Tejasican
Well-known
Adapting a Leica R to the F mount requires some surgery. Any switching around in the field would be off the table.
Nikon Fe2-what is the very best lens?
- Thread starter dave lackey
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bobkonos
Well-known
My FM2/FM kit: Nikon 55mm f2.8 Micro-Nikkor, 24mm f2.8, 85mm f2, and 105mm f2.5. All Nikkors, all great.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I'd love one of those Voigtländer 40s. It may be the best 40mm lens for the Nikon SLR ... But of course I don't know of any other 40mm lenses in Nikon F mount, other than the current DX micro lens. I wonder if it covers a full frame format adequately?
I wouldn't consider using a Leica R lens on a Nikon film body. What's the point when excellent Leica SLRs go for cheap and are lovely things themselves? To fit an R lens, you have to modify the mount and lose the auto diaphragm ... And you'll have no meter coupling. That's too much of a loss to be the best at anything. I can see doing it for a digital Nikon body as there are no digital Leica SLR bodies.
As much as the many improvements to modern lenses have made them technically better, in many cases I just prefer the imaging qualities of the older lenses. Thankfully, there are enough choices to satisfy anyone. 🙂
G
There sure are many 'very best!'
Pablito
coco frío
Not sure, but what color should I paint my house?
kxl
Social Documentary
chrome.....
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Nikon's made a lot of excellent lenses for their cameras over a large number of years. The Nikon F System is probably the biggest single manufacturer lens system in the world.
G
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Oh, I was ambiguous. I was wondering if the new Nikon 40mm Micro, designed for DX format, would adequately cover full-frame format.
The Voigtländer 40mm is a Tessar design, I believe, which has the behavior you cite as pretty much standard. If I bought one, I'd probably use it on my Nikon F most of the time. That's about as wide a lens as I really like on an SLR, given that I have wider lenses I use on TTL electronic and RF cameras where they're easier to focus.
G
ferider
Veteran
Dave,
I just went through this in the last year, putting a nikkor kit together. Here is a great minimal kit, and it's not what's typically touted on the net:
- 6 element 35/2.8 - show me another wide with no distortion ...
- 50/1.8S ais (short nose and min focus). Stunning lens and small.
- 105/2.8 ais micro. Believe it or not, it's better than the 105/2.5
- 300/4.5 if ais
The first two lenses are kind of hard to find, but they are there if you are patient.
A single lens ? The 50/1.8s. Can compete with any 50 ....
Cheers.
Roland.
I just went through this in the last year, putting a nikkor kit together. Here is a great minimal kit, and it's not what's typically touted on the net:
- 6 element 35/2.8 - show me another wide with no distortion ...
- 50/1.8S ais (short nose and min focus). Stunning lens and small.
- 105/2.8 ais micro. Believe it or not, it's better than the 105/2.5
- 300/4.5 if ais
The first two lenses are kind of hard to find, but they are there if you are patient.
A single lens ? The 50/1.8s. Can compete with any 50 ....
Cheers.
Roland.
Nokton48
Veteran
I use one of these for my gear/product shots. Fantastic lens for macro, but in my experience its a bit tricky to focus accurately at more "normal" shooting distances. The 105/2.5 is definitely a better lens in that respect.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Beat me to it. This is the guide to Nikon glass. I've owned and used many of the lenses Bjørn has rated and would fully agree with his ratings on film. The vast majority of my experience with Nikkors is on film.
One lens that has become rather hard to find but is absolutely top notch on film is the 70~180 AF-D Zoom Micro-Nikkor. Stunning IQ throughout the range. If Macro is in your sights this is my first choice lens. Covers what the 55 or 60 would almost, and almost covers what the astronomical 200/4 AF does. I shot a lot of stock images of frogs and snakes with this lens, the zoom comes in really handy when you don;t want to or can't move.
Jamie Pillers
Skeptic
I, too, am partial to the CV 40/2. Great little lens, very sharp, great colors (natural, not vivid).
Contarama
Well-known
My experience with a FE is that the bigger lenses eg. 105/2.5 are not as comfortable as the smaller ones like the 50/1.8. The FE is a small camera and for me it just works better when using a smaller sized lens. I keep the 50 on mine at all times.
ferider
Veteran
I was thinking 35mm, and I do like automatic aperture coupling on my 35mm lenses. 🙂
Don't really understand that comment, Jon, but then we might use different focusing techniques. In my experience, the 105/2.8 Micro is stunning for landscapes, too, very flat field.
Roland.
I wasn't very clear... what I mean is that the Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 has a very short focus throw for medium distances (for example 2m to 5m). Over the same distance range, the Ai-S 105/2.5 has more focus throw which makes nailing focus easier at those distances. But yeah, no complaints at all with the Micro-Nikkor's imaging quality at any distance, and the short focus throw is not an issue for landscape shots at infinity.
dave lackey
Veteran
Wow! These are really great suggestions, I had no idea.🙂 As much as I enjoy these compact Nikon MF cameras, it is imperative for me to take these and start my research!
ferider
Veteran
Makes sense, Jon.
Dave, if you want to check out the 50/1.8S, this is what you have to look for (per http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index6.htm). Originally distributed in Japan only, but popping up on ebay sometimes:
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S MkII 50/1.8 S rubber focus, focus to 0.45m, serial nr. 2050972 - 2266119.
Like this:
and this:
🙂
Roland.
raid
Dad Photographer
Keep it simple, Dave.
Even the cheap 50/1.8 is excellent. The 50/1.4 is superb.
It is true that as a tele, the 105/2.5 is awesome. Any version of it is awesome.
I like the Nikkor 24/2.8. It is a classic.
The old 55/3.5 micro is sharp as a razor, and it is cheap.
Even the cheap 50/1.8 is excellent. The 50/1.4 is superb.
It is true that as a tele, the 105/2.5 is awesome. Any version of it is awesome.
I like the Nikkor 24/2.8. It is a classic.
The old 55/3.5 micro is sharp as a razor, and it is cheap.
furbs
Well-known
Don't have an FE2, but on my F2 I use:
- 20mm f/4 AI: super tiny and looks better to my eyes than the more modern 20's
- 24mm f/2.8 AIS: very solid performer, already mentioned a few times I see
- 50mm f/1.8 AIS: also already mentioned, has a good min focus distance
I sometimes used a 105mm f/2 AF-D DC on the F2 but would not recommend it on an FE2 since it's pretty heavy. It has otherworldly bokeh, though. The 105mm f/2.5 would be great for you.
The handling and build of the AI(S) Nikkors is wonderful and you would probably enjoy any of them on your FE2. Just pick the focal lengths and apertures you need and go.
- 20mm f/4 AI: super tiny and looks better to my eyes than the more modern 20's
- 24mm f/2.8 AIS: very solid performer, already mentioned a few times I see
- 50mm f/1.8 AIS: also already mentioned, has a good min focus distance
I sometimes used a 105mm f/2 AF-D DC on the F2 but would not recommend it on an FE2 since it's pretty heavy. It has otherworldly bokeh, though. The 105mm f/2.5 would be great for you.
The handling and build of the AI(S) Nikkors is wonderful and you would probably enjoy any of them on your FE2. Just pick the focal lengths and apertures you need and go.
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