Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm f/4.5 Auto

[richardHaw]

https://richardhaw.com/2020/12/09/repair-zoom-nikkor-50-300mm-f-4-5-auto/

looking for a donor lens

[Birna Rørslett]

I only have the ED version, which by the way was, and still is, my preferred "in-car" lens floating around in the booth. Sharpest images are around f/11 which is what I tend to use if possible, since I typically have the lens on a mono- or tripod that is easy. The ED version is much shorter about 4.5cm, and balance is better as well.

[richardHaw]

I only have the ED version, which by the way was, and still is, my preferred "in-car" lens floating around in the booth. Sharpest images are around f/11 which is what I tend to use if possible, since I typically have the lens on a mono- or tripod that is easy. The ED version is much shorter about 4.5cm, and balance is better as well.

that's on my list but...i have no more space to store something like that

my wife is already complaining how all of my stuff is taking up 1 of the rooms

[Erik Lund]

Huge zoom  Thank you for the work!
Strange looking big white specks around the aperture/iris disassembly,,,

[richardHaw]

Huge zoom  Thank you for the work!
Strange looking big white specks around the aperture/iris disassembly,,,

fungus

[Birna Rørslett]

... and lots of it apparently. Oh dear, glad I'm living in a dry climate. Were it no that cold every winter it might be perfect.

[Matthew Currie]

Funny,  "dry" isn't the first word I would find to describe Norway's climate, but I suppose it is, compared to Cambodia and such.  If Norway is dry, then so, I guess, is Vermont, where it also rains all the time and is also cold in winter (when in Norway a couple of years ago, it felt like home), and I'm sorry to say my lenses grow fungus with alarming regularity.  Good to keep our local repair guru in business, though.  The only ones I've attempted myself are a Tokina 28-70, which I got most of easily, owing to Mr. Haw's encouraging website, and a "New Nikkor" 35/2.8, with simplicity added to its list of virtues.

[Birna Rørslett]

Indoor humidity is difficult to keep above 40% RH, so "dry" is apt. (I'm in southeastern Norway). Western Norway is -- well -- the West Land and there it rains -- a lot.

I hauled out my 50-300ED and hooked it up with a Z7 to confirm the old-timer does best at f/11 and 105mm settings, but will not bring shame on its performance even set against modern designs. The pincushion distortion at 300mm is remarkable, but easy to correct. Around the middle 100-135mm setting the zoom lens is more or less free of obvious geometric distortion. At the short end there is some barrel distortion, though.

Here is a 100% crop of a test shot with the 50-300 set to 105mm and f/11, with Z7 @64 ISO, Broncolor studio flash. Distance around 4m. NEF run straight through Photo Ninja. This is a design 40+ years old, mind you.

[Roland Vink]

https://richardhaw.com/2020/12/09/repair-zoom-nikkor-50-300mm-f-4-5-auto/

looking for a donor lens

I have one. The front element has haze or fungus behind it, the lens is otherwise pristine. It's really an amazing lens. Fancy cleaning it for me?

[Roland Vink]

I only have the ED version, which by the way was, and still is, my preferred "in-car" lens floating around in the booth. Sharpest images are around f/11 which is what I tend to use if possible, since I typically have the lens on a mono- or tripod that is easy. The ED version is much shorter about 4.5cm, and balance is better as well.

If you are shooting at that aperture, I wonder if the AFS 70-300/4.5-5.6 would be a better choice? Of course you loose a little range at the wide end and some speed but you aren't really using faster apertures anyway. Surely the new lens would be sharper, and much easier to handle.

[Birna Rørslett]

The reason I select f/11 is for the sharpest image. Otherwise, I just shoot at whatever setting is required. The 50-300ED stands up to my kind of abuse. No modern lens can take the same beating this old timer has seen throughout the years. The old lens also has a tripod mount to my liking.

The reason I posted the test image was to show that even with a modern high-resolving camera like the Z7, the 50-300ED can deliver excellent image quality.

[richardHaw]

I have one. The front element has haze or fungus behind it, the lens is otherwise pristine. It's really an amazing lens. Fancy cleaning it for me?

send it to me before spring starts its too cold now...my butt freezes whenever i sit on the workbench

i will use it to take better sample photos. i was actually waiting for you to send the lens to me so I could make a proper review
my readers will have to do with my hazy ones for now.

[Roland Vink]

It's a heavy lens, will cost a lot to send and return

[richardHaw]

It's a heavy lens, will cost a lot to send and return

hmmm...how much do you reckon? ok, i will try and apply for a job in Christchurch again

[Imagelover]

The AI-S Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm f/4.5 ED, f/11, with D7100. A great and sharp lens at this aperture.