OT SLR Question, 28/35 AF /AI-S for N80

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Bertram2

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Maybe some of the old Nikonians here have a recommendation for me ?

I intend to buy a 35 or 28 prime for my N80 and I would prefer in principle a AF lens .
I know that the current Nikon AF primes are often of mediocre built quality, the 2/35 is one of the worst samples I think (oily aperture blades etc) .

I believe to remember tho that somebody once told me that also among the AF primes there are lenses with an acceptable built quality, suited for MF well too ?
Could it be a 28mm was mentioned in this context ?

Second question concerning AI-S .
If you advice me to take better one from this line and give up AF, which lens would you suggest, ? I'd prefer always the faster one for the SLR.

The 28 or 33mm question is NOT a decisive one, optical performance , amount of distortion, built quality and price ARE decisive points tho.


Thanks for all your helpful response !

Bertram
 
Bertram, I have no firsthand experience with the AF lenses you mention. As for MF:

- in 28mm, the 28/2.8 AIS and 28/2 are highly regarded. Sharp to the corners, well-corrected (both with CRC). Of course, if cost is no question, get the 28/1.4 AF-D.

- in 35mm, I like the 35/1.4 and 35/2 Nikkor-O.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
28/1.4 Af-D is excellent
28/2.8 AF is horrible
28/2.8 Series E is mediocre
28/2.8 AF-D is mediocre (same lens design as the Series E)
28/2 AI(S) is excellent
28/2.8 AIS is stunning
28/2.8 AI is ok
28/3.5 AI is ok

35/1.4 AI(S) is excellent
35/2 AI(S) is good
35/2 AF-D is excellent IF you get a good (read: recent) sample, oily aperture blades were fixed soon enough and it's a great lens.
35/2.8 AI(S) is horrible

Sorry for being so brief... But I think you need to decide whether you want AF or not first. The 28/1.4 AF-D is probably the best one, but very expensive. Personally for a 28mm I would get either the 28/2 AI(S) or 28/2.8 AIS, and for 35mm the 35/1.4 AI(S) or the 35/2 AF-D.
 
Wait a second.. for an N80? You're not just giving up AF, you're also giving up metering if getting an Ai(S) lens. For an N80 I wouldn't doubt one second, I'd get the 35/2 AF-D. Either new with warranty or secondhand with a try-out period, to make sure you don't get one of the earliest ones with the oily aperture blades.
 
ray_g said:
Bertram, I have no firsthand experience with the AF lenses you mention. As for MF:

- in 28mm, the 28/2.8 AIS and 28/2 are highly regarded. Sharp to the corners, well-corrected (both with CIC). Of course, if cost is no question, get the 28/1.4 AF-D.

- in 35mm, I like the 35/1.4 and 35/2 Nikkor-O.
Click to expand...


Thanks !
The 28 AIS lenses would be the best product for the money without any doubt. Problem is tho, that they make my F80 act like a completely MF and non AE camera, which would not be THAT prob if it had any kinda focusing aid for MF.
It hasn't tho and even with a 28 you sometimes wish to have something more precise than just the screen.

I also thought of going the FM3a way but then I found I don't want give up the AF/AE speed which I need for certain purposes.

Bertram
 
For an N80 you need to stick to AF lenses for the Meter to work.

N70's are dirt cheap these days, and will take the AI lenses. They were the "last" of the lower priced AF cameras to include AI coupling. ~$100 or less.
 
jvx said:
Sorry for being so brief....
Click to expand...

Not too brief tho ! Clearly spoken, worthful info, most of it is new to me.
Terrible the downfall of the AF lenses, no wonder that many switched to the the wide zooms, not worse than the primes often, the fast ones even partly better.
I once got this all so fed up that I thought about a Tamron or Tokina zoom, did not buy it tho 😀 .

Seems indeed I have to decide if I want to give up AF, 1,4/35 is out of sight at the time.

Bertram
 
Brian Sweeney said:
For an N80 you need to stick to AF lenses for the Meter to work.

N70's are dirt cheap these days, and will take the AI lenses. They were the "last" of the lower priced AF cameras to include AI coupling. ~$100 or less.
Click to expand...

