's a collector's item that provocates some overprice.

ChristopherCoy · Feb 19, 2021

I don't know that I have ever shot anything 1.4 from Nikon. I think the 50 1.8 is as fast as I've ever shot. Everything else has been 2.8.

George Mann · Feb 19, 2021

David Lingham said:
George, The 50mm came with a FM that I bought from new in 1977 or 78

Then yours would be the long nose which along with the AF-D, is my personal pic in the 1.8 lineup.

ChristopherCoy · Feb 19, 2021

Bellamy did a video of the nikon museum...

What are the Nikon lens legends?

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