How many of you only or mainly own screw focus lenses?

How many of you only or mainly own screw focus lenses?

I ask because currently all 5 of my lenses are AF Screw focus.

Now this hasn't bothered me one bit to date, except for the long lens which is too slow focusing but I realise that none of them would AF on a Z series camera.

I have no plans to buy a Z series though so no worries but I wondered how many of you have all or even most of your lenses screw focusing?

Mark_A

I have a few favorite lenses that are screw focus and there are no real direct replacements. The 85mm f1.4D and the 105mm f2 DC are two that come to mind.

Until quite recently, only a small portion of my auto-focus Nikkors were AF-S. If I recall correctly, my 50/1.4G was my only AF-S Nikkor, as recently as May 2015, when I had five or six AF/AF-D lenses. (My manual-focus Nikkors outnumbered my AF-ing Nikkors; AF is a passing fad. ;-) )

The shift to AF-S started in mid-2015, when I added a new 14-24/2.8G and pre-owned 24-70/2.8G ED, but I have added pre-AF-S and AI-S/AI-P, too, since that time. MY AF-S lenses now outnumber screw-driven-AF, but neither yet outnumbers the whole of my pre-AI/AI/AI-S/AI-P lenses.

Mark_A said:

I have no plans to buy a Z series though so no worries but I wondered how many of you have all or even most of your lenses screw focusing?

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I have 6 "screw focus lenses," and yes, it's something I'll be thinking about when choosing between, say, a D850 and a Z7.

• 20mm f/2.8 pre-D -- This is one of my least used lenses, as I can use either a 14-24mm f/2.8 or a 17-35mm f/2.8 instead. In it's current condition, I doubt I could get $150 for it, so it hangs around in a corner of the cabinet.
• 60mm f/2.8 AF-D Micro -- I bought this lens for slide duplication, but it's proven to be surprisingly useful in the "near macro" range. But I don't feel a "need for speed" with this lens, and about half the time I focus it manually anyway. So this one probably stays either way.
• 135mm f/2 DC (pre-D) -- I wouldn't feel any real qualms about swapping this out for a Sigma 135mm f/1.8. I've been "living la vita LoCa" and just don't use the defocus control feature often enough to mourn its loss.
• 180mm f/2.8D -- There is no real alternative to this lens, but given that I already tried to sell it once, I can't say it would be a show stopper.
• Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro -- The alternatives to this lens are either also "screw focus" (Nikon 200mm f/4 Micro), quite large (Sigma 180mm f/2.8 OS), have significantly shorter working distances (Sigma 150mm f/2.8 OS), or are discontinued and have compatibility issues (Sigma 180mm f/3.5 macro). If I buy the Z7, I'd probably grumble the most about this one.
• 300mm f/4 (pre-D) -- This is a nice lens, but I have longer alternatives. I'd probably keep this around for use on my film bodies in any case, as neither the 300mm PF nor the Sigma 100-400mm works on an F100, let alone an FA.

Stacey_K said:

I have a few favorite lenses that are screw focus and there are no real direct replacements. The 85mm f1.4D and the 105mm f2 DC are two that come to mind.

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I would have liked an 85 1.4 but my budgeting head was on that week so I bought the 1.8. But the 1.4 is a good lens by all accounts, definitely still very usable.

I don't know the 105 f2 - oh is that the defocus control, yes, I have heard of it.

Mark_A

Rexgig0 said:

Until quite recently, only a small portion of my auto-focus Nikkors were AF-S. If I recall correctly, my 50/1.4G was my only AF-S Nikkor, as recently as May 2015, when I had five or six AF/AF-D lenses. (My manual-focus Nikkors outnumbered my AF-ing Nikkors; AF is a passing fad. ;-) )

Click to expand...

Is the 50/1.4G (AFS) that much faster focusing than a 50 AF screw drive lens?

Rexgig0 said:

The shift to AF-S started in mid-2015, when I added a new 14-24/2.8G and pre-owned 24-70/2.8G ED, but I have added pre-AF-S and AI-S/AI-P, too, since that time. MY AF-S lenses now outnumber screw-driven-AF, but neither yet outnumbers the whole of my pre-AI/AI/AI-S/AI-P lenses.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you have a lot of lenses. I only have 5, but I do use them all.

Mark_A

Michael Benveniste said:

Mark_A said:

I have no plans to buy a Z series though so no worries but I wondered how many of you have all or even most of your lenses screw focusing?

Click to expand...

I have 6 "screw focus lenses," and yes, it's something I'll be thinking about when choosing between, say, a D850 and a Z7.

• 20mm f/2.8 pre-D -- This is one of my least used lenses, as I can use either a 14-24mm f/2.8 or a 17-35mm f/2.8 instead. In it's current condition, I doubt I could get $150 for it, so it hangs around in a corner of the cabinet.

