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Stripping Nikkor 43-86mm stuck glasses

Started Feb 2, 2022 | Discussions thread
ProfHankD
ProfHankD Veteran Member • Posts: 9,147
Re: Stripping Nikkor 43-86mm stuck glasses

sssboa wrote:

After putting all together I have excessive softness on edges. I must have put a glass wrong way.

Very possible; I don't have a copy of this lens.... There is a detailed discussion of this lens and the following diagram at NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights No.4 :

The catch is, the 43-86mm is a notoriously bad lens. I would describe the above Nikon page as largely apologetic about the lens performance, explaining that it was the first standard Zoom from Japan, and poorer optically but lots smaller than the German Voigtlander Zoomar 36-82mm f/2.8 which they describe as "one would have to be hard pushed to say that the performance it offered was sufficient for practical purposes."

Even Nikon-loving Ken Rockwell calls it "the worst lens Nikon has ever made." A more detailed trace of the evolution of this lens over many years of production is at mir . To put it bluntly, it was the first real example of a "cheap kit zoom" and in many ways is responsible for setting the IQ bar rather low on kit zooms in general. "Excessive softness on edges" is something fully working copies of this lens are known for.

Anyway, the point is that zooms in general are never IQ stars and this one isn't a contender for being one of the best. It was one of the most popular despite that. My advice would be to set your IQ expectations lower and see if you can find a way to leverage what it does to make good images....

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