Nikon manual focus fix-focal lenses 105mm to 200mm
AI 105mm 4.0 Micro
The 105mm f/4.0 Micro Nikkor was the standard macro lens in the Nikkor lineup for a very long time. First it was introduced as a lens which had to be mounted to a bellow in 1969, 1977 it was introduced as a stand-alone AI-lens with a magnification ratio of 1:2. It was replaced by the faster 105mm 2.8 Micro Nikkor in 1983. about 44.000 AI and 23.000 AI-S lenses were produced. The later AI-S lens has a focus lock (silver screw). Price: US (1985): 450 $, Germany (1984): 749 DM.
This lens is designed to perform best in the close focus range. Even at the open aperture of f/4 the lens is as sharp as other lenses only get at their optimum aperture. From f/5.6 on the lens is cutting sharp. Fortget about doing portraits with this lens, even at f/4 it will present every wrinkle and skin impurity to the maximum detail. The lens has a magnification ratio of 1:2 and it achieves a 1:1 ratio with the optional PN-11 extension tube (52,5 mm extension). A magnification scale for use with and without the extension tube is engraved on the lens barrel.
Unfortunately this lens is "only" optimal in the closer range up to 10 metres. At infinity the pictures lack the "punch" that can be achieved with other fix focal lenses. But it is a macro lens after all and you really can't blame it for being inferior at landscape shooting.
If you have trouble with manual focusing on your DSLR or if you plan to use this lens with exenion tubes most of the time you should think about the successor, the 105mm 2.8 Micro Nikkor. The viewfinder should be considerably brighter due to the larger aperture. For tripod-based work the difference should not matter.
Sample (DX): 105mm f16
AI 105mm 2.5
A very common lens during the MF era, approximately 500.000 lenses were produced between 1971 and 2005, the later AI-S version (160.000 units) has a built in shade and is optically identical to the AI-version. Price: US (1985): 271 $, Germany (1984): 460 DM. Avoid the pre-AI models, they are optically different (tessar formula) and not as "creamy" as this version. You can save a few bucks if you have no problems to carry a separate sun shade by buying the AI-version. Great lens with a creamy background blur. Perfect long portrait lens, softer near wide open aperture, good sharpness from f /4.0 on.
Sample (DX): 105mm f4
AI 135mm 2.8
Produced between 1976 and 2005, about 235.000 units. Price: US (1985): 286 $, Germany (1981): 460 DM. A little bit soft wide open, very good from f/4.0 on. Built in sunshade is a plus. This lens is available on ebay for around 100 Euro, you can also buy the optically slightly different 135mm 2.8 Series E lens. I once picked one up for around 28 Euro and I can not see any big optical difference despite a little different colour temperature. The Series E is also built very well, the only difference is the aperture ring made of plastic instead of metal.
Sample (DX): 135mm f4 (D70, ISO 400)
AI-S 180mm 2.8 ED
Introduced in 1969 as non-ED version and equipped with ED glass together with the change to AI-S in 1981. More than 74.000 AI-S lenses were produced. Price: US (1985): 679 $, Germany (1984): 1150 DM.
Even the non-ED version of this lens has an excellent reputation and the 180mm fix-focal lens is one of the classic lenses in Nikons lineup. The lens has an impressive apearance and a very good optical performance. Sharp wide open (sharper as the AF-D 80-200mm 2.8 at 180mm wide open but less so than the AF-S lens) and razor sharp from f/4. This lens is highly recommended. Lacks a bit of contrast wide open.
Sample (DX): 180mm f4
Sample (FX): 180mm f2,8
AI 200mm 4.0
Produced between 1975 and 1996, about 280.000 lenses. Price: US (1985): 318 $, Germany (1981): 500 DM. This lens always suffered the strong (and by all means "heavy") competition of pro-grade 80-200 zooms. Because zooms offered more speed at f/2.8 combined with more range this lens was almost forgotten. Even today you can buy this lens at insane low prices, ranging from 40 Euro to 100 Euro on ebay. For this money you get a pro grade lens regarding construction and optics in a compact, travel-friendly package with a built-in sunshade. Performance is good even at f/4.0 and overall IQ is very good but the contrast is a bit lacking, especially at wider apertures. Stop down to f/8 to get the best results, f/5,6 is very good in most shooting situations, too. On the D200 CA´s are more prominent due to the lack of ED glass that the newer zoom lenses feature, stop down to f8 to minimize colour fringing. Contrary to that on the D700 colour fringing is not a problem at all. The optimizations that Nikon did in this regard with the D300, D3 and D700 generation of cameras comes into play here. Focus can be a little bit tricky due to the reatively dark veiwfinder and because the focus ring throw is a little narrow from 7 metres on. I use this lens as a low-weight alternative to my 80-200 2.8 lens (530 versus 1280 grams). Vignetting is quite visible at f/4 on FX.
