What happened to the Nikon 45mm f/2.8P lens???

[stradibarrius]

Does anyone know why Nikon stopped making this lens? I have read that it was a stellar performer, lightweight and compact???

 

[CGW]

Mainly because Nikon grossly overestimated the appeal of the FM3a in 2001. Nikon supposedly had plans to produce a group of P(chipped)manual focus lenses in classic focal lengths that would include the 28/2.8, 45/2.8 and 105/2.5. But by the time the FM3a hit the market, the digital tipping point had already arrived and put the FM3a retro project on ice after sales fell short of expectations.

I grabbed a black demo unit from Nikon.ca in 2003. Friends thought it was a totally dumb purchase but it came at a good discount and was like new. They were pricey and simply didn't look like much lens for the money--whatever their capabilities or optical quality. "Why bother" was what the market told Nikon. The lens just didn't sell.

It's a very sweet lens that seems to sell now for way more than I paid. I've got an embarrassment of Nikon 50mm lenses but have to admit I like the 45mm best of all.

 

[stradibarrius]

I have just purchased a new un-opend in the box sliver 45P and am anxious to get it.
I have an RB67, a Mamiya 645 and digital gear but I seem to have taken my best shots with my Nikon FE????
I am also trying to understand the lust for rangefinders? I have have several and I likes them but still an SLR seems to make more sense to me...

 

[CGW]

I have just purchased a new un-opend in the box sliver 45P and am anxious to get it.
I have an RB67, a Mamiya 645 and digital gear but I seem to have taken my best shots with my Nikon FE????
I am also trying to understand the lust for rangefinders? I have have several and I likes them but still an SLR seems to make more sense to me...

Lucky you! On the rangefinder(esp. Leica)mystique, this might help:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/24/070924fa_fact_lane

 

[stradibarrius]

I have had several rangefinders and I like them. I will probably have another one some day but it seems to me that small bodied SLR with a high quality 50mm lens is interchangeable with a rangefinder????
I have a Nikon FE and did a size, weight comparison with a Zorky4 and a Fed2 that I had and they are virtually the same. This is not a statement against rangefinders so please don't head that way. This is really a question...why would an SLR as described not be interchangeable with a rangefinder??? Is there a design feature in the rangefinder that is superior? The quite shutter thing doesn't resonate with me. My RB67 makes a "SLAP" but the FE is quite.

 

[mablo]

Small bodied SLR with a small 50mm lens can indeed operate much like a rangefinder. I had a black M-series Leica with a 50mm lens and a black FM2n with the small and good E-series 50mm lens. I still think that FM2n is very "Leica like". Without that d**ed mirror slap even more so.

 

[wotalegend]

If you hanker for the Nikkor 45/2.8 you could consider a Voigtlander Ultron SL II 40/2, which is very similar in many respects. That's what I did and I am very happy with it. It mostly gets used on my FE2. They are available new from cameraquest.com (and other Voigtlander dealers) for USD409 in Nikon mount and they come with a dome lens hood like the Nikkor, a close-up lens, and are chipped for metering compatibility with later bodies.

 

[wotalegend]

I see in another thread that you got one. That didn't take too long. (But I'm still happy with my Ultron 40/2)

 

[IloveTLRs]

I am also trying to understand the lust for rangefinders? I have have several and I likes them but still an SLR seems to make more sense to me...

I started with SLRs, but moved to RFs with a Canon P a few years ago. RFs are fascinating and wonderful mistresses ... enthralling to the point where I seriously feel like a cheater because I bought a Nikon F the other day

 

[Terrence Brennan]

Lucky you! On the rangefinder(esp. Leica)mystique, this might help:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/24/070924fa_fact_lane

Great article!

 

[kivis]

get a Voigtlander 40mm/2 pancake instead. Sharper and already "chipped" if you want to go digital.

http://www.cameraquest.com/Voigt_SL2.htm

 

[CGW]

"get a Voigtlander 40mm/2 pancake instead. Sharper and already "chipped" if you want to go digital."

The Nikon 45/2.8 P is chipped. That's why Voigtlander chipped theirs.

 

[stradibarrius]

I am hoping to process some film today using my new Nikon 45mm f/2.8P. Yes it is chipped. It works great on my F100 and my D300. On the D300 the color is really something.
I will post some of the shots taken on film a bit later...if I'm happy with the results??

 

[perkeleellinen]

I had this lens and mounted it onto an FM2 it was a really great light weight and compact camera to carry around. My only concern was that it was so short that sometimes I'd have difficulty distinguishing the focus and aperture barrels when shooting. I bought my version new from Amazon at a bargain price and then when I sold it on ebay I made a profit. I sometimes wish I hadn't sold it, but that's always the way with gear isn't it?

 

[paulfish4570]

That 45 is one of the main reasons I am considering purchase of an FM.
As for the rangefinder oevre, it is a state of mind. Whether rangefinder or SLR, I tend to shoot the same way with one small exception: I can get closer for detailish shots with the SLR. Can't do that with a rangefinder unless you switch lenses to a short tele. My SP1000, in fact, thinks it is a rangefinder. But I shoot rangefinders, too, and love 'em dearly ...