I finally bought a Nikon F. Now tell me about lenses...

Mos6502

Mos6502

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It finally happened, I picked up a Nikon F. I've been resisting the F for years for various reasons, but God willing, I will be going to Japan next year, and I have a brick of Neopan SS that's been frozen since that film was discontinued; it should be shot in Japan in a classic Japanese camera, I reason. I had a Topcon, a Miranda, and a ratty but perfectly functional Mamiya 500 TL. Neither the Topcon nor Miranda are 100% functional, and the Mamiya... it's a vintage Japanese camera, but is it really a "classic"? It's a decent, basic, SLR, but it doesn't really inspire me to shoot. I began to think about Nikons. I'd picked up plenty of Nikkormats in the past, but like the Mamiya, found them uninspiring - and the asking prices always seemed too high. I'd looked at the F before, and liked it, but I hated the metering heads, and the scarcity and prices for the plain prism had become overinflated due to internet hype. I guess that hype has passed because I got this camera, prism, and 1.4/50 lens for about what a boxed plain prism used to go for five or so years ago.

About that lens though, it's huge, it's heavy, and on my example anyway, it seems the grease has dried out. What are my options for a 50mm for the Nikon F? Just swap in another 1.4/50? Go for the 2/50? (seems a lot more compact, which is good). And what are my options for a 35mm lens for the F? I tried googling for a list of non-AI F lenses, and just got a bunch of spam results back, so good thing for forums, where I can ask people with actual experience about these things.

Thanks!
 
You are spoiled for choice there. I use the AF 50f/1.8 and f/1.4 and they are good performers. You can use them on an AF-F (F4, F5, F6) should you ever buy one.
 
The Nikon-F, i believe had at it's peak about 50 plus Nikkor lenses! Choice ought to be a wide angle 35mm, 28mm and portrait lens, the 105mm f2.5 Sonnar. Zooms are handy but heavy. Taking film on trip may not be a good idea, with modern scanners... sigh. The 50mm f2 is a great performer and does better close up than the f1.4. Keep it to minimum in lenses. They are small by auto-focus standards' but are a nice weight, which adds up. Most Nikkors for the 'F' are 52mm filter thread! A big win.
Enjoy your camera it is simply the best.
 
Maybe you should invest in one of the Voigtländer lenses for the Nikon F. The Nikkor H Auto 50mm f2 is good, but is not entirely free from distortion (barrel vault). The Voigtländer Nikon F lenses look like the original Nikon lenses, but, altough I've never tried them, it wouldn't surprise me when these Voigtländer lenses improve on the original Nikkors.

Erik.
 
Don't shoot SLR's much anymore, but loved the old, single coated non-ai look for B&W. The 35mm f/2 Nikkor-O is one of my favorites. One nice aspect about Nikkors is that you can get really fast, exotic glass for relatively little expense, so it's easy and practical just to go see for yourself. The new Voigtlanders are excellent but it's a much more modern look. Another classic of the Nikon line is the 105/2.5 in either it's Sonnar or Gauss formula. I always thought the old 5.8cm/1.4 had tons of character. All the 50's are very good and cheap.
 
The predecessor of the Nikkor H Auto 50mm f2 is the Nikkor S Auto 50mm f2. This lens has seven elements. I'm still looking for one of those; maybe that makes me want to work with the Nikon F again. I've heard it has lower contrast but a better general correction and a less biting sharpness.

Erik.
 
I would choose lenses reasonably contemporary with the camera - but that is just my personal preference. Most can easily be found with factory Ai upgrades which makes them more useable - I personally wouldn't buy a third party Ai conversion.

If a lens is otherwise healthy, I wouldn't shy away for a professional lube. You don't necessarily have to have a full CLA done just because the focus is a bit dry or stiff.

My most used favorites:
Nikkor-S Auto 50/1.4 is lovely but Nikkor H-C auto 50/2 is a great compact alternative - besides a little distortion, it beats the 1.8 on all other accounts.

Nikkor-P Auto 105/2.5 (silver nose) the sonnar variant is a classic although I find that I personally use the NIKKOR-H•C Auto 85/1.8 more. The latter feels quite heavy and big though. (the black nosed Nikkor-P 105 is also good but I like the older better).

For 35mm the Nikkor-O auto 35/2 is quite good though prone to flare under some conditions. Do not consider the Nikkor-S Auto 35/2,8. It is a pretty lens but unremarkable and with butt-ugly bokeh. The Nikkor-N Auto 35mm F/1.4 is not compact but a gem among nikkor lenses.