Click to expand...

I have a 20mm f2.8 AF. I recently used it for wide night shots (milky way) mainly but also it is the widest lens I have so it has other uses also. Like my other two primes I love that it is so small.

Michael Benveniste said:

• 60mm f/2.8 AF-D Micro -- I bought this lens for slide duplication, but it's proven to be surprisingly useful in the "near macro" range. But I don't feel a "need for speed" with this lens, and about half the time I focus it manually anyway. So this one probably stays either way.
• 135mm f/2 DC (pre-D) -- I wouldn't feel any real qualms about swapping this out for a Sigma 135mm f/1.8. I've been "living la vita LoCa" and just don't use the defocus control feature often enough to mourn its loss.
• 180mm f/2.8D -- There is no real alternative to this lens, but given that I already tried to sell it once, I can't say it would be a show stopper.

Click to expand...

An 180mm f2.8 is on my watch list, but I am also thinking about a 70-200 2.8 perhaps the original one at a budget price. But I like the idea of the 180 for portraits with a narrow dof, for someone who will never stretch to the 200/2.

Michael Benveniste said:

• Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro -- The alternatives to this lens are either also "screw focus" (Nikon 200mm f/4 Micro), quite large (Sigma 180mm f/2.8 OS), have significantly shorter working distances (Sigma 150mm f/2.8 OS), or are discontinued and have compatibility issues (Sigma 180mm f/3.5 macro). If I buy the Z7, I'd probably grumble the most about this one.
• 300mm f/4 (pre-D) -- This is a nice lens, but I have longer alternatives. I'd probably keep this around for use on my film bodies in any case, as neither the 300mm PF nor the Sigma 100-400mm works on an F100, let alone an FA.

Click to expand...

I also have an 80-400 AFD and am thinking about upgrading it to the AFS G version which would be my first AFS lens. I won't need it until perhaps spring so I am waiting for prices to drop a little more.

Mark_A

Mark_A said:

Rexgig0 said:

Until quite recently, only a small portion of my auto-focus Nikkors were AF-S. If I recall correctly, my 50/1.4G was my only AF-S Nikkor, as recently as May 2015, when I had five or six AF/AF-D lenses. (My manual-focus Nikkors outnumbered my AF-ing Nikkors; AF is a passing fad. ;-) )

Click to expand...

Is the 50/1.4G (AFS) that much faster focusing than a 50 AF screw drive lens?

Click to expand...

Mark_A said:

Mark_A

Click to expand...

The Nikkor AF-S 50/1.4G has a famously sedate AF speed. If one needs AF speed, with a 50mm, the 50/1.8 AF-D is a very speedy choice. I never used a 50/1.4D, so cannot say, one way or the other.

AF-S does not mean speedy auto-focusing. Many of the screw-driven AF lenses will enable speedy AF, especially with the powerful pro-level camera bodies.

If compactness is not important, and a zoom is OK, and f/2.8 is OK, the AF-S “pro zoom trinity” lenses are a best choice, so, the AF-S 24-70/2.8G ED, or, its newer E VR version, can be used at 50mm, for speedy AF.

Rexgig0 said:

Mark_A said:

Rexgig0 said:

Until quite recently, only a small portion of my auto-focus Nikkors were AF-S. If I recall correctly, my 50/1.4G was my only AF-S Nikkor, as recently as May 2015, when I had five or six AF/AF-D lenses. (My manual-focus Nikkors outnumbered my AF-ing Nikkors; AF is a passing fad. ;-) )

Click to expand...

Is the 50/1.4G (AFS) that much faster focusing than a 50 AF screw drive lens?

Mark_A

Click to expand...

The Nikkor AF-S 50/1.4G has a famously sedate AF speed. If one needs AF speed, with a 50mm, the 50/1.8 AF-D is a very speedy choice. I never used a 50/1.4D, so cannot say, one way or the other.

AF-S does not mean speedy auto-focusing. Many of the screw-driven AF lenses will enable speedy AF, especially with the powerful pro-level camera bodies.

If compactness is not important, and a zoom is OK, and f/2.8 is OK, the AF-S “pro zoom trinity” lenses are a best choice, so, the AF-S 24-70/2.8G ED, or, its newer E VR version, can be used at 50mm, for speedy AF.

Click to expand...

Hi Rexgig0,

I have a 50 f1.8 AF and it has always seemed to me to be both instant focusing and nice and sharp. The only reason I have sometimes thought of getting a G version is to get weather sealing at some level for going out when it is wet.

Mark_A

Mark_A said:

Mark_A said:

The shift to AF-S started in mid-2015, when I added a new 14-24/2.8G and pre-owned 24-70/2.8G ED, but I have added pre-AF-S and AI-S/AI-P, too, since that time. MY AF-S lenses now outnumber screw-driven-AF, but neither yet outnumbers the whole of my pre-AI/AI/AI-S/AI-P lenses.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you have a lot of lenses. I only have 5, but I do use them all.

