Nikkors with Letters [pre-Ai extravaganza]

[jbielikowski]

Hello RFF, I've seen threads sharing some love with Zuikos, Rokkors... but most forgotten are the early Nikkors, and its never too late to start a tribute thread.

Nikon F
Nikkor-P 105/2.5
Polypan F in Ultrafin Plus

 

[BillBingham2]

You started with one of the BEST lenses ever made.

Very cool idea.

Come on Guys and Gals, let's post some examples.

B2

 

[Jerevan]

That bird in the tree... wow! I'll see if I can dig up something from my own Nikkors.

 

[Roninman]

Nikon F2, nikkor-q auto 1:4 f200, Superia 400




Nikon F, nikkor-s auto 1:1.4 f50mm, HP5 Rodinal 1+50

 

[Uncle Bill]

Peeking Out by Bill Smith1, on Flickr

Camera: Nikon F Photomic FTn
Lens: Nikkor S 50 f1.4
Film Kodak Tri-X 400 processed in Xtol 1+1.

 

[Jerevan]

One:


Lost at sea by Jerevan, on Flickr

Plus-X in Rodinal 1+50, Nikon F2 - Nikkor-H 50/2

 

[hamradio]

Nikkor-O 35/2

 

[willie_901]

Great photos...

Nikkor letter codes are listed below.

U (Uns) for 1 element
B (Bini) for 2 elements
T (Tres) for 3 elements
Q (Quatour) for 4 elements
P (Pente) for 5 elements
H (Hex) for 6 elements
S (Septem) for 7 elements
0 (Octo) for 8 elements
N (Novem) for 9 elements
D (Decem) for 10 elements

I have a Nippon Kōgaku 50/1.4 S (uncoated) F mount lens that was AI'd. I use it occasionally for it's unique look.

 

[giellaleafapmu]

Great photos...

Nikkor letter codes are listed below.

U (Uns) for 1 element
B (Bini) for 2 elements
T (Tres) for 3 elements
Q (Quatour) for 4 elements
P (Pente) for 5 elements
H (Hex) for 6 elements
S (Septem) for 7 elements
0 (Octo) for 8 elements
N (Novem) for 9 elements
D (Decem) for 10 elements

I have a Nippon Kōgaku 50/1.4 S (uncoated) F mount lens that was AI'd. I use it occasionally for it's unique look.

I knew this but I always wondered: did actually any U and B lens ever made into production? Even the almost home-made "Super Trilpet" or whatever the typo was, is...well a triplet!

GLF

 

[jbielikowski]

I knew this but I always wondered: did actually any U and B lens ever made into production?

Nope 😉

Nikon F
Nikkor-H 50/2
Polypan F in Ultrafin Plus


Right now I'm trying to decide which wide Nikkor I should buy, bull all of them from 20 to 28 look nice...

 

[Dwig]

I knew this but I always wondered: did actually any U and B lens ever made into production? Even the almost home-made "Super Trilpet" or whatever the typo was, is...well a triplet!

GLF

Not that I'm aware of but...

The 11 element 20mm f/3.5 is marked UD (1+10) so at least the U was used. I don't recall seeing B in combination with D (2+10=12 element).

 

[Ronald_H]

Found unwanted at a camera fair, a Nikkor-Q 135mm f2.8. I like it so much that I am seriously considering to have it Ai'd for use on my D600... Blasphemy, I know... This was made with it mounted on my FM.


Selah Sue, Nazomer feesten Middelburg 31-aug-2009 by Ronald_H, on Flickr

 

[johannielscom]

Modern fun with vintage lenses: the Nikkor-S 1.4/58mm on a Nikon D3100. A perfect 1.4/85mm on an APS-C camera!​

The pre-AI lenses can be used on any modern AF-S model, the D3100, D5100, D3200. You will not have any automation except for the focus confirmation spot in the finder, but who cares?😎

 

[Flat Twin]

Nikkor-S 5cm f2 (early 7 element 9 bladed diaphram)


August 2012 by Flat Twin, on Flickr

 

[giellaleafapmu]

Not that I'm aware of but...

The 11 element 20mm f/3.5 is marked UD (1+10) so at least the U was used. I don't recall seeing B in combination with D (2+10=12 element).

I made my little research in the Japanese Nikon Historical Society's Page and found very little. There was at least one triplet "Aero-Nikkor 50mm f4.8" but no letter was used as far as I can see, also there are a few corrected close-up lenses or wideangle, tele attachments for small point and shot in productions which are made of two elements but are not really "use alone" lenses and again I could see no letter used in their names. Also for a lot of lenses I could not find much information, for example the Anytar or several Kwanon marked lenses (was it already a separate factory or was a Nikon's section?) appear with almost no informations on the design. All doublets I found something about (such as the original Gauss lens) are very very old, the only modern doublet I can think of being the Lensbabys, so probably it is unlikely to find anything in Nikon's production.

GLF

 

[giellaleafapmu]

Nikkor-S 5cm f2 (early 7 element 9 bladed diaphram)

One of the so called "Tick Mark lenses"? I always wanted one of those for my F's and could never find one at the right price.

GLF

 

[Flat Twin]

GLF,

No this isn't a tick mark lens, its a very early post tick mark example from the 2nd batch made serial number 5258xx. Have a look below for a great info source:-

http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html#50slow

Its a lovely lens, I haven't had it long so need to shoot it more...!

Simon

 

[jarski]

Found unwanted at a camera fair, a Nikkor-Q 135mm f2.8. I like it so much that I am seriously considering to have it Ai'd for use on my D600... Blasphemy, I know...

check out web "Nikon AI conversion", e.g. this link. you might find correct piece that is easy to install. much cleaner conversion than using file on it.

this was few years ago, Velvia shot. 135/2.8

 

[Godfrey]

One of my all time favorite Nikkors is the Nikkor-H 85mm f/1.8. In this photo, I've used it fitted to an Olympus E-1 where it becomes an incredibly compact medium telephoto with an f/1.8 maximum aperture...

Olympus E-1 + Nikkor-H 85mm f/1.8
ISO 200 @ f/4 @ 1/4000 second​

The 105mm f/2.5 in all its many incarnations is another lens on this level, but the 85/1.8 was/is my favorite. 🙂

 

[giellaleafapmu]

GLF,

No this isn't a tick mark lens, its a very early post tick mark example from the 2nd batch made serial number 5258xx. Have a look below for a great info source:-

http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html#50slow

Its a lovely lens, I haven't had it long so need to shoot it more...!

Simon

Ugh! Every day I learn something new; now I have one more holy grail Nikkor family of lenses. Thank you for the information and...damn those thing appear for yet more GAS!

GLF