I've fallen for manual focus lenses and I blame all of you!

[tommiejeep]

Akira, very nice. Airplane holds up very well . I use the 200 f4 Ai quite a bit and love the way it renders.   Unfortunately the Df doesn't have the legs of your GH5 but the D500 is closer 
Yom

[Akira]

Akira, very nice. Airplane holds up very well . I use the 200 f4 Ai quite a bit and love the way it renders.   Unfortunately the Df doesn't have the legs of your GH5 but the D500 is closer 
Yom

Thank you, Tom, for kind words.

This image was also shot with the same Ai200/4.0 on GH5 handheld a few days ago and posted in another thread started by me.  Hope my double post is tolerated under this circumstance.

Above the Mt. Fuji, there is a jet (apparently C-130), and, to the left of it, there is a small dot which turned out to be not a dust speck but...

[gryphon1911]

So, since I last posted, I've also picked up a couple other lenses.
I believe I may have mentioned the 20/3.5 AIS, 28/2.8 AIS and the 35/2.8 nikkor-s q.

I also got the 135/3.5 AIS.

today, my mother in law wanted to get me something for Christmas.  Went to the camera store and walked out with Nikon 85/2 AIS.

I know it doesn't have the best of reputations, but for the size and the fact that I didn't pay for it... It's all good.  On to of it, in starting to run it of focal lengths to get, as most of them I already have covered.  :-)

[ianwatson]

Andrew, you are as bad an influence as everyone else 

[gryphon1911]

Andrew, you are as bad an influence as everyone else 

I don't mean to be!!  Lol 

I came from a time where I did start out shooting film, but AF was the norm.  I quickly transitioned to digital where manual focus was almost unheard of.

Once I got myself past the desire to only shoot fast paced, "get the shot, get it out the door", I realized that not only do I love creating photographs, but I also am in love with the process of taking them. 

Like anything you love, there should be time to reflect in it, show down, enjoy, appreciate.

Manual focus lenses do that for me.  They have their time and place.

I've also found that the older lenses have a more organic quality to them that I find pleasing.  The modern lenses are fantastic.  So fantastic that they can be extremely sharp and at times almost clinically perfect.

I've often been drawn to the concept that true perfection does not really exist here in our existence and we are to strive to always try and get there.  It is the imperfect that I love to show, especially when you can show the uniqueness and beauty in it.

These gems of lenses are so inexpensive now, and I'm fortunate to have a local camera store that still deals on them and gets refreshed stock from time to time.  My only real regret is that my photographic maturity took so long to get here that I missed YEARS of shooting manual focus.  Maybe now, I'm trying to play catch up! 

[Jacques Pochoy]

Went to the camera store and walked out with Nikon 85/2 AIS.
I know it doesn't have the best of reputations, but for the size and the fact that I didn't pay for it... It's all good.

My old battered 85mm AIS is still one of my favorite on the Df, just the good size, efficient and I never understood it's bad rap ? I like it as it is 
You'll like it 

[desmobob]

I've also found that the older lenses have a more organic quality to them that I find pleasing.  The modern lenses are fantastic.  So fantastic that they can be extremely sharp and at times almost clinically perfect.

I'm hoping that using these older MF lenses will bring back some of the "character" of the film days.

I have a small pile of older non-Ai lenses that I will be sending to Mr. White to be converted so I can use them on my D750...
50mm f/2
105mm f/2.5 (early Sonnar type)
105mm f/2.5 (later version)
135mm f/2.8
200mm f/4

From the film days, I have:
24mm f/2.8 AiS
28mm f/3.5 Ai
55mm f/2.8 Micro Ais
Series E 100mm f/2.8 AiS
200mm f/4 Micro Ai

What might I look for next?  See any affordable "must haves" that are missing?

Stay sharp,
Bob

[Hugh_3170]

Is Mr White still doing these lens conversions?

I have heard good things said about his work.

[Matthew Currie]

Desmobob, I see you already have several of my favorites. Among mine are the very early pre-AI 200/4 and the also very early 28/3.5.  Both these are the old type without easily removable flanges, and I've never converted the 28.  The 200 was hacked before I bought it but works.  I also have the later pre-AI 105/2.5 which is grand, and a late pre-AI version of the 55/3.5 which is just as good as it should be.

You might want to look for the old 85/1.8, which is not spectacularly sharp but gives lovely results, and perhaps the 35/2.8K.  That latter is also not killer sharp, at least in the example I have, but it was very cheap, is very compact, and must be about the easiest lens I've ever seen to repair, making it a good candidate if you find one with haze or fungus at a giveaway price.

By the way, judging by your handle, can we assume you are or have been a fan of a certain Italian motorcycle?  I'm off the road now, but once had a Desmo 350 - a pocket rocket with a unique sound, like a houri tearing silk while dancing on a kettle drum  (on the rare occasions when it started at all!).