Mark_A

Click to expand...

Yes, we have quite a few; I share them with my wife, who has been a photographer far longer than I, though she became dedicated to the Nikon DSLR system about the same time I started developing a serious interest in SLR shooting. We were both influenced by a D300s issued to her, by her employer. She had previously used her employer’s Canon 40D, and then Nikon D200 and D300 cameras, but she really loved the D300s.

She had previously tried a bag of pre-owned Canon kit, which included an XTi/400D camera, an excellent Tokina 100/2.8 Macro AT-X, and 580EX Speedlite flash, but had decided to keep using Olumpus SLRs for her personal shooting. I built upon this Canon kit, quickly adding a pre-owned 40D camera, and more lenses, a new 7D camera, and a Novoflex EOS/NIK adapter, to allow us to share pre-G Nikon-mount lenses, and then started buying Nikkors.

I have not switched from Canon, but gradually added more Nikon equipment, most of it pre-owned, and much prior-generation, therefore much less-costly. Not until late 2017 did I buy a new D500 for myself, and it quickly became my wife’s second D500. In early 2018, a one-time financial event, related to my retirement, enabled the addiditon of new Nikon DSLRs for both of us.

Mark_A said:

Rexgig0 said:

Mark_A said:

Rexgig0 said:

Until quite recently, only a small portion of my auto-focus Nikkors were AF-S. If I recall correctly, my 50/1.4G was my only AF-S Nikkor, as recently as May 2015, when I had five or six AF/AF-D lenses. (My manual-focus Nikkors outnumbered my AF-ing Nikkors; AF is a passing fad. ;-) )

Click to expand...

Is the 50/1.4G (AFS) that much faster focusing than a 50 AF screw drive lens?

Mark_A

Click to expand...

The Nikkor AF-S 50/1.4G has a famously sedate AF speed. If one needs AF speed, with a 50mm, the 50/1.8 AF-D is a very speedy choice. I never used a 50/1.4D, so cannot say, one way or the other.

AF-S does not mean speedy auto-focusing. Many of the screw-driven AF lenses will enable speedy AF, especially with the powerful pro-level camera bodies.

If compactness is not important, and a zoom is OK, and f/2.8 is OK, the AF-S “pro zoom trinity” lenses are a best choice, so, the AF-S 24-70/2.8G ED, or, its newer E VR version, can be used at 50mm, for speedy AF.

Click to expand...

Hi Rexgig0,

I have a 50 f1.8 AF and it has always seemed to me to be both instant focusing and nice and sharp. The only reason I have sometimes thought of getting a G version is to get weather sealing at some level for going out when it is wet.

Mark_A

Click to expand...

Other than the base gasket, I am not sure how much sealing the 50/1.4G actually has. I do believe that the most important weather seal is the base gasket, to intercept water that may flow along the front of the camera.

--
Nothing I have typed should be understood as an indication that I am claiming to be an expert. I was blessed to have learned from experts, and would classify myself as an advanced beginner, overall, with an asymmetric balance of skills.
I wore a police badge, and made evidentiary images at night, incorporating elements of portrait, macro, still life, landscape, architecture, and PJ. (Retired January 2018.) I enjoy using Canon and Nikon gear.

Rexgig0 said:

Mark_A said:

Hi Rexgig0,

I have a 50 f1.8 AF and it has always seemed to me to be both instant focusing and nice and sharp. The only reason I have sometimes thought of getting a G version is to get weather sealing at some level for going out when it is wet.

Mark_A

Click to expand...

Other than the base gasket, I am not sure how much sealing the 50/1.4G actually has. I do believe that the most important weather seal is the base gasket, to intercept water that may flow along the front of the camera.

Click to expand...

Hi Rexgig0,

All I know is that at the moment none of my lenses have any sealing capability at all so I am quite shy about water. My D800 is supposed to have some level of weather protection although looking at the battery door I am wondering about that. But it would be nice to have one lens that I could mate with the camera and not be so paranoid about water with.

I envy Oly shooters who seem to have proper sealing, and I have heard of D4 series bodies having good sealing.

Mark_A

My collection of primes is based on AF-D lenses: 24mm, 50mm, 85mm, 180mm.

Used, they were very affordable compared to their AF-S counterparts . Shot on a humble D700, they offer quite decent image quality. With higher-res bodies I've no doubt there are newer, sharper lenses out there but for my modest photographic endeavours, the AF-Ds are great.

Maybe their market value will plummet with the advent of Z, well it could also mean very cheap lenses to be bought

Reivilos said:

My collection of primes is based on AF-D lenses: 24mm, 50mm, 85mm, 180mm.

