5 Favorite Vintage Nikon Lenses 

If this video helped you out, feel free to use these links to help support this channel. 50mm F1.8 E ebay.to/2RKx51Y 28mm F2.8 AI-S ebay.to/2DfGRDP 105mm F2.5 AI-S ebay.to/2TxlFA1 135mm F2.8 QC ebay.to/2GrC9Gl 35mm F2.8 PC ebay.to/2TzqLvJ

24mm 2.8 50mm f1.4 105 2.5 the holy trinity of Nikon lenses

This selection spot on , you couldn't even wrong. The 180 and 200f4 are supreme.

I shoot a Nikkor 28mm F/2.8 AI on my D780 and I love it. Crystal clear and incredibly versatile for everyday photography. Love it.

Thanks for the video. I have three of the vintage lenses on your list (28 and 105). However, here are my five favorite vintage Nikon lenses: 1. 35mm f/1.4 (my personal favorite focal length) 2. 180mm f/2.8 (one of my three sharpest prime lenses) 3. 55mm f/3.5 macro (one of my three sharpest prime lenses) 4. 105mm f/2.8 macro (one of my three sharpest prime lenses) 5. 75-150mm f/3.5 Series E (great image quality for very low price) My favorite vintage lens kit consisted of: 35mm f/2 (later replaced by f/1.4 version) 85mm f/1.8 (later replaced by f/1.4 version) 180mm f/2.8

I’m really surprised that nobody in the comments mentioned the Nikon 180 f/2.8 lens. A legend!

I also have the 80-200 2.8 and the 70-300 ED VR. Both great lenses and pretty darn sharp.

I got 50mm 1.4 sc auto, amazing lens, bokeh is amazing

Very helpful--great advice. Thnx

Just found a couple of Nikkor rangefinder lenses online - should be fun to try

Thanks for alerting me to the 28mm f2.8 AI-S. It looks like the wide counterpart to the 55mm 2.8 Micro, which is probably my favorite all-around lens and certainly is, as Ken Rockwell put it, "hellaciously sharp at all apertures." Nikon's best lenses are worldbeaters IMHO.

Great video! I've just started playing with vintage lenses but for Canon. My primary camera is a Nikon so the info you're providing is super helpful. Either way, vintage lenses give some beautiful images. Something about the color and sharpness stand out compared to modern lenses.

I love my old to ancient Nikkors on M43 adapters, both glassless and especially 0.71x stop-adding sharpening glassed, which combines with the 2x M43 crop factor for and overall multiplier 1.42x to get the final effective focal length. My beloved 200mm f4 Micro-Nikkor becomes even more incredibly sharp, a stop brighter, and 1.42 times longer, the 284mm f2.8 close-focusing tool that bug and butterfly photographers dream of. An ancient cheap non-AI 400mm f5.6 becomes a 560mm f4, but okay, the amazing Leica 100-400mm f4-6.3 (200-800mm full-frame equivalent) is still my bird and wildlife lens of choice. Even though I don't do much architectural photography, and correct for perspective digitally anyway, I agree about the 35mm f2.8 PC-Nikkor. It becomes the world's sharpest 50mm f2 equivalent in the rare event that I need a fast "normal' lens. The 85mm f1.8 Nikkor is now a 125mm f0.9 way to snoop in dimly lit cabaret settings at low-noise ISOs. I must use these and other Nikkors manually, but Panasonic M43 bodies simplify this via manual focusing aids, exposure control, and image stabilization.

love vintage lenses got over 80 (wife not happy 😁) not got many nikon yet ,must give them a closer look

The 20mm f3.5 is a great lens also.

I love the 200/ 4 Nikkor. I have the one I bought in the early '70's as well as an AIS version.

Nikon 2,8/28mm Series E AI-S , works on the fm2n? and do you think it is as sharp as the "non E" version? thank you so much!!!

I honestly can't tell you how grateful I am for coming across your channel and finding out Nikon does tilt/shift lenses! I'd appreciate it so much if you could tell me if the PC lenses would mount correctly on a Nikon FM2N... the whole ai, ai-s mount terminology gets so confusing :) Thank you! Best of luck with your channel!

I have the 28mm but in the 3.5 version; love it for landscape. Snagged it for $70 in near-mint condition.

Currently waiting for a 28mm F2.8 from KEH in the mail. Look forward to working with it.

I own the pancake, the 28mm and the 135mmQ ... They are GOOOOD and CHEAAAP

Great to hear all the comments. I like to share with you guys that over the years (40+). I have had my share of Nikor lenses. At the end , I'm holding on to the following: 50mm f1.4 ais, 35-70 f2.8D, 55mm f3.5 and f2.8., 105 f2.5 ais, with noting is the 24-50D. It is a $120 lens but once I took a wedding shot side by side with a Canon 17-40 both at 5.6. nobody cold tell the difference. But the costed $450 then. So I kept the 24-50D. Another sleeper is the Tamron 90 f2.5 model B52? I took a picture of a building from a block away. I could read the sign on it! Thought I share this with fellow hobbiest . Happy Holidays.

I use Nikkor 35 f2 lens as a "wider normal". Perfect all-around lens especially my lower light photography. It's easier to shoot at longer shutter speeds than 50mm because of shorter focal length and heavier construction.

great video, thanks!

Very cool pod cast... thanks... you missed the 85mm 1.8 this is a classic lens and the 55mm f3.5 again a classic lens.

