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

Peter in Canberra said:

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?

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I never did a direct comparison because I bought a 50mm f/1.8 AF-S only after losing my AF-D. But I didn't notice any significant change in focus speed on any of my cameras except the Pronea S. On that old consumer film camera, the AF-S was faster.

I have 70-210mm 28-105mm 300mm F4 85mm and 24mm screw drive lenses, built to last, a throwback to the good old days, and hopefully last a long time.

I have the 80-200 2.8, the 300 F4, and the 60mm Micro. Some of my least used lenses.

Mackiesback said:

I have the 80-200 2.8, the 300 F4, and the 60mm Micro. Some of my least used lenses.

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Hi Mackiesback,

Why are they your least used lenses?

Mark_A

Mark_A said:

Mackiesback said:

I have the 80-200 2.8, the 300 F4, and the 60mm Micro. Some of my least used lenses.

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Hi Mackiesback,

Why are they your least used lenses?

Mark_A

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Because I don't shoot sports and Macro as much as I do landscape, architecture, city scenes etc. I get to Road America once maybe twice a year and bring the long lenses for that, but that is about it. Pro Sports venues don't let you in with that gear anymore, so those lenses have become pretty limited use for me. I don't shoot birdies either. Especially on the golf course.

Hi,

But, it is a show-stopper for a Z and me. A Nikkor 28-105 macro zoom. My most-used lens. Optical quality is good. The zoom range is good. The speed is good. It is fairly small and light. It offers a useful macro mode.

It stays on until I figure I need a prime, and then there is a bag full of nine AI manual focus primes and two long ones packed separately.

A couple months back, I looked hard at the Z7 thinking I would wait for a Z6. This, instead of buying the Df I came in for. Nope. No support for AI and AF-D stopped that particular show.

I am unaware of any lens available new from anyone that equals the Nikkor 28-105D. I looked back in the Spring as my 28-105 became intermittent reporting the focal length set. Not finding one, I picked up another used 28-105 which hadn't worn that internal part out yet.

So, I sit on the Z sidelines watching how things play out. I might have an interest in a Z7 at some point for its higher resolution. And, someone might pop out an AFS equivalent macro zoom lens to the 28-105.

Stan

I love the screw drive ‘D’ lenses. They are incredibly well built (solid), and are small because they don’t need built in AF motors.

I own 35 f2, 60 f2.8, 85 f1.4, 180 f2.8 and the 28-105. Nikon’s new plastic fantastic Z mount lenses look so uninspiring to me, I’m sure they perform where modern demand insists though (sharpness).

Mark;

I have and use on a semi- regular basis 5 different screw drive lenses.And I like them, maybe not as fast or just as sharp, but their feel in the hand with camera hard to let them go.

First my 20 2.8 AF D, serves just well for all my WA, uses. then my old 300 AF F4, 28 85 3.5 4.5, 70 210 AF D, just love that old lens, last but not least, is my 35 135 AF 3.5 4.5.

The last one is great to mount on my D610 and go for a one lens walk. I wish I had my 180 2.8 and 35 70 2.8 lenses back.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll take these lenses to my sunset, no! no Z. Best wishes for the holidays.

"dog house riley"

Mark_A said:

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

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I have a variety, for different reasons, and I also have plenty G AF-S lenses. The AF-D lenses I do own - 50mm 1.8D, I use for stopped down nightscapes because it's straight bladed aperture produces fantastic sunstars around points of light. I also keep it around for times when I am just wanting to carry a very lightweight lens on a camera body and use it stopped down a little during the day, it's so cheap I wouldn't care if I damaged it and it could easily be rebought so I'm a little more daring with it. For this reason I also own a 24mm 2.8 AF-D, so light a joy to hike with and good enough stopped down. The 35mm f2 AF-D is another lightweight one I like to carry on hikes, it's good stopped down and even wide open in low light although it's only ultra sharp in the centre, I like the look it produces. I also have an 85 1.4 AF-D and 135 f2 AF-D, both lenses which IMO have no competitors in Nikon's lineup, but are of course quite special purpose lenses in that sense.

My AF20mm F2.8D died of rear element couplet fogging........AF24mm F2.8N (basically a D lens without the distance reading for flash)........AF28mm F2.8D (six element version).....AF35mm F2D .........AF85mm F1.8D .........AF105mm F2.8D micro.........

..........all are bettered by the G lenses.........but the're are affordable, light and compact.....

Frankly I don't think I will be replacing them.........maybe the AF85mm F1.8D........but then maybe not!

--
Dave's clichés

For the longest time (for me anyway) my bag of goodies for my D750 was the 28-200 AFD, 20 2.8, and 50 1.4 .

I have a 300 2.8 AF D which I love. I've heard the AFI versions have a hard chance of getting fixed if the older motor wears and the later AFS versions are big $ .

The 80-200 2.8 and 85 1.4 are wish list items. Some time.

I got the 28-300 AFS for the VR but the 28-200 makes the great starbursts.

I had an 18-35 AFD which I traded in towards the 14-24 AFS which I am happy with.

