Oh My God, Like A Lightning Strike In The Bright Daylight

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BNLee

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Okay, I have to take it easy...

My seller just contacted me to tell me that the Nikon F I just bought doesn't work with the lens that it comes with, that is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 E pancake lens, because it does not have any coupling...

And he also sold his other lenses with coupling so there is no way to check the meter whether it is working or not. But the last time he used, it, it was working perfectly.

My question is if there is anyway to couple the 50mm f/1.8 E lens (Actually the later silver rim version) to the FTn finder, knowing that the lens doesn't have any coupling?

Also do you all think that I should get the camera knowing that the finder meter may not work properly? But the body itself is in superb condition...

Have a nice day... BTW, the title is actually a Chinese metaphor...
 
BNLee said:
Okay, I have to take it easy...

My seller just contacted me to tell me that the Nikon F I just bought doesn't work with the lens that it comes with, that is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 E pancake lens, because it does not have any coupling...

And he also sold his other lenses with coupling so there is no way to check the meter whether it is working or not. But the last time he used, it, it was working perfectly.

My question is if there is anyway to couple the 50mm f/1.8 E lens (Actually the later silver rim version) to the FTn finder, knowing that the lens doesn't have any coupling?

Also do you all think that I should get the camera knowing that the finder meter may not work properly? But the body itself is in superb condition...

Have a nice day... BTW, the title is actually a Chinese metaphor...
Click to expand...

That lens doesn't have a coupling prong so it wont couple to the meter. If the meter is working as stated, stop down metering should still work, if I remember correctly. Or just buy and attach a prong or use a hand held meter.
35AI-S2legendlow.JPG
 
It's well documented that the old meters on those cameras have kicked the bucket long ago. It's a bit of a stretch to expect the 30-40 year old meter technology to be reliable or even work at all. I've gone through four F and F2 bodies, none of the meters worked. I'd suggest using an external handheld light meter. More modern, versatile, and reliable.
 
If you really wanted to, you could send it out to get AI'd. It's not too expensive in the grand scheme of things, but I guess it would cost almost as much as a 50/1.8E is... Up to you if that'd be worth it...
 
Spicy said:
If you really wanted to, you could send it out to get AI'd. It's not too expensive in the grand scheme of things, but I guess it would cost almost as much as a 50/1.8E is... Up to you if that'd be worth it...
Click to expand...

Don't go confusing the man further! :eek:

All E series lenses are already "AI'd" from the factory. What the lens is missing is the prong I mentioned in my post above. Nikon removed the prong from E series lenses as a cost saving measure and to distinguish the regular Nikkors from the E series lenses (note that E series lenses are marked "Nikon" instead of the more prestigious "Nikkor").
 
John white over at aiconversions.com can add the prong for you. If I remember right his AI conversions are $25 so the prong wont be very much either.
 
It'd be less hassle to just buy a non AI 50/2 separately to complement the F for period consistent ground effects. They're not expensive.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Actually the seller just contacted me and he said that he will go to a local camera shop and test the meter, so I tried to ask him if he can provide him with another lens...

I think it would be expensive to AI the lens, as funkydog said... All I need is just the Pong to couple the lens right? Oh man... I really hope the seller provides me with another lens...
 
Not to shamelessly promote myself but i happen to have an extra 50mm f/2-H I was looking to sell as I also have an AI version for my F3.
 
Oh... thanks for the info, jonmanjiro.

About the lens, Abram, I will consider if my seller tells me that he cannot provide me with another lens... Thanks for the offer... It is making me desperate, which is bad!!...
 
BNLee said:
Oh... thanks for the info, jonmanjiro.

About the lens, Abram, I will consider if my seller tells me that he cannot provide me with another lens... Thanks for the offer... It is making me desperate, which is bad!!...
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DON'T PANIC :D

If you can take photos with an M3, you'll be able to take photos with the Nikon F and E series 50/1.8 lens just fine :)
 
Yeah... But it saddens me just to say that I am disappointed... The Nikon was actually in very, very good shape, and I really like the cool look of the Photomic FTn finder, to get it in working condition is really a bonus! For now, I just want to keep my fingers crossed that everything is working fine and that the seller will provide me with another lens. There is just something to the look of the Nikon F with FTn finder which is so mesmerizing...

Gabor, is loading a M3 really easier? Most times, I will trim the film like I do on a III series so that my film rewinding process doesn't get stuck. Usually this happens towards the beginning of the roll, I don't know, but maybe its just mine.

Was looking through your Flickr Jon, and I saw the gatherings you all had! What a great event huh! With all the famed people coming together just to talk about cameras...

Back to the Nikon, it is pending now...
 
Loading the M3 is easier because once the film is in the camera there hardly will be any mis-loading. The newer M Leicas need less time (just dropping the canister into the camera, closing and finished) but loading an old Nikon can be an adventure. I had the film slip of the take-up spool on many occasions .... :bang:
 
Some time ago, there was a seller on ebay offering replacement prongs. Any camera service shop could attach one to a E lens. It is DIY if you have a basic set of jeweller's files, drills and thread cutting tools.
 
If series E is like the AF lenses, there will already be two little divots where the screws will go in. They anticipated the lenses being retrofitted. And don't start going crazy until you know your F's meter actually works.

Dante
 
sevo said:
There are none on my E lenses.
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It's also possible that Series E were too low in price at the time to support something like that. The AF lenses all seem to have the pre-taps.

Isn't this problem really solved by getting an F3 body? It's better than an F in just about every way. And even if not, 50mm Nikkors with the prongs are dirt cheap.

Dante
 
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