[John Geerts]

The 85/1.8 K (a real gem) is not really affordable any more. I think a good sample (and Ai converted) will cost 300E or more. The same applies for the 180/2.8 ED and also the 20/4 or 20/3.5 UD.

The 28/2 is also not a cheap lens.

Perhaps you can get lucky with a 28/2.8 Ai-S or 35/2.8 K - early Ai version.

[desmobob]

I have the 35mm f/2, 85mm f/1.8 and 180mm f/2.8 in AF versions, so I'm not compelled to look for the older versions of those.  I guess a 20mm prime is a lens missing from my collection.  That will likely be my next target... non-Ai, Ai, Ai-S for AF; whatever I stumble upon that fits my frugal budget.

John White does still does the conversions; I've e-mailed him a few weeks ago.  He has a great reputation for his work.  I'm tempted to do it myself but I'd be heartbroken if I messed up one of those fine old lenses.   I do have a pre-Ai 43-86 f/3.5 with an oily diaphragm that I guess would be a prime candidate for a DIY practice attempt.  ;-)  (I have a later Ai-S version of that infamous lens, which is actually a decent performer.  It's a lens I used a lot as an enlisted Navy journalist in the '80s.)

And yes, I am a Ducati owner.  I have a 900SS SP that I bought new in 1995 (my avatar image).  I love it.

Stay sharp,
Bob

[gryphon1911]

I got to inspect the 85mm f/2 AIS a little closer.  The front lens element does have some scratches on it.   I've seen worse, to be honest.

Some preliminary testing shows a little bit of haze at f/2, but that goes away quickly once you hit f/2.8.

The thing that strikes me about it the most is the size.  I am so used to thinking that the 85mm f/1.8 and f/1.4 have to be these huge things and this is anything but huge.   A nice small prime, as you'd want it to be.  I appreciate it and the small size of even the AIS 105/2.5 and 135/3.5 lenses.

I saw a newer 200/4 AIS at the camera store.  I am going to do some research and if it is the same or better IQ than the QC that I have, I might snag that one just for the smaller size and the proper EXIF registering on the Df.

Anyway, some images of the 85/2 AIS.

[Roland Vink]

I'm hoping that using these older MF lenses will bring back some of the "character" of the film days.

I have a small pile of older non-Ai lenses that I will be sending to Mr. White to be converted so I can use them on my D750...
50mm f/2
105mm f/2.5 (early Sonnar type)
105mm f/2.5 (later version)
135mm f/2.8
200mm f/4

From the film days, I have:
24mm f/2.8 AiS
28mm f/3.5 Ai
55mm f/2.8 Micro Ais
Series E 100mm f/2.8 AiS
200mm f/4 Micro Ai

What might I look for next?  See any affordable "must haves" that are missing?

I'd be tempted to add an AI 20/3.5 for a super-wide lens (the AIS is the same optically but has a shorter focus throw)

Also the AI 50/1.8, I think it is a little better than the 50/2 and has nicer bokeh.

AI 135/3.5 is also a nice lens, will nicely bridge the gap between your 100mm series-E and 200/4, and focuses closer than the pre-Ai 135mm lenses.

A lens with 35mm focal length could also be useful...

[desmobob]

I'd be tempted to add an AI 20/3.5 for a super-wide lens (the AIS is the same optically but has a shorter focus throw)

Also the AI 50/1.8, I think it is a little better than the 50/2 and has nicer bokeh.

AI 135/3.5 is also a nice lens, will nicely bridge the gap between your 100mm series-E and 200/4, and focuses closer than the pre-Ai 135mm lenses.

A lens with 35mm focal length could also be useful...

Thanks for your recommendations, Mr. Vink. 

I have started poking around a bit, looking for a 20mm Nikkor of some sort.  I'll target the Ai 3.5 if that's the best price/performance option. 
I do have a 50mm f/1.8 in the AF series but I've read the earlier metal Ai-S version is the superior version.  I have the AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D.  I get the impression it isn't that well liked, but I've been happy with my copy.  I've read that the Ai-S version is considered a better performer.  I'll start to look for these MF lenses when I've recovered from my holiday spending.  :-)

I was interested that you mentioned the 135mm f/3.5 Ai.  Do you feel this lens is superior/different enough compared to my pre-Ai f/2.8 version that it's worth finding one to replace my f/2.8 or duplicating the focal length in my collection?

My pre-Ai lenses will go out to Mr. White this coming week.  In the mean time, I'll be experimenting with my latest AF acquisition: an AF ED Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 one-touch zoom.  So far, I'm impressed by its performance and depressed by its weight!

Thanks again for your suggestions,
Bob

[Jack Dahlgren]

Thanks for your recommendations, Mr. Vink. 

I have started poking around a bit, looking for a 20mm Nikkor of some sort.  I'll target the Ai 3.5 if that's the best price/performance option. 

That 20mm is a nice small lens as well. The UD is much larger and heavier.