I have the 80-400 with I love also. The G version I am sure is great, but much more $$ vs the image quality I would notice (for me with little instagram pictures).

The old 24-120 AF D is worth more to me as something to take to someplace dirty and messy vs getting 40 or 50 bucks for it in trade.

So happy with my 60mm 2.8 .

I will probably go trade in my D750 towards an 850 some day but light kit is fun.

vsk

RealVSK said:

The 80-200 2.8 and 85 1.4 are wish list items. Some time.

vsk

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It seems the 85 1.4 is still on a few people's wish list, perhaps it won't fall in price that much then like I expect other AFD lenses might.

Mark_A

AFS: 18-55, 18-105, and two Sigma 10-20

Screw: 20, 18-35, Tokina 20-30, 28-200/2.8, 300/4

MF: 28, 50/1.4, 105/2.5

I'd like to get a 180/2.8 AF, and a 35/1.4

Only have 3 afd now: 35/2 85/1.4 & 180/2.8

Sold: 20/2.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8 & 180/2.8, yes.. i sold my first 180/2.8 and regretted it a week after and bought another one used mint condition from japan.

180/2.8 is the only lens i sold and bought it again, the size and IQ satisfied me well

Ais: 35/1.4 & 50/1.2

Afs: 50/1.8 & 105/2.8 VR

Use with my df and I'm a happy camper

Mark_A said:

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

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I use to shoot screwdrive lenses since I carried them over from my film days. I still use one:

The ones I retired:

70-300 f/4-5.6G. Worked in my early days for telephoto. Inexpensive. Did the job but not spectacularly. On both my N75 and D750 took ages to focus. Got decent enough images but outgrew it. Spent most of the time at the far end and, upon upgrading to the 200-500 (which outperformed it in all respects for what I used the 70-300 for), it had to be retired.

28-100 f/3.5-f5.6G. Like the above lens, oft maligned but was the kit lens for my N75. I think I got what the automotive industry calls a "factory freak". I wouldn't consider it outstanding but was a workhorse for what it was--decent shots for a really cheap beginner kit lens which surprisingly withstood the test of time. AF was decent & was sharp enough even on my D750, even if it wouldn't win any sharpness contests. Retired it because I wanted wider, faster, and closer. The 20mm f/1.8G, the 85mm f/1.8G, and the Micro 105 VR superseded it.

The last one I use is the 50 f/1.8D. AF on this is fast and snappy for a screwdrive. The bokeh might be Meh. but I like the rendering of it over the G version. It's tiny, light, compact, can be used without a hood, has great sunstars, good color pop, and honestly for the price difference between it, the 50mm f/1.8G, and any other "better" (read: an imperial buttload more expensive) 50mm give-or-take lenses out there there's simply not enough of a personal desire to upgrade.

Unless something comes out in the f-mount 50mm range that just blows everything away, I figure in a number of years when I am ready to move to mirrorless and they work all the kinks out, I'll probably use the native Z-mount 50 as a "okay, let's see what this system can do" and FTZ the rest of my extant lenses and retire the nifty 50. But until then I see no reason why I won't have my 50 f/1.8D with me.

Mark_A said:

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.

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

Mark_A

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Yes, very nice. Of course, it sometimes means having to buy things in twos, such as two pre-owned Nikkor AF 300/4 “pre-D” lenses, earlier this year. Other Nikkor pairs, not all screw-driven: AF 50/1.8, one pre-D and one D; AF 28-105D; Zoom-Nikkor 100-300/5.6 AI-S; Micro-Nikkor AF-S 60/2.8G; AF-S 35/1.4G. There is some economy in sharing, but there are times we want to shoot the same thing.

She got the first locally-available D850, in March, which made sense, as I was/am more of a D3s/D5 guy.

The reason I am a two-system shooter is because she gave me a bag of Canon kit she had previously acquired pre-owned, to try digital SLR shooting, when she was still an Olympus film SLR shooter. The Canon camera was modest, an XTI, a.k.a. 400D, but the kit included a very nice Tokina 100/2.8 Macro AT-X and a Canon 580EX, which was, in its time, Canon’s top-tier pro Speedlite. I soon upgraded to a pre-owned 40D and then a new 7D, and bought a Novoflex EOS/NIK adapter. We were sharing AI-S Nikkors, she using her employer’s D300s, before we owned a Nikon SLR body.

We subsequently bought her a pair of new D7000 cameras, a pre-owned Df, and then a pair of new D500 cameras. She considered DX to be her preferred platform, until the D850. My Nikon SLR cameras had been acquired pre-owned, until my new D5 and D850 this year, thanks to a one-time financial windfall, as Canon had remained my “primary” system, until I retired from public service in January 2018. Now that my images are all personal images, it remains to be seen whether Nikon will gradually become my dominant system.

I do not claim to have been a “professional” photographer, or an expert. I photographed crime scenes, evidence, and crime victims, most of whom were living and breathing, and made a commitment to producing the best images, from 2010 to the end of 2017. My wife investigated and photographed death scenes, for the Medical Examiner, in the third-most-populous county in the USA, for 21 years. So, we have a bit of experience, in specialized environments.

