Nikkor 28mm 1:2.8

[johnastovall]

I was looking through my DDD portfolios and noticed he used for his "War Without Heros' in addition to his the 50/1.4 'Lux he used a Nikkor 28/2.8 on his pair of M3D's.

Any one using this lens and how does it draw? I'm thinking about it for use on an M8.

Where would (besides the classificed here) look for one?

 

[VinceC]

Nikon never made a 28/2.8 in RF mount. Perhaps he had an SLR lens custom modified? In RF mount, the 28/3.5 is pretty common in both Nikon-S and LTM.

 

[BillBingham2]

My guess is a typo.

B2 (;->

 

[venchka]

My old tired brain seems to recall mention of a Canon 25 being used by DDD during Korea. I saw one of those recently. Either here or eBay.

In modern terms, for a lens you can buy 24/7, the ZM 25 would be great.

Good luck.

 

[VinceC]

Doubt it was a typo. In Vietnam he followed the then-common practice of using Nikon SLRs alongside Leica Ms. Maybe he used the 28 on a Nikon F. He also had a very close relationship with Nikon ... He played a major role in getting the company internationally recognized. Nikon would have gladly modified lenses for him if he asked for a Nikkor 28/2.8 to fit on a Leica.

 

[venchka]

On second thought...seems like a 21mm would be the crop factor conversion focal length on your M8 to achieve similar results.

When I got to Basic Combat Training at Ft. Polk, Luziana in 1968 there was a copy of Duncan's "I Protest" in my bag. I never saw the book again. Is there any mention of hardware used in that book?

 

[johnastovall]

Doubt it was a typo. In Vietnam he followed the then-common practice of using Nikon SLRs alongside Leica Ms. Maybe he used the 28 on a Nikon F. He also had a very close relationship with Nikon ... He played a major role in getting the company internationally recognized. Nikon would have gladly modified lenses for him if he asked for a Nikkor 28/2.8 to fit on a Leica.

He used a Nikon F with a 200mm. Several pictures of him show him with the two M3D's and the F.

 

[johnastovall]

On second thought...seems like a 21mm would be the crop factor conversion focal length on your M8 to achieve similar results.

When I got to Basic Combat Training at Ft. Polk, Luziana in 1968 there was a copy of Duncan's "I Protest" in my bag. I never saw the book again. Is there any mention of hardware used in that book?

The pictures in that book later went into "War Without Heros."

I was lucky. I hung on to my copy of "I Protest." I was able to get him to inscribe it to at the LBJ library which we both thought fitting as LBJ attempted to have the distrubition of it supprested.

 

[johnastovall]

Well the plot gets more twisted, in " Self Portrait U.S.A." DDD wites he went cover the '68 conventions with his two trusty M3D's and their 50 and 21 mm lenses which had come directly with him from Khe Shan.

I'll try to see if someone at UT's Ranson Center can resolve this. They have his film archive and camera's from that period.

If it was a Nikkor 21 then DDD had one of the 700 made.

In "This Is War" (the Korean war book) he has lavish praise for the Nikkor lenses he used, 50/1.5, 50/1.4, 85/2.0 and 135/3.5.

 

[venchka]

There's a new Leitz 28mm lens for sale in your backyard. See Texas Photo Forum For Sale Forum.

 

[johnastovall]

Well the more I research this the more twisted the tale becomes.

The photo data section in "I Protest" says it's Nikkor 25mm f/4.0. That would make sense and this picture of DDD with the lens mounted on one of the M3D's shows what would appear to be the 25/4.0 with the large focusing tab.

 

[Cale Arthur]

Looks a lot like the Leica's wearing the aforementioned Canon 25, and it's respective finder...

--c--

 

[venchka]

Yep. The other thing ain't no Leica either.

 

[VinceC]

The Nikkor 25/4 was quite tiny. You had to reach inside the front ring to change f/stops. It's more likely that the picture shows a Canon lens. The Nikon 25mm finder was round. The 25/3.5 in Peter Dechert's Canon book looks a lot like the chrome lens on the M.

Duncan preferred the 1950 Nikkor lenses to 1950 Leitz lenses. But lenses kept evolving, and he seems to have been someone who kept changing gear, looking for good new lenses -- that's how he found the Nikkors in 1950.

 

[venchka]

What GOOGLE knows

What GOOGLE knows

From WIKIPEDIA:

Nikon "S" rangefinder
21mm f/4 Nikkor-O
25mm f/W-4.0 Nikkor
28mm f/3.5 Nikkor
35mm f/1.8 W-Nikkor
35mm f/2.5 W-Nikkor
35mm f/3.5 W-Nikkor
50mm f/1.1 Nikkor-N
50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S
50mm f/2.0 Nikkor-H
50mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor (close focus)
85mm f/1.5 Nikkor-S
85mm f/2.0 Nikkor-P
105mm f/2.5 Nikkor-P
105mm f/4.0 Nikkor-P
135mm f/3.5 Nikkor-Q
135mm f/4.0 Nikkor
180mm f/2.5 Nikkor
250mm f/4 Nikkor-Q

Leica "M" rangefinder
35mm f/1.8 W-Nikkor
35mm f/2.5 W-Nikkor
50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S
50mm f/2 Nikkor-H
85mm f/2 Nikkor-P
105mm f/2.5 Nikkor-P
135mm f/3.5 Nikkor-Q
135mm f/3.5 Nikkor-P

OK, we know that the Nikkor lenses were in LTM mount so WIKIPEDIA doesn't know everything.

From the great mir site:

Background & a quick reference on Version History The first Nikkor ultrawide that broke the technological barrier of 28mm focal length was a W-Nikkor 1:4 f=2.5cm RF wideangle lens which was introduced after the rangefinder W-Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 in 1953 (actually it was almost half a decade earlier than the more famous RF Nikkor-W 1:4 2.1cm ultrawideangle lens).

The RF Nikkor-W 25mm lens has an innovative symmetrical optical system, consists of only a 4 elements rare-earth glass type materials in its optical group and hence, making it an extremely compact ultrawideangle. However, similar to the other Nikkor-W, it requires an external optical system for picture composition When the reflex Nikon F was introduced in 1959 with an advantage of direct reflex viewing system; Nikon has designed a new lens with a slightly wider angle of view of 24mm instead of 25mm.

So, unless Nippon Kogaku made a few LTM or M mount 25mm lenses, Mr. Duncan wasn't using on on his M3.

I don't even want to think about what a Nikkor 25/4.0 in special mount for D.D.D. to use would be worth.

 

[venchka]

The Nikkor 25/4.0

 

[NIKON KIU]

So, unless Nippon Kogaku made a few LTM or M mount 25mm lenses, Mr. Duncan wasn't using on on his M3

Nippon Kogaku MADE the 2.5cm f4's in LTM as evidenced by the latest Auction:

Kiu

 

[VinceC]

Nikon made all of its RF lenses in LTM (except the very late 21/4). Nippon Kogaku was primarily a lens company and also sold lenses in Exacta mount.

Regardless, the picture referenced above is not a Nikkor 25/4.

 

[Sam R]

Nikon never made a 28/2.8 in RF mount. Perhaps he had an SLR lens custom modified? In RF mount, the 28/3.5 is pretty common in both Nikon-S and LTM.

I have a nice 28mm f3.5 Nikkor is screw mount with Leica adapter you can buy

 

[Sam R]

Very sorry, of course I meant 3.5