Used, they were very affordable compared to their AF-S counterparts . Shot on a humble D700, they offer quite decent image quality. With higher-res bodies I've no doubt there are newer, sharper lenses out there but for my modest photographic endeavours, the AF-Ds are great.

Maybe their market value will plummet with the advent of Z, well it could also mean very cheap lenses to be bought

Click to expand...

I think the same, there are likely to be some AF bargains ahead

I would be interested in a 180/2.8 and an 85/1.4 if their prices come down.

Mark_A

Rexgig0 said:

Rexgig0 said:

M

Click to expand...

The Nikkor AF-S 50/1.4G has a famously sedate AF speed. If one needs AF speed, with a 50mm, the 50/1.8 AF-D is a very speedy choice. I never used a 50/1.4D, so cannot say, one way or the other.

AF-S does not mean speedy auto-focusing. Many of the screw-driven AF lenses will enable speedy AF, especially with the powerful pro-level camera bodies.

If compactness is not important, and a zoom is OK, and f/2.8 is OK, the AF-S “pro zoom trinity” lenses are a best choice, so, the AF-S 24-70/2.8G ED, or, its newer E VR version, can be used at 50mm, for speedy AF.

Click to expand...

going a bit off the thread path ... but how much faster do you think the 50mm f1.8 AF-D is over the AF-S?

Peter in Canberra said:

Rexgig0 said:

Peter in Canberra said:

M

Click to expand...

The Nikkor AF-S 50/1.4G has a famously sedate AF speed. If one needs AF speed, with a 50mm, the 50/1.8 AF-D is a very speedy choice. I never used a 50/1.4D, so cannot say, one way or the other.

AF-S does not mean speedy auto-focusing. Many of the screw-driven AF lenses will enable speedy AF, especially with the powerful pro-level camera bodies.

If compactness is not important, and a zoom is OK, and f/2.8 is OK, the AF-S “pro zoom trinity” lenses are a best choice, so, the AF-S 24-70/2.8G ED, or, its newer E VR version, can be used at 50mm, for speedy AF.

Click to expand...

going a bit off the thread path ... but how much faster do you think the 50mm f1.8 AF-D is over the AF-S?

Click to expand...

Hi Peter,

I can't speak about the AFS 50mm having never had one, but the AF screwdrive 50mm f1.8 is pretty instant focusing, there is hardly any glass that the camera has to move, so it is just very quick especially on my D800.

Mark_A

All my FX Nikkors seem to be screw driven because they're older designs, and my DX lenses all AF-S. Not that I have many of those.

This doesn't keep me from mirrorless though. Experience of the sad AF tracking of mirrorless is what keeps me away. And I spend too much time looking at computer screens already.

Rexgig0 said:

Yes, we have quite a few; I share them with my wife, who has been a photographer far longer than I, though she became dedicated to the Nikon DSLR system about the same time I started developing a serious interest in SLR shooting. We were both influenced by a D300s issued to her, by her employer. She had previously used her employer’s Canon 40D, and then Nikon D200 and D300 cameras, but she really loved the D300s.

She had previously tried a bag of pre-owned Canon kit, which included an XTi/400D camera, an excellent Tokina 100/2.8 Macro AT-X, and 580EX Speedlite flash, but had decided to keep using Olumpus SLRs for her personal shooting. I built upon this Canon kit, quickly adding a pre-owned 40D camera, and more lenses, a new 7D camera, and a Novoflex EOS/NIK adapter, to allow us to share pre-G Nikon-mount lenses, and then started buying Nikkors.

Click to expand...

It must be very nice to have a shared interest with your partner, I am a little envious.
Mark_A

85 f1.4AFD, 70-180 AFD Micro-Nikkor which are both among my favourites on D850... also 135 f2 DC and 180 f2.8 (latest AFD model) which I'm selling on as they don't see enough use.

And I have a Z7. It is an excellent camera but the firmware needs fixes for key features. Yes, I am one of those waiting for the FTZd adapter; its AFD support and AI indexing to EXIF on AI/AIS lenses will meet close stark gaps in Nikon's marketing speak abut F-Mount compatibility.

Of the lenses that I frequently use, the 180 f2.8 AF would be the one I'd greatly miss. Such a great lens, since its performance to size ratio is outstanding.

As mostly prime guy, I like a 3-lens pack with the Sigma 35 Art, 60mm AF-S, and the ol' 180. Will definitely miss that lens if I ever transition to a motorless body.

On screw-drive, in general: For a long time, I've wanted a screw-drive equiv to the old 105 f2.5 and the 135 f2.8. Seemed like Nikon missed a great opportunity to port those lenses over to AF-D when the time was ripe. Might have been a challenge for Nikon to move the internals via screw without compromising lens performance.