Nikon 85mm f/2 repair!

[richardHaw]

http://richardhaw.com/2018/09/22/repair-nikkor-85mm-f-2-ai/

Besides the 85/1.4 Ai-S, this lens was popular in the 80s.
I was shooting canon back then but I would hear people talking about this lens well into the 2000s...and from canon and pentax photographers no less!

[John Geerts]

http://richardhaw.com/2018/09/22/repair-nikkor-85mm-f-2-ai/

Besides the 85/1.4 Ai-S, this lens was popular in the 80s.
I was shooting canon back then but I would hear people talking about this lens well into the 2000s...and from canon and pentax photographers no less!

Thanks for the write up Richard.

My conclusion was in comparing with the previous 85/1.8 K that the latter one is better in nearly all fields that matter to me.

[Hugh_3170]

Thanks for the write up Richard.  Many of us appreciate these write ups that you share with us.

I have always felt that my copy of the 85mm f/2.0 was not quite in the same league as my various 105mm f/2.5 lenses.  That said the 85mm is a very compact and convenient lens.

[richardHaw]

Thanks for the write up Richard.

My conclusion was in comparing with the previous 85/1.8 K that the latter one is better in nearly all fields that matter to me.

Glad you liked it. I am not sure which one I would take with me at times. Can you please confirm that the Ai is sharper at closer distances?

[richardHaw]

Thanks for the write up Richard.  Many of us appreciate these write ups that you share with us.

I have always felt that my copy of the 85mm f/2.0 was not quite in the same league as my various 105mm f/2.5 lenses.  That said the 85mm is a very compact and convenient lens.

You're welcome

I am not quite sure why mine is excellent at closer distances but it mediocre at distances further than 10m

[Hans_S]

Hello Richard,

I'd echo your assesment re performance, my AI version is great at 3m but rather lame shooting at 10.
What I can't reconcile is that its performance at distance seems to have faded since it was professionally cleaned
and lubed. This is a quick'n'dirty scan of a KR slide taken exactly 40 years ago, it hints that the (then 2 week old)
lens was capable of reasonable centre detail at distance.

I bought mine new as my first Nikkor (on a F2AS) and used it very heavily in its first decade. I'm left to wonder if
if things changed on reassembly or if it's just suffering wear and tear. Maybe, like its owner, the older it gets the better it was!!

Hans Schepers

[richardHaw]

Hello Richard,

I'd echo your assesment re performance, my AI version is great at 3m but rather lame shooting at 10.
What I can't reconcile is that its performance at distance seems to have faded since it was professionally cleaned
and lubed. This is a quick'n'dirty scan of a KR slide taken exactly 40 years ago, it hints that the (then 2 week old)
lens was capable of reasonable centre detail at distance.

I bought mine new as my first Nikkor (on a F2AS) and used it very heavily in its first decade. I'm left to wonder if
if things changed on reassembly or if it's just suffering wear and tear. Maybe, like its owner, the older it gets the better it was!!

Hans Schepers

Thank you, Hans! That's exactly what I needed to hear!

There's a big possibility that the tolerances may have been "disturbed" when cleaning and only a read collimation adjustment will bring it back to spec

Mine is OK up until 8m or so