Author Topic: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5  (Read 3138 times)

Raaj

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PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« on: September 14, 2015, 23:54:28 »
Anyone of you fine folk play with these two older PC-Nikkors on a FX Digital camera?  Would love to hear your thoughts and see any images, if possible.


Thanks!


Cheers,
   -raaj
Raaj Shinde

Bjørn Rørslett

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2015, 12:52:01 »
Haven't used them for a while other than on DX, only the occasional test shot with my Df.

Expect good optical quality, however, CA might be visible and needs removal in the RAW processing stage. If the lens is shifted too far, or tilted, the CA might occur asymmetrical in the frame and sometimes can be more demanding to get rid of.

Airy

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2015, 18:06:16 »
I have both, acquired 2nd hand. Very nice pieces, as far as manufacturing quality is concerned. As they are totally mechanical with no connection to the camera but the mount, they cannot fail (even the diaphragm needs to get closed manually). I like the handling and the slow photography it induces, but some training is required to avoid missing a step (such as: setting AutoISO off, closing the diaphragm...), and there are many steps : -1) set ISO 0) preset the aperture 1) open the diaph 2) frame 3) set the focus 4) close the diaph 5) set the speed 6) shift 7) shoot 8) da capo... if I remember correctly.

Also, the 28 especially can be preset and used without shift to shoot off the hip, in which case AutoISO and hyperfocal setting help. I have used both on FX (D700, then - rarely - D800), and also on m43 via Novoflex mount.

The primary use case for the 28, for me, was ambiental / street shots and cityscapes in Tokyo ; this is why I feel sentimentally bound to it. But the IQ is not very good. Resolution is not very high (even on D700, 12 M pixels), and the corners tend to be mushy, especially with shift, so this is no proper architectural lens. Distortion is also quite visible on cityscapes; correction is made difficult when shift is applied. But it boosts creativity somehow. I did not pixel-peep the results for coma and flare, but night shots are generally OK too.

The 35/2.8 is significantly better, from an optical point of view: wider max aperture, lesser distortion, higher resolution... the lens (at f/8) still lags behind, say, the Zeiss 35/2 or Sigma 35/1.4 when using a D800, but at lower Mp, slightly pushing the contrast or clarity will do the job. Also, quality degrades less when shifted. But I found the shift function less useful at that FL, so I did not use it very often.
If you are fond of 35mm and MF, this is certainly a nice allrounder.
Airy Magnien

Bjørn Rørslett

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2015, 19:13:06 »
Your 28 might be an out-of-range sample? I have several 28 PCs (ordinary shift, tilt/shift) and they are all quite good optics. Agree that there is some geometric distortion, but not detrimental and pretty easy to fix in a decent RAW converter.

Airy

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2015, 19:45:39 »
Maybe... I can only report from what I could observe, and I did use that lens extensively. Your shots seem to reveal better qualities.

With no shift applied, correcting the regular barrel distortion is easy. With shift applied, LR won't help as it dose not allow to set the photographic centre; Photoshop is needed. The distortion is by the way significantly higher than that displayed by all other MF or AF Nikkors, except the 28/2.8 AFD. Strange, given its purpose... since I acquired the 28/2, I hardly use it anymore. At f/8 for instance, the latter has a markedly higher microcontrast.

I maintain that the 28/3.5 (even my bad sample) is an enjoyable lens. The other nice thing is that its market price is at least stable, so buying and reselling is an option. But for good results, consider f/8-f/11 as a must.
Airy Magnien

Bjørn Rørslett

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2015, 19:48:07 »
I did notice your positive sentiments for the 28 PC and indeed share them.

Airy

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2015, 19:58:48 »
A few shots with the 28/3.5, some with shift, some not. Last one is cropped. Last but one : very long exposure, camera laid on its back, at pitch-dark night, f/8, while having dinner in Aoyama avenue, Tokyo.
Airy Magnien

Tektrader

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #7 on: September 24, 2015, 08:55:57 »
I had a 28mm PC lens. It was the final version that was AIS. I am kinda sad I sold it.

It wasn't soft at all. In fact very sharp...  Will try to find you a sample photo.

If looking for one, make sure it is the version that has a black PC knob as that was the final and best performing version. I would buy it again if I could find one cheap enough.
Graham Johnson

Airy

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2015, 10:02:45 »
Antoher issue with the 28/3.5 (BTW I have the last version, black knob, but it is of course non-AI) is wavy distortion: barrel when not shifted, becoming pincushion on the shifted ends.
Airy Magnien

Raaj

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Re: PC-Nikkors 35/2.8 and 28/3.5
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2015, 01:22:30 »
Bjørn, Airy and Tek, thanks much for the valuable information.  I've gotten my PC-Nikkors AI'd and hope to shoot with them soon, post some images. 


Much appreciate your thoughts.


Cheers,
   -raaj
Raaj Shinde