Author Topic: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai  (Read 1438 times)

dslater

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Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« on: March 20, 2020, 12:45:09 »
Can a 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai be "Ai'd"?

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2020, 13:19:55 »
Definitively. Erik did my sample.

MILLIREHM

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Re: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2020, 14:02:09 »
Currently I am lacking understanding how a PC Nikkor can be made AI.
"normal" Nikon lenses have a stop down lever and an aperture ring right at the bayonet. Older non-AI lenses have the old "forked" meter coupling shoe (where the maximum aperture had to be programmed by moving the aperture ring after mounting the lens. AI lenses got the ring with the ai- coupling ridge instead and AI-d lenses either got a replacement ring or were tweaked by using Dremel tools to simulate this ridge.

PC lenses have an aperture ring on the front side and no stop down lever.
No doubt Erik is a Master of tweaking and adapting lenses but how  could this work?
Wolfgang Rehm

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2020, 14:04:53 »
The old 35/3.5 had a sleeve at the rear preventing the lens being attached to a modern Nikon. Erik milled that sleeve to allow the lens to be put on any F-mount camera.

MILLIREHM

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Re: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2020, 14:30:20 »
The old 35/3.5 had a sleeve at the rear preventing the lens being attached to a modern Nikon. Erik milled that sleeve to allow the lens to be put on any F-mount camera.

OK so that means it was adapted to be mountable - but withoud gaining further AI- functionality
thats what had confused me, thanks.
Wolfgang Rehm

richardHaw

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Re: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2020, 14:53:24 »
oh, that's the skirt, right? similar to tickmarks? :o :o :o

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2020, 16:19:34 »
OK so that means it was adapted to be mountable - but withoud gaining further AI- functionality
thats what had confused me, thanks.

I put a "G" chip in it, similar to what I use for other PC lenses.

Matthew Currie

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Re: Nikon 35mm f/3.5 PC Non-Ai
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2020, 14:12:24 »
I long ago converted my pre-AI lens.  It's very easy, since the only problem is the depth of the skirt.  Since it does not rotate or engage anything all you can just turn it down or file it or put the ring on a piece of sandpaper and sand it down a little. If you don't care about appearance or are in a hurry to see how it works, you can even just leave it off and put the mount back together.  It's just a trim  piece.

I've long used mine as a normal lens on DX. Not a quick off-the-hip shooter, but it doesn't take long to get used to guessing the exposure on a non-metering camera like the D3200, and it meters fine on a D7100.  Mine is sharp and renders colors and whatnot very nicely, and the ability to shift yourself out of reflections is very handy indeed.