My brother has had that lens since buying it new in the 1970's. It is absolutely sharpest lens that Nikon made back then. If you put that on the correct full frame Nikon body, it's hard to beat. It's well worth the price even if it was twice as expensive!
When I first became interested in photography back in the late 70's I had a Cannon AE-1 which had matched needle metering and manual focus. I loved that camera, the manual focus made me feel somehow more connected to the process of capturing an image.
I bought one a couple years ago for about $60. This 105 lens is probably my favorite Nikon lens. This spring (2021) I picked up some Pentax & M42 lenses and a 10 year old Pentax K10D and have been blown away by the colors the Pentax setup produces.
Dear Matt, Thank you for the excellent video. I own a great set of manual lenses and I often use them for my portrait work. Some of them are older AIS Nikkor lenses. My favorite nikkor are the 105mm f/2.5 AIS, the 135mm f/2.8 AIS and the 200mm f/4 AIS. Then, I have Zeiss Planar 85mm f/1.4 and Voigtländer 58mm nokton f/1.4 All these lenses are pure gems, and especially the older nikkor AIS lenses, because they were purchased for about 100$ each. The results are amazing. Such a richness in color, contrast and saturation without almost any post-processing required! I use them on my D850 body, but also my friend used them on a much cheaper D750 without any problems.
Matt thanks for bringing attention to one of my favorite lenses. I just started reusing my old Nikon 105AIS on a new Z6 Nikon and as expected was blown away. This lens for the money will beat any other newer lens I have .such my Zeiss 75 Biotar 1.5 or Leica R 90mm f2. There really is something special about this lens and I wouldn't trade for a newer one.
I have a 50mm Nikkor S-C f1.4 that I use on a Sony A6000. Super creamy bokeh and great for portraits. I also have a same era 135mm f2.8 that's very, very good as well. Great video Matt!
In the late ‘90s I bought a copy of the original version of this lens on eBay. It came calibrated for accurate focus on Contax (Zeiss) rather than Nikon rangefinder cameras. There was a Leica compatible version too. These days I use it on a Sony A7iii via a double adapter rig: Contax-to-Leica and then Techart Pro AF. Performs great!
GREAT LENSES! And great vid Matt! I'm so glad you are taking this subject so far. I went the same way irl. I got the 50mm f2 as a budget 50 and loved it... Now I have the 50 f2, 50 f1.4, 105 f2.5 and 135 f3.5. All pre Ai. I also got an enlarger eyepiece for my d3300 and an original Nikkormat ftn. I Just love it. It is budgetograpy buy it is also just a choice. Tnx again, great vid.
Good tips! I have a 1962 NIKKOR 135 f/3.5 with my D3X. It does outperform many other lenses but wide open has a lot of chromatic aberration so using it on f/5.6 or smaller is best. Manual focusing using the little arrows and dot is not as easy as in the old days with the split circle focus indicators. Still love it though!
Bought the AI-S version a couple of years ago from ebay and it really is absolutely brilliant. Because of the compression and DOF falloff it is also great for still life in addition to portraits.
I have that exact same lens but it was converted to a newer style AI aperture ring. You’re exactly right Matt... it’s fantastic! I absolutely love it on my Nikon full frame cameras and it auto meters in aperture mode perfectly.
I do own a good number of vintage lenses that are manual focus from Nikon. You are right about these vintage lenses because they are great because they have less elements and they do allow more light into the sensor and film. I do like the Hassalblad and Nikon 105mm combo. It really looks great for portraiture. You should keep taking pictures with this combo.
Recently sold my D200 & a handful of lenses to buy a Fujifilm xt-1 & one fujifilm lens. I then bought a few asahi pentax vintage lenses & completely fell in love with them. All be it somewhat battered the 135 is a fantastic portrait lens. Haven't used a modern lens since.
I 1st bought one back in DEC 2017 when I switched over from Sony A Mount to E-mount. I had been boasting about it for months but the people I'm around quite often just chalked it up as another classic lens that I was trying to hype up. Tunes have changed lately lol.
I still have my Pentax 67 set up. I got an adapter to use on my Canon EOS digital camera it takes some very nice photos. Great video and goes to show what you can do with older lenses.
I've picked up a few great manual lenses at the local flea markets, some for less than $10. I look for M42 screw mounts, which are really easy to adapt to Sony.
I like the 135, 2.8 myself, though I rarely use it these days. I still own the old 50, 1.4 as well and I won't get rid of any of them even if I moved on to mirrorless. I feel like that we should all hold a few vintage film and old DSLR lenses just because of their imperfections. You get a certain effect from them. The new mirrorless lenses are far superior in sharpens, but those tend to also make everything look too sharp and commercial.
