Your thoughts on Nikkor 50/1.8 AI-S Japanese pancake version

shawn said:
Definitely covers it, much better than my Nikon 50 1.4 K, and is pretty sharp except in the extreme corners where it smears a little. This was just to look at sharpness.
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Pretty impressive for a lens that wasn't designed for that format, and costs less than $100 these days. :cool:
 
i have the pancake and is a wonderful lens, my only problem is i wear glasses and i cant focus so accurate with the nikon fm. Does anyone have an idea if the fm2 or another completely manual nicon would be better for use with glass ?
 
gzisis69 said:
i have the pancake and is a wonderful lens, my only problem is i wear glasses and i cant focus so accurate with the nikon fm. Does anyone have an idea if the fm2 or another completely manual nicon would be better for use with glass ?
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Have you tried a different focusing screen for your Nikon FM?
http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfeseries/fefmshared/html/screens.htm

No personal experience, but the Nikon F3 with the DE-3 High-Eyepoint Finder is supposed to provide some eye relief for glasses wearers:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/finders/finder2.htm#DE-3
 
gzisis69 said:
i have the pancake and is a wonderful lens, my only problem is i wear glasses and i cant focus so accurate with the nikon fm. Does anyone have an idea if the fm2 or another completely manual nicon would be better for use with glass ?
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I BOUGHT a FM. Seller told me that serial # indicated later production that allowed screen changes. Don’t know if true but would be nice.
 
dourbalistar said:
Have you tried a different focusing screen for your Nikon FM?
http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfeseries/fefmshared/html/screens.htm

No personal experience, but the Nikon F3 with the DE-3 High-Eyepoint Finder is supposed to provide some eye relief for glasses wearers:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/finders/finder2.htm#DE-3
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hap said:
I BOUGHT a FM. Seller told me that serial # indicated later production that allowed screen changes. Don’t know if true but would be nice.
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Apologies, I may have given the wrong impression about the ability to change focusing screens on the Nikon FM. After doing some more research, apparently it's not possible to change the screen on the FM.
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfmseries/fm/part1.htm

The FE, FM2/n, FE2, and FM3a can all change focusing screens. And the Nikon F3, being a "professional" model, had a dizzying array of 20+ different focusing screens:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/screens/index.htm
 
Having used multiple FM/FE series bodies in the past, I find the F2 and F3 to be the best viewfinders in terms of coping with eyesight anomalies.

The F2 has slightly better contrast over the F3 when compared side by side, but the brightness is roughly equal. If I went by viewfinder only, the F2 would be my ultimate choice.

I haven't used an FM3A but I suspect it may be brighter, being more modern. But I have my doubts that that translates to easier focus. There is just something about the optics of F2/F3 screens that makes the image 'pop' more definitively for me.
 
bluesun267 said:
Having used multiple FM/FE series bodies in the past, I find the F2 and F3 to be the best viewfinders in terms of coping with eyesight anomalies.

The F2 has slightly better contrast over the F3 when compared side by side, but the brightness is roughly equal. If I went by viewfinder only, the F2 would be my ultimate choice.

I haven't used an FM3A but I suspect it may be brighter, being more modern. But I have my doubts that that translates to easier focus. There is just something about the optics of F2/F3 screens that makes the image 'pop' more definitively for me.
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I have a gaggle of Nikon film bodies. Was out yesterday with the FT3 and a 50mm 1.4 afd (manual of course). without glasses the finder is very good and the screen, not sure of designation, but a horizontal split prism. It was very easy to focus and bright. My FM and FE not as good. F3 great. I"ll dig out the Fm3a and make a comparison.
 
hap said:
I have a gaggle of Nikon film bodies. Was out yesterday with the FT3 and a 50mm 1.4 afd (manual of course). without glasses the finder is very good and the screen, not sure of designation, but a horizontal split prism. It was very easy to focus and bright. My FM and FE not as good. F3 great. I"ll dig out the Fm3a and make a comparison.
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According to MIR, the FT3 has a "focusing screen... similar to the Type K screen available for F2 Nikon cameras; it has a central split-image rangefinder surrounded by a microprism collar and a matte Fresnel field."

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikkormat/fseries/ft3/metering1.htm
 
hap said:
I have a gaggle of Nikon film bodies. Was out yesterday with the FT3 and a 50mm 1.4 afd (manual of course). without glasses the finder is very good and the screen, not sure of designation, but a horizontal split prism. It was very easy to focus and bright. My FM and FE not as good. F3 great. I"ll dig out the Fm3a and make a comparison.
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You can put a K3 or other 3 series screen in your FE. It works well with some exposure compensation. The FM needs disassembly to change the screen and Nikon says it is not compatible with the 2 and 3 series screens but you can make them work with some screen trimming.

Marty
 
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