Show-off those Manual Focus lenses

[gqtuazon]

I'm sure there are quite a few members here who still uses manual focus lenses. Some people think that they need to save a lot of money just to shift to FX which is certainly not true at all unless you want those latest AF G lenses with Nano coating. I just purchased three Nikkor MF lenses in excellent condition which only cost less than $350 USD. and they all work perfectly fine with my D700 / D7000. For non-cpu lenses, you'll need to enter and save the lens data on the camera. It will be able to meter whenever you use these old lenses. I hope you can participate and show case your MF lenses. I'll start it off with what I have.

My classic Nikon lenses

Nikon Classics by gqtuazon, on Flickr

First on the list my $50 Nikkor 28mm f3.5 ai lens. The serial numbe indicates that it was produced back around in Sep 1981.
You can check out the history of the lens date production by using the link below.

http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html#28


Nikkor 28mm f3.5 ai by gqtuazon, on Flickr

Sample image using the 28mm f3.5 ai lens

Yellow Iris by gqtuazon, on Flickr

Next on my list is my newly acquired Nikkor 135mm f2.8 pre-ai (K series) which was converted to Ai. This was another bargain lens that I got for $115 USD which came with it's original box. The lens is still in excellent condition and it was produced back between Nov 1976 - 77.

Sample image at f2.8. This lens produces great bokeh.


Nikkor 135mm f2.8 pre-ai @ f2.8 by gqtuazon, on Flickr

@f8 just to get more DOF. A very nice sharp copy of this lens.


Nikkor 135mm f2.8 pre-ai @ f8 by gqtuazon, on Flickr

and the last one in my inventory is my Nikkor 300mm f4.5 ais lens which was produced back in Nov 1981.


Nikon 300mm f4.5 Ai lens with hood retracted by gqtuazon, on Flickr

Sample images with the Nikkor 300mm f4.5


Dragon fly by gqtuazon, on Flickr


Nikon 300mm f4.5 bokeh shot, f8, 1/160 hand-held by gqtuazon, on Flickr

[jim]

You're getting some good results from those old warhorses. Good to see.

[gqtuazon]

You're getting some good results from those old warhorses. Good to see.

Thanks Jim. These are old warriors that were under utilized by their previous owners but they are being given a new life to photogs like myself. I was thinking of getting an Oly EPL (M4/3 mount with adapter) to use these lenses since it will give them image stabilizer.

[Sar NOP]

Yes, these MF lenses work really well on modern DSLR.
I own many of them too and the most impressive one is the AI-S 50-300/4.5 ED.



From last Monday at the bird show (Taronga Zoo) :

D2Hs + AI-S 50-300/4.5 ED

[Sar NOP]

[gqtuazon]

Very impressive BIF shots using a MF zoom lens Sar. What aperture and shutter speed do you normally use for bird shots? I'll keep an eye on that zoom lens. I saw one advertised but it's a 100-300mm f5.6 ais lens. I'm not sure if the optics are as good as yours. Thanks for sharing your work.

[Sar NOP]

The full Exifs are in each image.
The 100-300/5.6 is not as good as the ED lenses.

[gqtuazon]

Just adding a picture using the Nikkor 135mm f2.8 Ai lens with extension tube.

Paper wasp

[gqtuazon]

Night photography using the Nikkor 28mm f3.5 Ai lens.

[ricktas]

NOTE: The Camera/Lens/Gear talk forum is not a critique forum. So please do not critique photos in this thread

[jjphoto]

Manual focus lenses are not for everyone due to stop down metering ie open to focus, stop down to meter/shoot. It can be a pain in the bum depending on how you like to shoot but I find it to be no problem at all, as I prefer to shoot wide open or close to it. I use a fair range of Alt or legacy lenses, mainly Contax/Yashica, Olympus, Leica R and a collection of enlarging lenses.

Canon 1ds2 with Contax 50/1.4 at 1.4


Canon 5d2 with Nikon PB-4 with Schneider enlarging lens


Probably with a Sironar-N 150/5.6 large format lens, not sure.


Leica R 80/1.4 at F8 with Leica Macro-R tube on 1ds2


Old enlarging lens on a Sinar and 5d2


Leica R 180/2.0 at F2.0, on 1ds2


I think this was a Leica R 50/2 on a 1ds2


TBH, I pretty much only shoot with 'Alt' lenses when shooting for myself.

JJ

[merlin1]

Just one question. How do you access the Exifs in the photos.

Thanks Ross.

[Kym]

Just one question. How do you access the Exifs in the photos.
Thanks Ross.

Right click, view EXIF (after you install an EXIF viewer)

See: http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for..._Other_Plugins

[jjphoto]

Right click, view EXIF (after you install an EXIF viewer)

See: http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for..._Other_Plugins

EXIF may or may not have relevant info about the lens/aperture used when using alt lenses. The adapter needs to have a chip which must be programmed for the lens it's attached to. This adapter will communicate with the camera but this will only give the focal length, not the actual aperture in use, as there is no linkage or connection between the lens>adapter and the adapter can not know which aperture is being used. I only ever use non-chipped adapters, so no EXIF info re lens/aperture. I use a pen and paper if I need to record info. OLD-SKOOL, just like the lenses themselves.

JJ

[gqtuazon]

Thanks for sharing your work JJ. Very interesting collection and I'm sure each lens has their own unique character. The Leica looks awesome but they are very hard to find and they require some modifications to fit Nikon's F mount.

[jjphoto]

Thanks for sharing your work JJ. Very interesting collection and I'm sure each lens has their own unique character. The Leica looks awesome but they are very hard to find and they require some modifications to fit Nikon's F mount.

No prob. Canons seem to be one of the easiest FF cameras for alt lenses. It's the main reason I've stuck with them.

JJ