This is a lens that I would love to get a hold of. My choice budget portrait lens (manual focus) Nikkor 50mm 1.4 non ai lens chrome front. That has been the only one I have ever used and just as you mentioned in this video with the 105mm, the colour representation is awesome. It even looks much better than my 50mm 1.8D Nikkor lens.
that price is an incredible bargain!, although i suppose its one of the older non-ai versions. I had the ai second hand from about 1981 until the D200 came out and i needed to sell to get an AF lens - what a mistake. I just got one back again this week for £141, and am really looking forward to using it again.
I've had that lens for many years, just sitting on a shelf, about a year ago I thought before I got rid of it I would stick it on my D810 and boy I was surprised by how much I liked the results I was getting. The lens now lives in my camera bag. :)
If want to have this 105mm manual lens for the D810 than I would suggest looking for the AI series or the AIS series of lenses because the D810 has an aperture tab so it could auto index when selecting a different aperture. The lens would have a tab on the rear end that would hook up with the tab on the F mount. Non AIS lenses may not work with the D810 unless the lens was modified with an AI upgrade. You still need the tab part on the back of the lens to work this camera. Peace, Flood!
kitkaneth all Nikon lenses from the 1950’s on, with a few exceptions for old versions of very wide lenses, are completely usable in manual on any Nikon film or digital body. You might lose AF, you might lose matrix metering (in some cases). The issues you run into are generally whether the body will auto focus the older lens or not. This is a manual lens, so it’s a moot point. I’ve used it on a D3, D300, D80, D300s, FM, FA, FM2, Fuji Digital...you get the point.
evelasq1 this is only true if you require the auto indexing, which is a great feature. Thankfully, great copies of this lens are available in AI for not much more than the $80 Matt says he paid.
I'm so happy that you touched on this lens. I have the slightly newer version, the Ai-S version, and it works beautifully on my D810, and also produces stunning photos on my Sony a7, and Fuji X-T10 :) I love this lens and the Ai-S version can be had fairly cheap too :)
Hi Matt, my suggestion for Budgetography is clearly the D800. 36 Megapixel for under 1000$ used. The only downside is 4 pics/sec. I use it with all my screwdriver AF lenses, including the legendary 80-200 2.8 AF-D II with amazing results.
I have a D700 and Rokinon 85mm 1.4. I paid $375 for the D700 and $200 for the glass and it's a really sweet portrait rig- Not quite as budget as sir-clicks-alot, but still very reasonable! Neat video, Matt. Thanks for the great content.
Olympus OM Zuiko 2.0/85. Yes, yes, I know - no Nikon, no budget lens. But on of my all-time favorite lenses nonetheless, and extremely compact (it looks more like an APS-C lens than a 35 mm lens). So, yes, old glass has its merits!
The best lens I've ever used is the MF Samyang/Rokinon 135mm f2, it's a stunner! Sure, you gotta take a little more time to nail the focus point, but the results beat anything I've seen, and it's pretty cheap!
Admire you Matt for this video. As you know I own this AIS105mm lens. However I use it on DX body and had to learn how to use it again with focus confirmation (took it quite a while). But I would not trade it for modern fancy monster. Have to take deep breath steady hand and images are just magic. Lens is almost always on my camera when I want shoot portrait.
Nice video. I'm having a lot of fun with an obscure "Lumetar" 135mm f2.8 m42 lens on my A7R2. $10 so well spent... and the cat bed is cool, we just saw one in a local shop.
The yongnuo 100mm F2 lens is pretty good also, not so expensive and gives some nice results with my 5Dmk2. Just the AF is sometimes terrible. It is sharp, but the flares and low contrast when shooting against light, at some degree gives the feeling of a vintage lens
Old lens use is one of the reasons I bought Nikon. And compatibility with them is why I picked the D7200 over the D5200 the other year. Haven't had a chance to do any portrait shooting but would like to pick up a 50 or 55 f1.2 at some stage. I have a 50 f2 pre ai on my dad's old Nikkormat if I want something now.
I Purchased a 105 mm P from a famous Italian fashion photographer for about €20 in 1973. The lens was in such bad shape that nobody wanted to buy it but performance was excellent on film camera of that time and STILL today perform very well on a Sony A 6300
I bought the Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AIS brand new in 1979 for $173 US. It has been my favorite portrait lens for almost 40 years now, but unfortunately it has become somewhat difficult to use for portraiture on crop sensor cameras though still doable. It has always been a wonderfully sharp lens producing beautiful colors but it is quite heavy even though consisting of only 4 elements. I would never part with it.