Interesting way out ! 😉 Must think about it !
Thanks,
bertram
 
The 28/2.8 in either AF or AF-D is a pretty good lens.
The non-D version can be had pretty cheap since many people pass them by believing they really need the D feature.

Peter
 
Peter, I think people pass on the non-D because it's a horrible lens, sorry. (AF and AF-D are not the same design.) The AF-D is quite a bit better, but only as good as the Series E (same optical formula), which was the cheap alternative to the good 28/2 AI(S) and 28/2 AIS with a less complicated optical formula.

I would still recommend the 35/2 AF-D for the N80, or perhaps the 28/2 AI(S) if you need the speed, but then I recommend getting a second camera, preferably the F801 (N8008). The main thing the N70 offers over the F801 is third-generation AF, but as you'll be using a manual lens the F801 is IMHO a much better camera with MUCH better control lay-out. Believe me, I still use my N70 as back-up, and while it offers great features at an attractive price, it's slow, slow, slow to use. Can't stand it compared to my F4s with instant-controls - just buttons and levers - no menus to slow me down. An F801 can be found for much less than $100 and are great cameras (they were the 'prosumer' model of those day - occupying the F100's position in the Nikon line-up back then).
 
jvx said:
Peter, I think people pass on the non-D because it's a horrible lens
Click to expand...
I've had two of the non-D version and haven't had any complaints. The difference in results between the 5 and 6 element designs wasn't that great. None can even come close to the pre-AI 28/3.5 but that doesn't help at all with an F/N80.

Peter
 
peterc said:
The 28/2.8 in either AF or AF-D is a pretty good lens.
The non-D version can be had pretty cheap since many people pass them by believing they really need the D feature.

Peter
Click to expand...

Uhh, seems I started a controverse, this wasn't my intention ! 😉
Could someone explain to me what the difference is between D and non-D at the AF designs ?

Bertram
 
Bertram2 said:
Could someone explain to me what the difference is between D and non-D
Click to expand...
The D lenses will have D as part of the lens name. Also any G lens (the ones without an aperture ring) is also a D lens. It means they have a distance chip in the lens that tells the camera at what distance the focus has been set. This allows cameras with Nikon's 3D Matrix metering to compute distance as part of the exposure equation. In 99.9% of cases the difference between the result determined by 3D Matrix metering won't differ from the normal Matrix metering result.
When the D comes into play is for difficult flash situations.
I remember one reviewer saying if you plan to take a lot of flash self portraits in mirrors, you need the D feature.
Ken Rockwell simply calls it "useless".

Peter
 
Nikon Bob said:
the F90X is a good prosumer body that works well with both mf and af lenses.
Click to expand...
I'd also highly recommend the F90X. I got one and it's a great bridge between my FE and my F80 ... it would be perfect if it could use pre-AI lenses.

Peter
 
how about....

how about....

...an alternative...try the 20-35 f2.8 AF-D. Awsome built quality, sharp as a blade, distotion is well controlled...on par with the 28 f1.4 AF-D. These days it could be had for $300-$700...a hell of a bargain considering I paid $1200 for mine.
Kiu
 
peterc said:
When the D comes into play is for difficult flash situations.
I remember one reviewer saying if you plan to take a lot of flash self portraits in mirrors, you need the D feature.
[Peter
Click to expand...

I see. Explains why the 3D-matrix flash control obviously does not work with the Tamron zoom.

bertram
 
NIKON KIU said:
...an alternative...try the 20-35 f2.8 AF-D. Awsome built quality, sharp as a blade, distotion is well controlled...on par with the 28 f1.4 AF-D. These days it could be had for $300-$700...a hell of a bargain considering I paid $1200 for mine.
Kiu
Click to expand...

At least this would fit best to my kind of SLR use...... My only prob with zooms is that I hate the amount of pincushion or barrel distortion they often have towards the edges. This can get very obtrousive at cityscapes.
I've seen primes tho (28) which had not been much better...
I'd prefer a 18-35 zoom in any case if I knew that the distortion is not essentially worse at such a zoom, but I am afraid they ARE visibly worse.

bertram
 
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