Author Topic: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!  (Read 3583 times)

richardHaw

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Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« on: July 24, 2017, 18:19:05 »
https://richardhaw.com/2017/07/22/repair-rf-nikkor-p-c-8-5cm-f2/

Happy 100th birthday, Nippon Kogaku!  :o :o :o

Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!

Erik Lund

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2017, 11:16:06 »
Thanks Rick!


Quite a nostalgic look at an old warhorse  :D



Erik Lund

richardHaw

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2017, 12:24:51 »
Thanks, I was surprised at the images it produced  :o :o :o

very smooth despite the age  ::)
it reminds me of the pre-war 5cm sonnar. sonnars are known to give out this characteristic smoothness 8)
at the expense of some contrast wide-open. maybe this is due to coatings...

Akira

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2017, 12:43:56 »
Nice job as always and pleasing sample images!
"The eye is blind if the mind is absent." - Confucius

"Limitation is inspiration." - Akira

richardHaw

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2020, 14:13:54 »
https://richardhaw.com/2020/04/29/repair-nikkor-p•c-8-5cm-f-2-late-version/

black label :o :o :o

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2020, 14:26:00 »
Aha, I have one of those and love it. Much nicer than the previous chrome version (which I also have). It's great on my Z50 and the Nex-5N Monochrome.

Wait -- after reading through your detailed repair story, I noted my lens serial is just 124 units away from your 85/2 !!

richardHaw

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2020, 14:57:34 »
Aha, I have one of those and love it. Much nicer than the previous chrome version (which I also have). It's great on my Z50 and the Nex-5N Monochrome.

yes, it is lighter, too :o :o :o

Roland Vink

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2020, 09:43:17 »
A few curious details about this lens:

The dot in "NIKKOR-P.C" is always low like a full stop. On almost all other Nikon rangefinder lenses (and later in F-mount lenses) the dot is mid height, eg "NIKKOR-P·C". Early NIKKOR-S.C 8.5cm 1:1.5 lenses also have the low dot, but somewhere around no.264xxx the dot changes to mid-height. There are three batches of the NIKKOR-P.C 10.5cm 1:2.5 with the low dot, roughly between 817312 - 818144, another batch from 819834 - 819908, and the last batch from 912501 - 912800 (based on information collected so far). All the rest of production have the mid-height dot. The NIKKOR-P.C 8.5cm 1:2 is the only lens where all lenses use the low dot.

Somewhere in the mid-1950s, Nikon dropped the "·C" designation, because coated lenses by then had become standard. The 8.5cm 1:2 was the only lens to carry the ".C" mark right to the end, even though it continued to be made through to the late 1950s and early 1960s.

At the same time the "·C" designation was dropped (or a little after on some lenses), Nikon changed the font for the engraving on the lens. For example, the old font has a "3" with a flat top, the newer font has a rounded top. The newer font continues to be used for F-mount lenses right up to AI-S lenses still made today. However the 8.5cm 1:2 lens uses the old font even for the latest black series that Ric reviewed, except for a few very late lenses such at the one shown here: http://kevincameras.com/gallery/v/nikon_rf/lens/85_2/black/497666/ (the latest serial number I have seen). Even this one has the front ring engraved with the old style, but new font on the focus and aperture scales!

Many late production lenses with black barrel and modern styling are often engraved "J. PAT. 188,481" near the base, but it is often missing, with no clear pattern that I can see.

It seems that whoever engraved the parts for this lens was somewhat removed from the rest, they continued to use old styles even after the rest had changed. A unique lens :)

Erik Lund

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2020, 12:03:25 »
It's all about the details  ;D Thank you all!  8)
Erik Lund

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2020, 14:09:35 »
With its dedicated lens hood, the 8.5 cm f/2 Nikkor is a true Black Beauty :)

Here on a Millennium Nikon S3.

Hugh_3170

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2020, 15:03:21 »
Beautiful pairing of lens and S3.

Looks to have the same width of strap as my Nikkormats - I would personally hate to go back to such narrow unyielding straps.

With its dedicated lens hood, the 8.5 cm f/2 Nikkor is a true Black Beauty :)

Here on a Millennium Nikon S3.
Hugh Gunn

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #11 on: April 30, 2020, 19:34:48 »
The strap suits the camera + lens combination.

richardHaw

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2020, 02:03:16 »
I just updated the page with Roland's inputs :o :o :o

Roland has such a keen eye nothing ever misses him ::)

I am itching to use this lens again but I have nothing to take photos of since every festival had been cancelled :'(

Snoogly

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #13 on: January 13, 2024, 05:43:18 »
Can someone explain the version I have in my hot (actually cold) hand now? There is an extra ring at the front with an unknown filter thread (around 54mm) onto which the hood attaches.

SN: 396954

The only place I have seen a version of the lens is here:
https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/RF-Nikkor/RF85mm/index2.htm

Edit: I forgot to mention there is an unthreaded filter between the hood and the lens. It fits perfectly, held in by the hood. First time I seen un unthreaded front filter! SERIES VII KODACHROME HAZE FILTER
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Akira

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Re: Repair of the RF-Nikkor-P.C 8.5cm f/2 lens!!!
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2024, 06:09:20 »
Can someone explain the version I have in my hot (actually cold) hand now? There is an extra ring at the front with an unknown filter thread (around 54mm) onto which the hood attaches.

SN: 396954

The only place I have seen a version of the lens is here:
https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/RF-Nikkor/RF85mm/index2.htm

Edit: I forgot to mention there is an unthreaded filter between the hood and the lens. It fits perfectly, held in by the hood. First time I seen un unthreaded front filter! SERIES VII KODACHROME HAZE FILTER

Apparently, your sample is one right before Nikon changed its design to the black & silver version:

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

The filter ring to accommodate the series VII is not the part of the lens but the part of the dedicated lens hood.  See the seventh paragraph of this page:

https://www.cameraquest.com/852black.htm
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