I dol love what you what you can do whit the old lenses the smooth focus and such plus it is lots of fun shooting in manual one it slows things down alot and let you think how you want to frame it also (= Plus the baragain prices you can find glass for is amazing also (=
My pelican cases full of 60's-70's Minolta, Zeiss and even a single Leica lens agree with you. Now I just need the A7m3 to come down in price a bit :) or for the Canon or Nikon mirrorless to show up.
Based on your comparison of the DOF of the X1D and D200 with the 105mm f/2.5 lens, it seems like the logical choice to get the best compromise between budgetography and sweet buttery portrait bokeh is to put the 105mm f/2.5 on an older, used full-frame camera like a D700 instead of a medium format. Then you could spend $600 on a camera and $80 on lens and get the benefits of full-frame, DOF, and bokeh.
A little late, but better late than never 🙂 After I switched to mirrorless, I got into using manual lenses. I really like it, to the point that I prefer manual lenses to af lenses for my street photography and other types of photography, which doesn't demand quick focus. Even focusing manually with my af lenses is a dread in comparison. My favorite lens is without a doubt my Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 non-AI. Love that lens. I've also got my hands in the f/2 Nikkor-H 50mm version, 200mm Nikkor f/4 AI, Olympus Zuiko 135mm f/3.5, as well as a modern 28mm f/1.4 Kamlan lens. I'm definitely not done investing in vintage lenses, that's for sure. They might not cover all my needs, but when it comes to the more artistic part of my photography, then I prefer them.
Try the 105 on say a Fuji or a Sony crop with a focal reducer adapter...With a regular adapter my favorite film lens for portraits on my Fuji is a Mamiya 55mm 1.4 .
Love this lens Love to see you trying it on the Medium format :-) For Portraits I like the Nikkor 180mm 2.8 ai-s Ed (payed 150 dollars for it) And the SMC Takumar 135mm 2.5 (6 element version) Also the SMC Takumar 85mm 1.8 I am using them on the Sony A7ii
Really fun video. I just bought a sonnar version of this lens. (In great shape on eBay for exactly $100.). Its going on my Canon R6. I guess that’s like putting a Ford motor in a Chevy.
so far the only vintage lens I was happy with was SMC Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 (couldn't find the F1.4 version). But I see in the comments pretty good suggestions that I haven't tried, might give it a shot
I own five pre-AI Nikkors formerly used on my old Nikon F2, namely 24 mm F2.8, 35 mm F2, 50 mm F2, 105 mm F2.5 and 200 mm F4. Are they usable without modification on modern digital bodies like D7100 and D610 which I now have ? I thought they wouldn't even mount...
great thoughts, and yes, somewhat a no brainer. yet, worth saying. I like the idea of adapting lenses, finding the best lenses can be trial and error. :)
As i D200 shooter, this video is great because I'm looking for a good portrait lens for it. All I have is a kit lens now, and I want to get under 4 f-stops.
Hello Matt. The images are just bluffing :D I do love the impact of this lens on a portrait photo. However I wonder if I would have some issues using it on my D2X. You said it was easier to use it with the Blad more than the D200. Also AiS lenses are still high on the market so this non-Ai might be a great opportunity for my low budget. Would you recommend it for my gear and what issues would I have to face? thanks for the tip anyway ;)
I would advice of getting a nikon 85mm1.4d. Its worth saving for. It runs $400-$500 online but its worth it. Its a screwdriver type lens but very fast on a pro body. I have been using one for 8 years now for portraits. Mind blowing pictures.
I bought an old Hanimex 70-200 very cheap and an even cheaper M42 converter to fit the Canon, I had to drill a hole in the converter to hold the pin in to use the aperture but I was shocked with the results. Bokehlicious ;-)
I think this video shows what is important to the individual. So many vintage lenses give more fidelity and render more beautiful images but they are are technically inferior. Have more C/A and less corner to corner sharpness and overall resolution but I just think the images are more beautiful. Some folks prefer the technically more perfect image and that is up to them.
I have 2 manual Nikon lenses that I LOVE, one is the 105mm 2.5 Ai, and the other one is the 135mm 2.8 AIS....please check out the last one...you'll be amazed!