Rexgig0 said:

I do not claim to have been a “professional” photographer, or an expert. I photographed crime scenes, evidence, and crime victims, most of whom were living and breathing, and made a commitment to producing the best images, from 2010 to the end of 2017. My wife investigated and photographed death scenes, for the Medical Examiner, in the third-most-populous county in the USA, for 21 years. So, we have a bit of experience, in specialized environments.

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A friend of mine is a retired FBI crime scene photographer. He has a lot of interesting stories! He was one of the photographers who worked on the evaluation of the Nikon D1 to determine if it would be suitable for replacing film. They decided it wasn't.

BobSC said:

Rexgig0 said:

I do not claim to have been a “professional” photographer, or an expert. I photographed crime scenes, evidence, and crime victims, most of whom were living and breathing, and made a commitment to producing the best images, from 2010 to the end of 2017. My wife investigated and photographed death scenes, for the Medical Examiner, in the third-most-populous county in the USA, for 21 years. So, we have a bit of experience, in specialized environments.

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A friend of mine is a retired FBI crime scene photographer. He has a lot of interesting stories! He was one of the photographers who worked on the evaluation of the Nikon D1 to determine if it would be suitable for replacing film. They decided it wasn't.

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The local M.E.’s office used film until trying the Canon 40D, and then settling upon Nikon D200/D300/D300s cameras. As equipment attrition, and tight budgets, affected the availability, my wife could no longer keep her camera with her 24/7, as the fewer cameras needed to remain available for all of the investigators. Finally, it was OK’ed for the individual investigators to use personal Nikon cameras, and I bought her a D7000, and then a spare D7000.

I worked for Houston PD, and, like many large government entities, with semi-independent division managers, not all divisions went digital at the same time. I saw the CSU/ID officers using Canon 40D, 50D, and 7D cameras, in the 2010/2011 time period, so the change to DSLR may have occurred with the 40D. As a first responder, I had to buy my own, if I wanted to use a DSLR*, and the training, required by my added job title, specified that I bring a DSLR while attending. I started with the previously-mentioned XTi, and soon added a pre-owned 40D, then a new 7D, and then a second 7D. In 2014, I upgraded to a pair of the then-amazingly-capable 7D Mark II. (Actually, to this day, the 7D Mark II is an excellent, capable crime scene camera.)

I never seriously considered switching to using Nikon gear while on duty. My Canon EF 100/2.8L Macro IS lens, my first “L” lens, was one major reason. My second/spare Canon EF 100/2.8L Macro IS was another reason. My quick-to-use Canon Macro Ring Lite was another reason. (Nikon’s quite nice R1C1 kit is portable enough, but requires some amount of set-up time.) Had a disaster befallen my Canon equipment, however, I could have done quite well with one of my/our Nikon cameras, and a Nikkor 28-105D and/or Micro-Nikkor 60G lens.

*A Sony point-and-shoot was available, in the office, which could be issued for the duration of a shift of duty.

Hi,

Recently, I was seriously considering my first new camera body in over a decade. So, that meant a discussion with my wife. She said she would like to get a real camera, being as she has never had one. I had an old D1H, and she tried that, and it was too big and heavy. So, I trolled about eBay and found her a D80 with kit lens for $100 to start out with.

Now, I only have one AF lens and one Zoom lens and it is the same lens: A 28-105 macro zoom. The rest are all manual focus primes. So, not much interest on her part in any of my old stuff. And, the D80 doesn't have an AI ring anyway.

But she did use it for a bit and decided that the 18-135mm wasn't long enough. So, back to eBay and for another $100 I got her an AFS VR 70-300. So, no doubling up so far!

Then, I got to thinking that my new camera, a Df, while it is at home with my MF 180, 300, 400 and 500 lenses might like having a longer zoom, too. So, I grabbed up a deal on a Sigma C 150-600mm AF zoom. I picked that because my old DSLR is based on a Nikon F5 and needs a mechanical aperture lever (The Nikon 200-500, which I went into the store for, is an E lens so neither my old F5 or her D80 will work it).

So, no duplication so far. Further bulletins as event warrant......

Stan

Of the AF lenses only my Sigma macro 150mm f/2.8 is not screw-driven and what a lens it is!

On DX, I liked 28-xx mm lenses, such as 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5, 28-85 mm, and of course the 28-105 mm Nikkors.

For some reason, on FX, I find myself using the 35-105 AFD most often. I had the 35-135 mm Nikkor, but I much prefer the 35-105 over it. Compare their mass: 0.4 kg vs 0.7 kg. The former has non-rotating filter ring, the latter does not. The former has much less chromatic aberration than the latter (the one I had). The difference between 105 and 135 mm at the long end is negligible to me. Yes, the latter focuses closer, but I can put a close-up diopter (3T, 4T, 500D, or 250D) on the former.

When I am not concerned by the weight, I use the 35-70mm f/2.8 AFD and 80-200mm f/2.8 AFD.

All my primes -- and a few of the best Nikkor and series E zooms -- are manual, except for the above Sigma 150mm -- and the 50mm f/1.8 AFD which I never use.

Last but not least, all my QR clamps are screw-driven ;~)