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Submitted by
.g.e.o.
a ExpertDate Reviewed: December 11, 2011
Strengths: Great optical performance, a perfect blend of colour rendition, smoothness and sharpness.
Tough build and mechanics, super smooth operation.
Very inexpensive in today's digital era.Weaknesses: Best when fit on a proper camera body, which means a Nikon film camera or a pro level Nikon DSLR (due to need of aperture ring coupling) with adequate focousing screen.Bottom Line: I own an AI-S sample since 1996 and use it on Nikon FM-2n and F3.
Despite it's small and inexpensive, I believe this is one of the very best lenses ever. Image quality is extremely high, not just in terms of 'sharpness', but also in terms of a very fine balance between colour rendition, smoothness, out-of-focus transition.
Perfect for portraits expecially at f/2.5 or f/2.8, turns into an impressive landscape lens when stopped down to f/4.
Build quality is probably the best one can dream of: despite a very heavy optical group, the lens is perfectly solid and everything runs and turns positively and smooth.
In my view, this lens is worth owning a 'proper' camera body (a Nikon film camera, or a Nikon pro digital with full meter coupling for AI-S lenses and a viewfinder fit for manual focousing) just to use it the way it should be.
Duration Product Used: 21+ years
Similar Products Used: Olympus Zuiko 135/3.5, Leica Elmarit-M 90/2.8.
Type of photography: Outdoor
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
marsmitsu
a CasualDate Reviewed: December 10, 2011
Strengths: smooth bokeh, good contrast even wide open, sharp even wide open, light and compact, exceptional build quality,Weaknesses: would be better on full frames and inconsistent exposure with my 7D (don't know about other canons). except for those none reallyBottom Line: i normally don't write reviews but i thought it might help some people out there. I shoot canon and have the nikkor 50 1.2 and 105 f2.5 mounted on my 7D with adapters. A word of warning: these lenses are easier to shoot with on nikon bodies (obviously) as they meter properly on pro bodies and high end entry DSLRs like d300s, d7000 etc. Exposure on my canon is at times inconsistent no matter what mode (aperture or manual) i am shooting in.
I borrowed my friend's d700 and shot the whole day today with the combo. Here's what I noticed: sharp even wide open (some people complain about sharpness with most lenses wide open but believe me if you can focus spot on you can get reasonably good results even with the nikkor 50 1.2 @1.2); very high contrast wide open (the high dynamic range of a full frame certainly adds to it); very light and compact: the 105 2.8 macro would extend quite a bit more.
I bought the lens for $400 and except for 1-2 tiny scuffs you wouldn't even tell it's second hand so i'm very happy with that.
Another thing i liked about it is the focusing throw: it is just perfect - not too long, not too short. I imagine on a 2.8 macro it would be much longer and that cost me some shots with my zeiss 50 f2 makro-planar: perfect for fine tuning but a disaster when you need to focus quickly from one end to another.
Also, i find focusing easy because i use katzeye focusing screen (on 7D) which really makes a HUGE difference and with the d700 i was spot on 90% of the time (great viewfinder) but it will be harder on cropped bodies with inferior viewfinders.
Bear in mind with canon bodies you'll have to use stop down metering which may be an issue if you like to shoot at narrower apertures as there will be less light available for you to see properly through the viewfinder.
Overall, a truly great lens BUT to fully enjoy it use on a full frame. If you're a canon user and use a cropped sensor like i do atm, you may find metering to be inconsistent. That may be a deal breaker for some - i'm switching to nikon anyway so i can bear with it for the time being.
Duration Product Used: 0-1 years
Price Paid:
$400.00
Type of photography: Other
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
William Kazak
a ProfessionalDate Reviewed: December 2, 2011
Strengths: Great bokeh. Wonderful focal length on D300. Sharp. Compact with built in shade.Weaknesses: Auto focus can be a problem at times things are moving fast.Bottom Line: A very nice lens for people and for shooting flower and garden pics. Colors are good and the bokeh is really nice. No problem shooting wide open. Probably the best Ais lens that I have used.
Duration Product Used: 21+ years
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At: Craigslist
Similar Products Used: 105 mm F2 DC
180mm F2.8 AFD
135mm F2.8 AFD
200mm F4 Ais
85mm F1.8 Ais
Type of photography: People
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
roy
a ProfessionalDate Reviewed: January 20, 2011
Strengths: Light wieght , easy to focus,best bokeh,tac sharpe,built like a tank,built-in lens hood.Weaknesses: None at all I can think of
Also,,another post here says he has a lens similar to this being a 100mm nikon 2.8 E Lens.
Let me tell you,,,,this is so far above the E class of Nikon Lenses that it shouldn't have been mentioned.
This is a NIKKOR LENS not cheap Nikon E lens. Only Nikkor is on Nikons BEST Lenses.Bottom Line: This lens came in about 4 versions from pre-AI to AIS . The very earliest versions had a diferent set of elements and groups. The real great lenses came around the late sixties and early 70s but they didn't all perform the same as the coatings were being improved over the years. That was about the only thing that was changed but it was a big one reducing ghosting and flare. To get the really best one with all the latest refinements you should get the one with no numbers or markings on the lens and the large rear glass and only buy the AIS version and you will indeed have a Real Nikon Treasure and absolutely Stunning pictures of the ultimate quality.
PS,,,,I heard but cannot confirm that this latest version had the N.I.C.,coating on the front glass with a pinkish tint to it.
Duration Product Used: 21+ years
Price Paid:
$98.00
Purchased At: ebay.ca
Similar Products Used: Nikkor 85mm 1.8 AIS , ED 135mm AIS 2 DC , ED 180mm AIS 2.8
Type of photography: Outdoor
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Esben
a CasualDate Reviewed: December 13, 2010
Strengths: Excellent color.
Sharp as can be imo.
Sweet bokeh.Weaknesses: The weight.Bottom Line: I have used this lens for a few large panoramas, and it performs really nice. Extremely nice color and great sharpness.
I've also used it for a few outdoor portraits - extremely nice bokeh and sharpness.
I was really lucky to get it at the price I did, but I would even have paid 2-3 times that.
Duration Product Used: 2-5 years
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At: secondhand store
Similar Products Used: Nikon Nikkor 100mm f/2.8
Type of photography: Outdoor
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