I totally agree with your thought on using old manual lenses if fast-action-shooting is off the table. The old Nikon F mount lenses I love (and pretty dirt cheap) are: - For general purposes = Nikkor 50 1.4 Pre-ai - For macro = Vivitar 100 F3.5 Macro (It's 1:2 magnification, but with a hollow extension tube, the combination is perfect for budget macro shoot [around 60$].) - Telephoto Portrait = Nikkor 135 F3.5 Ai-S (This one is not so dirt cheap, but superb IQ edge-to-edge.) - Telephoto Candid, Zoo-seeing, Landscape = Nikkor 200 F4 Ai-S All Lenses I mentioned can be hunted for under 100$ price point. At first I paired them with my good old D5200, then I earned more money from my full time job, so here comes A7ii. People always guess wrong about lenses I use for my photos because the IQ is superb! Everyone wants great modern expensive lenses, but not everyone is of convenience to afford one (including myself). A lot of people have a misconception that good lenses need to be expensive. If we think about it, the manual focus primes, back in the day, used to be professional grade lenses too! I watched Karl Taylor rant (czcams.com/video/4GflhBUSpdQ/video.html) and he was right. The expensive tools are for better business efficiency which they would get a lot more money in return.
kitkaneth I have my 135/3.5 on my D5500 for all portrait shots. That lens has taught me more than all vids on CZcams combined about the exposure triangle.
Paid $70us for a 135 f3.5 ai in nice condition recently. The more costly lens was a 105 f2.5 ai in very good condition, at around $200us. Also picked up a 50 f2 to go along with the 28 f2.8 that I bought in 1978. Focus peaking would be nice for my aging eyes, but the rangefinder dots work okay too. Get great results with these amazingly constructed lenses. Looking for a 180 or 200mm next.
I've used an AI'd converted model of that lens on my D200 and it works nicely for my purposes, but I've found I've used the 135mm f/2.8 and 180mm f/2.8 more often. Much easier for me to dial in the focus on the D700 though! One thing I'd add is that that lens was a premium lens when it came out and probably cost a pretty penny. Just our luck we can get them so cheaply today :) :)
How was the quality of the Fotodiox adapter? I got one to mess around with the old Minolta auto focus to Nikon adapter and it works pretty good other then I do find it hard to nail focus.
I think it's fair to say that the f/2.5 105mm Nikkor is a bad-boy of a lens. I don't own one but for now my 40yr+ old Pentax Asahi Takumar f/1.4 is a beauty.
Sotto Sopra Don’t buy lenses from 60s or older, from any manufacturer. I also don’t prefer lenses made in the 70s, with a few exceptions. Keep in mind that every older, vintage lens will not have the coatings that are available today on modern lenses, so glaring and ghosting is an issue. You can overcome some of these issues with a matte box. Do your research; every lens is completely different and articles written at the time of lens release will not completely apply to modern, digital sensor cameras. Also, ebay is the wild west when buying lenses. Some sellers list the lens incorrectly or use terms very similar to the lens you are searching. Most vintage lens contain dust because they were not sealed like modern lenses. Some contain mold. And some have “balsam lens separation,” which is when two clear lens elements are glued together during manufacture, become unglued, or slightly unglued, due to heat, like left in attic for years. I needed to say all that first before you just jump in. I prefer Nikon AI-S lens from the 80s. Also Nikon lenses from the 90s are great too. Some Zeiss Distagon *T are nice too. I always compare modern to vintage before purchase; sometimes modern lenses are the same price! Adorama is a safe bet when buying, but there are other websites that pre-approve all sales to be of a specific quality and are upfront & clear about what you are buying. ebay & paypal returns are agonizing.
I collect and use old lenses. While some are a disappointment, most provide a much more organic feel to the images they help me create. Furthermore, most of the old lenses I have, turned out to be exceptional and affordable, relatively. Digital bodies are another matter... Really good digital bodies tend to be really expensive. I own a Canon system and an Olympus system, and fortunately, they offer good and excellent compatibility with old lenses respectively. Unfortunately, I cannot, even remotely, justify the expense of a medium format digital body, or even a new, so-called, full-format digital body. My solution was to look back again, and pick up some film era cameras. Once I rediscovered film, I realized just how much I appreciated the look it can afford. I now own a number of native film bodies for my lenses, including a medium format 6x6 camera. The results I get are remarkable. They have helped to bring back the magic that I experienced when I picked up my first camera in the 1970's. They also offer a look, natively, that digital doesn't without some considerable post processing manipulation, and even then, I'd argue, the result is less appealing. I would say that an old lens is the first step. Follow it up with an old body, and film, and you're on your way to some beautiful images with a softer gentler quality, in a very good way. Now when I compare the two, I find that many digital images look far too "sharp" - almost clinical by comparison. Anyway, my two-bits.. Now, if I could afford a digital Hassy, would I own one and use one? Almost certainly, but what I'm trying to relate here, is the look that analog era equipment offers (lenses and media) is incomparable in my opinion. Thanks for sharing your experience with the old Nikkor.