Sample (DX): 200mm f8
K (AI factory converted) 300mm 4.5 ED non-IF
This lens is often confused with the later 300mm 4,5 IF-ED and this is moslty caused by the relative rarity. Nikon updated the original non-ED version of the lens from the 1960's in 1977 with an ED glass element and sold it for a short period before the IF-version was introduced. However, the lens got an update from the non-AI "K"-version to genuine AI. Less than 1.000 K and once again 1.000 AI-lenses were produced.
After hunting for this lens for more than two years I was finally able to obtain a sample of the K-version in mint shape. In contrast to the IF-version the focussing requires more force because of the rather high mass that has to be moved with the big internal helicoil. An other difference is the higher weight with a little less than 200g more for the non-IF version. An excellent craftmanship and a solid appearance create a comforting feeling of solidity.
I had to repeat my tests multiple times with this lens because I found it quite hard to beleive what I first saw in comparison with the IF-ED model at wider apertures, especially at f/4,5. The optical performance at f/4,5 is already at a very high level and I would have no hesitation to use the lens only wide open if the DOF area wouldn't be that small at 300mm. As the lens is being stopped down the performance gap narrows compared to the IF-ED, becoming irrelevant at f/8. Don't get me wrong: The later IF-ED model is a very good lens but this one surpasses it sharpness-wise in the range from wide open to f/8 quite easily.
Optical performance with teleconvertersis very good, too. Stopped down to f/5,6 the lens performs quite favorably with a 1,4x Kenko TC. Even wide open you can obtain useable images, as the second sample below shows.
Sample (12MP FX): f/4,5 with Kenko 1,4 TC at f/4,5 (so, basically as worse as it can be)
AI 300mm 4.5 ED-IF
The 300mm 4.5 lens had a very long production run since the first lens of that type appeared in 1964. From 1977 on this lens was available with ED glass elements. Nikon offered the ED and the non-ED versions at the same time to suit different price points. The first 300mm lens with ED glass in 1977 was a modified version of the original non-ED lens sold at that time, only a couple hundered of those were made and are highly sought after among collectors (see above). From 1978 on the lens was available as ED-IF (internal focus) version and it was produced for two decades till 1999 with a total amount of 37.000 lenses. Price: US (1985): 864 $, Germany (1984): 1550 DM.
The AI version of this lens has a minimum aperture of f/22, the AI-S version goes down to f/32. The tripod collar is very welcome as the lens weights 990g. The built-in sunshade is very convenient. Due to the internal focus and the lack of a helicoil the focusing ring moves very freely without any resistance at all, which is a bonus since it enables the photographer to grab the lens by the tripod mount while focusing is done with only one or two fingers.
The optical performance is very good from f/5.6 on and good at f/4,5. Color and contrast are good. Use with a tripod is obviously recommended, usage with teleconverters is not.
Sample (DX): 300mm f5,6
AI-S 400mm 3.5 ED-IF
A massive construction to last a lifetime - like with all professional Nikkors. About 12.000 lenses were made from the beginning of the AI era throughout the AI-S times. I was not able to find an original retail price because all of my pricelists from that time are ending with the 300mm telephotos.
Ther optical quality is very good even wide open and improves just slightly as you stop down. All over all this is a very sharp lens and a joy to use. One bonus ist that it can be used together with a teleconverter with very good results. Right now I have used the lens with a Kenko 1,4 konverter while the Nikon TC-14B is still on the way and with the Nikon TC-301 2x. I was quite surprised with the 2x Nikon converter as it still delivers quite pleasant results which can be brought up to an excellent level in post processing.
The handling of the lens is better than I first thought. It is very easy to judge sharpness from the viewfinder of a D700 and pictures just "snap" into focus. Beware that the whole setup is absolutely front-heavy due to the large front lens elements. Especially when unmounting the lens from a quick release mechanism make sure to support it at the front, otherwise the lens dips forward.
Despite the weight of 2,8 kg the lens handles very nicely and is quite manageable on a monopod with sturdy ballhead (a Manfrotto 488 for example doesn't cut it). It is the only option if you want a compact 400mm lens as the newer 2,8 aperture versions weigh around 5 kg.
This time - due to bad weather for a consecutive number of weekends - a test-series indoors.
Sample (DX - D200): 400mm f3,5 400mm f4,0 400mm f5,6
Samples (DX - D200 plus Kenko TC 1,4x Pro): 400mm f3,5 400mm f4,0 400mm f5,6
Samples (DX - D200 plus Nikon TC-200 2,0x): 400mm f3,5 400mm f4,0 400mm f5,6
Samples (DX - D200 plus Nikon TC-301 2,0x): 400mm f3,5 400mm f4,0 400mm f5,6
Samples (FX - D700 plus Nikon TC-200 2,0x): 400mm f3,5 400mm f4,0 400mm f5,6
Samples (FX - D700 plus Nikon TC-301 2,0x): 400mm f3,5 400mm f4,0 400mm f5,6
Samples in the field (FX - D700): 400mm f3,5 400mm f5,6 400mm f5,6 with Kenko 1,4x 400mm f5,6 with TC-301