This is as far as my experience goes.

Good luck with a wonderful camera.
 
The 28mm f/2.8 ais would be a must of you are into that focal length.

The 50mm f/1.8 ais pancake lens is also very good.
 
I have not been able to find a 35mm pre-ai f2.0 with good glass, so cannot speak to that lens. I do have a current 40mm f 2.0 Voightlander - the one with the traditional metal focusing ring - and it produces excellent results. As far as I know, the common lenses from 24 through 200 all use 52mm filters; the wider and longer lenses do not. I like the way the early pre-ai lenses - the ones with the metal focusing ring - work with black and white film. The F and F2 with pre-ai lenses are my favorites. Enjoy your new-to-you F.
 
Mos6502 said:
It finally happened, I picked up a Nikon F. I've been resisting the F for years for various reasons, but God willing, I will be going to Japan next year, and I have a brick of Neopan SS that's been frozen since that film was discontinued; it should be shot in Japan in a classic Japanese camera, I reason. I had a Topcon, a Miranda, and a ratty but perfectly functional Mamiya 500 TL. Neither the Topcon nor Miranda are 100% functional, and the Mamiya... it's a vintage Japanese camera, but is it really a "classic"? It's a decent, basic, SLR, but it doesn't really inspire me to shoot. I began to think about Nikons. I'd picked up plenty of Nikkormats in the past, but like the Mamiya, found them uninspiring - and the asking prices always seemed too high. I'd looked at the F before, and liked it, but I hated the metering heads, and the scarcity and prices for the plain prism had become overinflated due to internet hype. I guess that hype has passed because I got this camera, prism, and 1.4/50 lens for about what a boxed plain prism used to go for five or so years ago.

About that lens though, it's huge, it's heavy, and on my example anyway, it seems the grease has dried out. What are my options for a 50mm for the Nikon F? Just swap in another 1.4/50? Go for the 2/50? (seems a lot more compact, which is good). And what are my options for a 35mm lens for the F? I tried googling for a list of non-AI F lenses, and just got a bunch of spam results back, so good thing for forums, where I can ask people with actual experience about these things.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Either lens is excellent. The 50mm f1.4 is the lens that is often seen with the Nikon F I think, but this is just because it was probably the more desired lens (in pure G.A.S. terms) back in the day and is regarded as something of an icon (though it is so common and available relatively cheaply that people tend not to drool over it as much as perhaps they once did when f1.4 was "exotic".) It is a fine lens and I enjoy using it. But if you seriously think the lens is a bit big and heavy then by all means go for the 50mm f2. I am not sure it will help much in weight terms though as the F camera is itself pretty hefty.

I own both lenses (in fact I have three versions of the f1.4 - 4 versions if you count the AF one) and I enjoy both lens types. I would say that the 50mm f2 is technically a bit better than the f1.4 at wider stops but its pretty much a moot point - there is not that much between them. I especially like the way the f2 lens performs with black and white film.

The other iconic lenses for this great camera are the 35mm f2 (I just love how the early pre AI version of this one renders) and the 105mm f2.5 which likewise is an absolute classic lens with wonderful rendering in that classic Sonnar way. BTW in all of these you will not go wrong by choosing early pre AI versions (whether subsequently converted to AI or not- they all perform very nicely).
 
I'll buck prevailing wisdom here, and put in a vote for the 55mm f/1.2 (not the Noct, a very different and very expensive lens). It has a quite different rendering from the 50/1.2, and a certain magic (pardon the woo-woo) that I can't define, but which has made this my favorite Nikon lens. The downside? It is utterly massive, the biggest normal lens Nikon ever made. My solution is to have a 50/1.8 for times when weight and portability are an issue. Then, at the other extreme, there's my tiny 45/2.8 GN with AI conversion, that makes a nice point-and-shoot when on the FE. However, the 45 on a Nikon F would be a bit silly.
Of course, as others have said, you could get the 50/1.4 re-lubed. It's worth the expense if the lens is otherwise in nice shape, and it's a great performer. And I have a sappy, sentimental notion that this fine old equipment deserves to be cared for and maintained.
In any case, congratulations on the F! I hope it's black. A well-maintained but brassed black F just seems iconic, embodying all the marvelous history of the late analog era.
 
I had some special, high apprised version of 50 1.8 pancake. It was one of the boring, flat rendering lens I ever had. FSU F mount lens was superior to it, just as good as Leitz 50 lenses.
But early version of Nikkor 50 1.4 which was cheap to get (not compatible with modern F mounts) was absolutely awesome lens. Just perfect match for F.