I use allot of old Nikon glass and my favourite lens is the older 50mm f1.4 lens the pre AI version. My copy is now AI converted so I use it on Nikon film bodies and adapted on an Fuji XE1

Did you go to UT Austin? (recognized greg and the construction stuff by PCL.) If so do you have any favorite places to take pictures at on or off campus?

Agree with you about the 28 2.8 ais I use it on my nikon z6 the for video. Amazing lens. I want to buy another old lens but indecide. What is beter for stll and video. the 105 or 135?

I have a Nikon 'E' series 28 mm f/2.8 lens which I purchased back in 1984. It is one of my favorite lenses. I have no issues with the 'build quality' of it..sure it may have more plastic construction on it versus the regular Nikkor version but for my purposes it is fine. Image quality is excellent. I always thought the 'E' series lenses were good buys. Only issue with them is that they don't have the meter coupling prongs on them to allow them to engage the meter pin on older Nikon/Nikkormat camera bodies. I've heard that meter coupling prongs can be installed; or can use Nikon mount lenses without the coupling prongs in stop down metering mode.

I have the 135 f2.8 QC Auto. Awesome lens. Another awesome one is the 300mm f4.5 ED IF. It’s small size for a 300mm being only f4.5 which is useful. It has super smooth focusing but the best bit is the sublime picture output.

i liked your video. You have super great lenses there. I have the 35mm f2.0(I'm a 35mm junkie, I have 3) and the 24mm f2.8.

I’ve own the same version of the 28/2.8 - it is incredibly sharp. The older 28/2.8, which doesn’t focus as closely, isn’t as sharp. Bought mine in the 1980’s. One lens you should try is the 180 with ED glass. Amazing.

Excellent tips! Are Pentax lenses equal or sharper than Nikon?

Do you need an adapter to attach the lens to a full-frame Nikon? I'm thinking of buying the D800, and wanted to get some vintage glass for it as well.

are current Nikon digital F mount lenses able to be used on the FM2?

Hello! When you enjoy photography as a hobby, it's often fun to "try" different things, and I have to say that these older AI / AI-S lenses are the bomb.com. Just try getting quality or fast glass at a lower price point than these rock-solid, metal lenses. Ain't gonna happen. Yes, you can get the newer auto focus lenses but they are going to have a serious impact on your wallet. A nice example of a 50 mm 1.4 ai-s will run you about $125, and the awesome 28 mm 2.8 will run you about $225 for a good example of this lens. Good luck getting a new version for anywhere close to that. Anyway, thanks for your post and I'm enjoying messing around with these older manual focus lenses!

try 85mm F/2 AI-S and if you missed the 105, go get the 105mm F/1.8 AI-S superb lens

Can pre-AI, AI and AIS lenses ALL be used on the Nikon F2 (or just some of them)?

Nikon made and still makes great lenses!

Thanks for this video ...I have just ordered a nikkor 135 mm 2.8 AIS MANUAL focus lense because of the bokeh and macro photography..I have macro lens the 60mm 1.8 .....it’s beast of lens Please try the 60mm 1.8 d series ...it’s a beautiful lense for macro

I have a Nikkor-S 50mm f1.4 I think it's a non Ai. Made from 1970s? I guess? I really want to sell that since I don't have any Nikon body anymore (the lens just freshly came from japan)

Do you need an adapter to fit these on a new nikon body? (D5300)

I don't disagree with the conclusions re re the 105mm 2.5 Nikkor, but his cemment are slightly erroneous. The "Afghan Girl" phot he attributes to the lens was shot with the earlier (non-AIs) version of the lens, which uses a design based on the Zeiss Sonnar. That lens was completely redesigned and replaced by the AIs version, which is a Double Gauss lens design. In use, there is practically no optical difference between them except that the later version is said to have better optical performance when used at closer focal distances at wide apertures. I've owned/used both version (the first having been stolen), and I see no difference, apart from integrated lens hood added to the AIs version, for me a huge useful improvement

well done. informative. thanks, Dale

50mm 1.2 ais amazing!

I have two of those - the 28mm and the 135mm.

"The Angry Photographer" agrees with you...;)

Do one for Sony E frame too..

Great video! Your 28mm 2.8 is an AI or AIS version?

105mm 2.5 ai is a sick lens

50mm f1.2 AI nikkor. 105mm f2.5 AI nikkor. 80-200 f4.5 N AI nikkor. 1000mm f11 nikkor.

28mm ais or ai?

"our era"

Nikon 45mm f/2.8 AI-S!

The current g lenses are so flat looking.

I'm unclear why one would choose a 50mm 1.8 Series E lens, one of the most pedestrian, under-performing 50mm Nikon lenses, over the late/last model MF 50mm 1.8 lenses, which is not arguably the best optical and mechanical 50mm Nikkor ever made. Any size differential (normal v. "pancake")is trivial. The Series E isn't a terrible lens, but it was built as a cheap, single coated, plastic bodied kit lens to help hit a low price point on the accompanying Nikon EM - Nikon's first venture in marketing a camera by "race to the bottom line". Spend the extra $50 for the real Nikkor.

list all five lenses in video description if you don't want dislikes (i didn't leave dislike)

These are all late model lenses. Do yourself a favor and get the even better older lenses. Especially the early pre-AI 105/2.5 Nikkor-P Sonnar, get it AI'd and have a far better lens than that AIS thing.

The micro Nikkor 55mm f 3.5 is very sharp. I use it now with an adapter for my Fuji XT-3 as a close focusing portrait lens.