Damm, Matt I had one of those, I used it on my Nikormatt ELW, but sold it so I could go digital (I was broke). BUt at the time I did nto knwo what Bokeh was. But I did take some nice portraits with it on 35mm
Matt, would you buy this 105mm f/2.5 lens over a Tokina 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens for portraits? Is there a big difference between these two with only 5mm focal length and 1/3 of a stop separating the lens specs?
My brother has had that lens since buying it new in the 1970's. It is absolutely sharpest lens that Nikon made back then. If you put that on the correct full frame Nikon body, it's hard to beat. It's well worth the price even if it was twice as expensive!
man, just wanted to say thank you, always enjoy your videos and keep learning something new everytime.
The Tamron sp 90mm F 2.5 model 52b is also a sweet lens for portraits. Great bokeh as well with 8 aperture blades.
When I first became interested in photography back in the late 70's I had a Cannon AE-1 which had matched needle metering and manual focus. I loved that camera, the manual focus made me feel somehow more connected to the process of capturing an image.
I bought one a couple years ago for about $60. This 105 lens is probably my favorite Nikon lens. This spring (2021) I picked up some Pentax & M42 lenses and a 10 year old Pentax K10D and have been blown away by the colors the Pentax setup produces.
For portraits I use my adapted old manually Olympus 55mm 1.2, a great sharpe lense with a phenomenal bokeh.
Dear Matt,
Thank you for the excellent video.
I own a great set of manual lenses and I often use them for my portrait work. Some of them are older AIS Nikkor lenses.
My favorite nikkor are the 105mm f/2.5 AIS, the 135mm f/2.8 AIS and the 200mm f/4 AIS.
Then, I have Zeiss Planar 85mm f/1.4 and Voigtländer 58mm nokton f/1.4
All these lenses are pure gems, and especially the older nikkor AIS lenses, because they were purchased for about 100$ each. The results are amazing. Such a richness in color, contrast and saturation without almost any post-processing required!
I use them on my D850 body, but also my friend used them on a much cheaper D750 without any problems.
Matt thanks for bringing attention to one of my favorite lenses. I just started reusing my old Nikon 105AIS on a new Z6 Nikon and as expected was blown away. This lens for the money will beat any other newer lens I have .such my Zeiss 75 Biotar 1.5 or Leica R 90mm f2. There really is something special about this lens and I wouldn't trade for a newer one.
I have a 50mm Nikkor S-C f1.4 that I use on a Sony A6000. Super creamy bokeh and great for portraits. I also have a same era 135mm f2.8 that's very, very good as well. Great video Matt!
lol i just bought the nikkor Q 135 2.8 and i also have the nikkor 50mm 1.4 but the AI version. Seriously amazing on my d700
I love this lens so much, I used it from close up portraits to the usual bust, and it's definitely capable, sharp as hell.
Love all of the older non A I lenses. This is the main reason I gat a Nikon Df, they all mount and function perfectly....
In the late ‘90s I bought a copy of the original version of this lens on eBay. It came calibrated for accurate focus on Contax (Zeiss) rather than Nikon rangefinder cameras. There was a Leica compatible version too. These days I use it on a Sony A7iii via a double adapter rig: Contax-to-Leica and then Techart Pro AF. Performs great!
The 105mm is amazing on a D700 if you want a budget setup - easy to manual focus with a bit of practise, and sharp as hell from wide-open!
GREAT LENSES! And great vid Matt!
I'm so glad you are taking this subject so far. I went the same way irl. I got the 50mm f2 as a budget 50 and loved it...
Now I have the 50 f2, 50 f1.4, 105 f2.5 and 135 f3.5. All pre Ai. I also got an enlarger eyepiece for my d3300 and an original Nikkormat ftn.
I Just love it. It is budgetograpy buy it is also just a choice.
Tnx again, great vid.
Good tips! I have a 1962 NIKKOR 135 f/3.5 with my D3X. It does outperform many other lenses but wide open has a lot of chromatic aberration so using it on f/5.6 or smaller is best. Manual focusing using the little arrows and dot is not as easy as in the old days with the split circle focus indicators. Still love it though!
Bought the AI-S version a couple of years ago from ebay and it really is absolutely brilliant. Because of the compression and DOF falloff it is also great for still life in addition to portraits.
I have that exact same lens but it was converted to a newer style AI aperture ring. You’re exactly right Matt... it’s fantastic! I absolutely love it on my Nikon full frame cameras and it auto meters in aperture mode perfectly.
I do own a good number of vintage lenses that are manual focus from Nikon. You are right about these vintage lenses because they are great because they have less elements and they do allow more light into the sensor and film. I do like the Hassalblad and Nikon 105mm combo. It really looks great for portraiture. You should keep taking pictures with this combo.