 
For many years, I have found Bjørn Rørslett's Nikkor reviews the most accurate to be found anywhere on the internet. (Click on "Lenses" on the left margin of his home page -- "http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html".)

And the absolute master of Nikkor lens specification and information is the legendary Kiwi denizen Roland Vink. it is impossible to overstate the good he has done for all Nikon afficionados around the globe. Look here: "http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html".

Marc
 
I like to keep period-correct lenses on my cameras. For me, that means pre-AI on Nikon F and most F2’s. Besides the lenses mentioned so far, there’s the 85mm f/1.8 as seen on the chrome plain-prism F.

57A4637E-024D-4959-8DAE-7D74557902DE.jpg
 
I have the non-pancake Nikkor 50mm f1.8, which is reasonably compact and an outstanding performer optically. Beautiful with color film, including lovely smooth bokeh. It’s also pretty inexpensive these days.

Erik makes an excellent point about Voigtlander lenses for Nikon F mount cameras. I can’t comment on the 50mm lens he mentions, but the Ultron 40mm f2.0 SLIIs is terrific. It’s really sharp, well constructed, I love the handling with the large scalloped focusing ring, and it focuses as close as the Micro-Nikkors of yore. It’s become a go-to lens for landscape photography for me. In fact, a favorite SLR kit for travel is the Ultron 40mm, the Nikkor 28mm f2.8, and the Nikkor 85mm f2.0.

Both the Micro-Nikkor 55mm lenses (the f3.5 and 2.8) are fantastic and quite usable for general photography. No distortion, very sharp. They are a little on the large size for a 50, but handle really well and are especially good w/ bw film. There’s a photographer over on Insta named Renato Repetto, Australian but based in Japan, who uses Micro-Nikkor lenses (mainly the f3.5) on Nikon F and Nikon F2 cameras, for street and landscape photography. If you’re not familar with this work, I’d recommend it, particularly as an example of using vintage Nikon SLRs w/ the Micro-Nikkor lenses for general photography.
 
Mos6502 said:
It finally happened, I picked up a Nikon F. I've been resisting the F for years for various reasons, but God willing, I will be going to Japan next year, and I have a brick of Neopan SS that's been frozen since that film was discontinued; it should be shot in Japan in a classic Japanese camera, I reason. I had a Topcon, a Miranda, and a ratty but perfectly functional Mamiya 500 TL. Neither the Topcon nor Miranda are 100% functional, and the Mamiya... it's a vintage Japanese camera, but is it really a "classic"? It's a decent, basic, SLR, but it doesn't really inspire me to shoot. I began to think about Nikons. I'd picked up plenty of Nikkormats in the past, but like the Mamiya, found them uninspiring - and the asking prices always seemed too high. I'd looked at the F before, and liked it, but I hated the metering heads, and the scarcity and prices for the plain prism had become overinflated due to internet hype. I guess that hype has passed because I got this camera, prism, and 1.4/50 lens for about what a boxed plain prism used to go for five or so years ago.

About that lens though, it's huge, it's heavy, and on my example anyway, it seems the grease has dried out. What are my options for a 50mm for the Nikon F? Just swap in another 1.4/50? Go for the 2/50? (seems a lot more compact, which is good). And what are my options for a 35mm lens for the F? I tried googling for a list of non-AI F lenses, and just got a bunch of spam results back, so good thing for forums, where I can ask people with actual experience about these things.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

First, congratulations on the F. It's one of the truly iconic cameras of all time. Secondly, go ahead and start shooting that Neopan. It's not going to survive the scanners, so you might as well get some enjoyment out of the film and camera before you head overseas with it. You can buy some film when you get to Japan, and then you'd be truly honoring the camera.

I personally use the 50/2 the most with mine. It, a 35/2.8, and 105/2.5 permanently reside in a small Domke bag for any day trips I might take. I change bodies from time to time between the F, F2, and Nikkormat depending on what I'm feeling like that day. Sometimes I'll take the 28/3.5 along if I anticipate a close-quarter scenic.

BTW, I got both my plain prism F and an F2 in a ShopGoodwilldotcom auction, and they were in great shape. Don't know how that ever happened, but I wasn't going to complain.

PF
 
farlymac said:
First, congratulations on the F. It's one of the truly iconic cameras of all time. Secondly, go ahead and start shooting that Neopan. It's not going to survive the scanners...
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean here. Packed all my film in and out of Japan last time I visited without a hint of a problem.
 
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