The Nikon Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 pre-Ai was, in fact, the lens that taught me the virtue of patience and keeping a sharp eye out for more fun toys. Er. I mean photographic tools.
Searching "that auction site" one day, I stumbled across an early design 28mm. The bids were low and so I decided to watch it. Then, at the last moment I bid low and still won. The lens was scored for significantly less than 50Euro.
What I'd read was this was the first wide angle lens Nikon designed for the F mount SLR cameras. Historically the first lenses hit the market in 1959.
Being an early design, "conventional wisdom" suggests this lens isn't as sharp as a more modern optic. Maybe I have a "good" lens, but I don't see the f/3.5 lens' performance as being any less than outstanding from wide open. Well, in the center, at least. The edges aren't at all bad wide open when you take into account field curvature. In general it takes stopping down to f/5.6 for things to clean up pin sharp across a flat field.
The Nikon Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 is a favorite of some people on the 'net. It has a reputation for being sharp, light, and "handy". This version of the optic was first introduced in 1974. Looking at a cross-section of the lens it's easy to see where the f/2.8 design differs from the earlier f/3.5.
Taking into account for mild field curvature, indeed, my copy of the f/2.8 is sharp from wide open in the center all the way to the edges of the field. And looking at the out of focus rendition, the more modern lens is ever so slightly under corrected for spherical aberration behind the point of focus.
While I think the f/2.8 gives a softer, more "delicate" out of focus rendition than the f/3.5, there are times when I feel the older design lens is just plain perfect as is. Check out this example and perhaps you will see what I mean.
As for what I paid for the Nikon Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 Ai, there's a bit of a story. It begins with a box of lenses that I bought of "that auction site." A good 70 percent of the lenses were easily fixed up and one was, in fact, mint. So I put it on a local to France sales site and suggested I'd be open to trades for something interesting. One morning in my inbox was an email suggesting the 28mm. The gent was happy for the trade and I'm sure the lens he now has is keeping him plenty happy.
In the end, the 28mm f/2.8 set me back all of 7Euro.
What I have here are two wonderful lenses. They are simply Nikon pin sharp and both give a creamy out of focus rendition. I can't tell the difference between them.
Do I honestly "need" two 28mm lenses, or three, really, if you count the pretty 28mm f/3.5 PC that I also own? I suddenly find myself rather rich in this focal length.
[NOTE: The wide angle photos in this album were all shot using the Nikon Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 pre-Ai]
No comments:
Post a Comment