I love the way my pictures come out with the use of my Yashica ML 50mm 1.9 with my Sony A6000.
Recently sold my D200 & a handful of lenses to buy a Fujifilm xt-1 & one fujifilm lens. I then bought a few asahi pentax vintage lenses & completely fell in love with them. All be it somewhat battered the 135 is a fantastic portrait lens. Haven't used a modern lens since.
I 1st bought one back in DEC 2017 when I switched over from Sony A Mount to E-mount. I had been boasting about it for months but the people I'm around quite often just chalked it up as another classic lens that I was trying to hype up. Tunes have changed lately lol.
I still have my Pentax 67 set up. I got an adapter to use on my Canon EOS digital camera it takes some very nice photos. Great video and goes to show what you can do with older lenses.
I've picked up a few great manual lenses at the local flea markets, some for less than $10. I look for M42 screw mounts, which are really easy to adapt to Sony.
My favourite budget portrait lenses:
MF Nikkor 135mm 1:2 Ai-S
MF Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm 1:4.5 (super comfortable handling on a monopod)
Leitz 90mm 1:2.8 Elmarit
Leitz 135mm 1:4.5 Hektor
A low iso and the nifty fifty. Best portraits ever.
I like the 135, 2.8 myself, though I rarely use it these days. I still own the old 50, 1.4 as well and I won't get rid of any of them even if I moved on to mirrorless. I feel like that we should all hold a few vintage film and old DSLR lenses just because of their imperfections. You get a certain effect from them. The new mirrorless lenses are far superior in sharpens, but those tend to also make everything look too sharp and commercial.
This is a lens that I would love to get a hold of. My choice budget portrait lens (manual focus) Nikkor 50mm 1.4 non ai lens chrome front. That has been the only one I have ever used and just as you mentioned in this video with the 105mm, the colour representation is awesome. It even looks much better than my 50mm 1.8D Nikkor lens.
I have the Minolta 135mm F2.8 lens and it produces some amazing portraits on my A7iii, it is also sharp from wide open
105mm 1.8 NIkkor is one of my favorite manual focus lenses.
love the sofa for the cat by the way, and thanks for the video!
that price is an incredible bargain!, although i suppose its one of the older non-ai versions. I had the ai second hand from about 1981 until the D200 came out and i needed to sell to get an AF lens - what a mistake. I just got one back again this week for £141, and am really looking forward to using it again.
That lens on an F2AS is what started me down the Nikon path. I love that lens.
I love love love vintage lens.
I've put a Super-Takamur 135 f3.5 on my Canon 5DSR and absolutely loved the results.
I've had that lens for many years, just sitting on a shelf, about a year ago I thought before I got rid of it I would stick it on my D810 and boy I was surprised by how much I liked the results I was getting. The lens now lives in my camera bag. :)
Smart thinking. Never get rid of those old lenses.
Is the lens compatible to D810 without any mods??
If want to have this 105mm manual lens for the D810 than I would suggest looking for the AI series or the AIS series of lenses because the D810 has an aperture tab so it could auto index when selecting a different aperture. The lens would have a tab on the rear end that would hook up with the tab on the F mount. Non AIS lenses may not work with the D810 unless the lens was modified with an AI upgrade. You still need the tab part on the back of the lens to work this camera. Peace, Flood!
kitkaneth all Nikon lenses from the 1950’s on, with a few exceptions for old versions of very wide lenses, are completely usable in manual on any Nikon film or digital body. You might lose AF, you might lose matrix metering (in some cases). The issues you run into are generally whether the body will auto focus the older lens or not. This is a manual lens, so it’s a moot point. I’ve used it on a D3, D300, D80, D300s, FM, FA, FM2, Fuji Digital...you get the point.
evelasq1 this is only true if you require the auto indexing, which is a great feature. Thankfully, great copies of this lens are available in AI for not much more than the $80 Matt says he paid.
I'm so happy that you touched on this lens. I have the slightly newer version, the Ai-S version, and it works beautifully on my D810, and also produces stunning photos on my Sony a7, and Fuji X-T10 :)
I love this lens and the Ai-S version can be had fairly cheap too :)
My favorite is nikon 135mm 3.5mm. images on this lens they pop with details. I also use a 50mm NOn AI 1.4 for boudoir wide open.
Hi Matt,
my suggestion for Budgetography is clearly the D800. 36 Megapixel for under 1000$ used. The only downside is 4 pics/sec. I use it with all my screwdriver AF lenses, including the legendary 80-200 2.8 AF-D II with amazing results.
I have a D700 and Rokinon 85mm 1.4. I paid $375 for the D700 and $200 for the glass and it's a really sweet portrait rig- Not quite as budget as sir-clicks-alot, but still very reasonable! Neat video, Matt. Thanks for the great content.
Olympus OM Zuiko 2.0/85. Yes, yes, I know - no Nikon, no budget lens. But on of my all-time favorite lenses nonetheless, and extremely compact (it looks more like an APS-C lens than a 35 mm lens). So, yes, old glass has its merits!
The best lens I've ever used is the MF Samyang/Rokinon 135mm f2, it's a stunner! Sure, you gotta take a little more time to nail the focus point, but the results beat anything I've seen, and it's pretty cheap!
Admire you Matt for this video. As you know I own this AIS105mm lens. However I use it on DX body and had to learn how to use it again with focus confirmation (took it quite a while). But I would not trade it for modern fancy monster. Have to take deep breath steady hand and images are just magic. Lens is almost always on my camera when I want shoot portrait.
So easy and cheap to adapt vintage glass to mirrorless with great results - it's becoming a genre of its own.
Nice video. I'm having a lot of fun with an obscure "Lumetar" 135mm f2.8 m42 lens on my A7R2. $10 so well spent... and the cat bed is cool, we just saw one in a local shop.
Nice review good job
The yongnuo 100mm F2 lens is pretty good also, not so expensive and gives some nice results with my 5Dmk2. Just the AF is sometimes terrible. It is sharp, but the flares and low contrast when shooting against light, at some degree gives the feeling of a vintage lens
I have a wonderful Leitz elmarit-M 90mm 2.8 that I use as a portrait lens for my x-pro 2
Thanks for this. It was great.
Old lens use is one of the reasons I bought Nikon.
And compatibility with them is why I picked the D7200 over the D5200 the other year.
Haven't had a chance to do any portrait shooting but would like to pick up a 50 or 55 f1.2 at some stage. I have a 50 f2 pre ai on my dad's old Nikkormat if I want something now.
I have the Nikon 105mm f2.5 AIS that I love to shoot with. Very sharp Images with lots of depth and character
I recently got a 105mm 2.5 AI so aperture information and metering works on my D7200, such a nice lens
I Purchased a 105 mm P from a famous Italian fashion photographer for about €20 in 1973. The lens was in such bad shape that nobody wanted to buy it but performance was excellent on film camera of that time and STILL today perform very well on a Sony A 6300
I bought the Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AIS brand new in 1979 for $173 US. It has been my favorite portrait lens for almost 40 years now, but unfortunately it has become somewhat difficult to use for portraiture on crop sensor cameras though still doable. It has always been a wonderfully sharp lens producing beautiful colors but it is quite heavy even though consisting of only 4 elements. I would never part with it.
I dol love what you what you can do whit the old lenses the smooth focus and such plus it is lots of fun shooting in manual one it slows things down alot and let you think how you want to frame it also (=
Plus the baragain prices you can find glass for is amazing also (=
My pelican cases full of 60's-70's Minolta, Zeiss and even a single Leica lens agree with you. Now I just need the A7m3 to come down in price a bit :) or for the Canon or Nikon mirrorless to show up.
Based on your comparison of the DOF of the X1D and D200 with the 105mm f/2.5 lens, it seems like the logical choice to get the best compromise between budgetography and sweet buttery portrait bokeh is to put the 105mm f/2.5 on an older, used full-frame camera like a D700 instead of a medium format. Then you could spend $600 on a camera and $80 on lens and get the benefits of full-frame, DOF, and bokeh.
A little late, but better late than never 🙂
After I switched to mirrorless, I got into using manual lenses. I really like it, to the point that I prefer manual lenses to af lenses for my street photography and other types of photography, which doesn't demand quick focus. Even focusing manually with my af lenses is a dread in comparison.
My favorite lens is without a doubt my Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 non-AI. Love that lens. I've also got my hands in the f/2 Nikkor-H 50mm version, 200mm Nikkor f/4 AI, Olympus Zuiko 135mm f/3.5, as well as a modern 28mm f/1.4 Kamlan lens. I'm definitely not done investing in vintage lenses, that's for sure. They might not cover all my needs, but when it comes to the more artistic part of my photography, then I prefer them.
This will be my next lens for the Sony! :D gives just the "right look" I want :)
Try the 105 on say a Fuji or a Sony crop with a focal reducer adapter...With a regular adapter my favorite film lens for portraits on my Fuji is a Mamiya 55mm 1.4 .
recently bought 3 lenses: Nikkor-H 300mm, f/4.5, Nikkor-Q 200mm, f/4.5, Nikkor-Q 135mm, 4/2.8, all at cheap prices but they are all phenomenal!!!
It was used for the Afghan Girl picture, wow! Did not know that, just stumbled upon it on some top vintage lenses list looking for a bargain
The AI-S version was used for that portrait. Its a little different in the glass.
Matt is a Hasselblad was and I believe is one of the premium medium format in the word,and that old glass of Nikon was manufactured in Japan.
don't be drunk and browse ebay.... damn i just bought 2 lens and an extra adapter... :)
I have the ais 105 f2,5 and it is....AMAZING 😁
Love this lens
Love to see you trying it on the Medium format :-)
For Portraits I like the Nikkor 180mm 2.8 ai-s Ed (payed 150 dollars for it)
And the SMC Takumar 135mm 2.5 (6 element version)
Also the SMC Takumar 85mm 1.8
I am using them on the Sony A7ii
I like the Super Takumar 135mm F3.5 for portraits too.
My favourite budget lens is the Fujian 35mm 1.7. It's so bad it's awsome!
Really fun video. I just bought a sonnar version of this lens. (In great shape on eBay for exactly $100.). Its going on my Canon R6. I guess that’s like putting a Ford motor in a Chevy.
so far the only vintage lens I was happy with was SMC Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 (couldn't find the F1.4 version). But I see in the comments pretty good suggestions that I haven't tried, might give it a shot
Nikkor 85mm f2 AI-s on FX body. So small it fits in a pocket but delivers and delivers!
I own five pre-AI Nikkors formerly used on my old Nikon F2, namely 24 mm F2.8, 35 mm F2, 50 mm F2, 105 mm F2.5 and 200 mm F4. Are they usable without modification on modern digital bodies like D7100 and D610 which I now have ? I thought they wouldn't even mount...
No, not with those. Some DX bodies like D3100 will take them, or as Matt said, mirrorless with adapters
That was my money lens in the 1970s loved that lens
Great video! More like this please!
Coming soon
Recently got a nikkor 24-120 f/3.5-5.6d. For $100. Got it for the wide end mostly, but very good lens. On my D800.
What type of modification is needed to get an AIS lense to work on a modern DSLR, say a Nikon D3400? Thanks!
great thoughts, and yes, somewhat a no brainer. yet, worth saying. I like the idea of adapting lenses, finding the best lenses can be trial and error. :)
As i D200 shooter, this video is great because I'm looking for a good portrait lens for it. All I have is a kit lens now, and I want to get under 4 f-stops.
I own four different versions of Nikkor 105 f2.5.
They all have their own character.
which do you prefer?
I like the images of the Nikkor 180mm 2.8 ED AI-S, got mine for around $250.
my best old lent is the canon fd 50mm 1,4 im using on a olympos omd10 and i love
What did the test prove? That you can't take a bad picture of Steph, no matter what the lens is! 😊
John Cantrell LOL, she is a beautiful woman.
The subject is far more important than the gear
Shang-Hsien Yang well said bro.
Agree!
Hello Matt. The images are just bluffing :D I do love the impact of this lens on a portrait photo. However I wonder if I would have some issues using it on my D2X. You said it was easier to use it with the Blad more than the D200. Also AiS lenses are still high on the market so this non-Ai might be a great opportunity for my low budget. Would you recommend it for my gear and what issues would I have to face? thanks for the tip anyway ;)
I would advice of getting a nikon 85mm1.4d. Its worth saving for. It runs $400-$500 online but its worth it. Its a screwdriver type lens but very fast on a pro body. I have been using one for 8 years now for portraits. Mind blowing pictures.
Yes!! I love the swirly BOKEH!!
I bought an old Hanimex 70-200 very cheap and an even cheaper M42 converter to fit the Canon, I had to drill a hole in the converter to hold the pin in to use the aperture but I was shocked with the results. Bokehlicious ;-)
I think this video shows what is important to the individual. So many vintage lenses give more fidelity and render more beautiful images but they are are technically inferior. Have more C/A and less corner to corner sharpness and overall resolution but I just think the images are more beautiful. Some folks prefer the technically more perfect image and that is up to them.
I have 2 manual Nikon lenses that I LOVE, one is the 105mm 2.5 Ai, and the other one is the 135mm 2.8 AIS....please check out the last one...you'll be amazed!
I totally agree with your thought on using old manual lenses if fast-action-shooting is off the table.
The old Nikon F mount lenses I love (and pretty dirt cheap) are:
- For general purposes = Nikkor 50 1.4 Pre-ai
- For macro = Vivitar 100 F3.5 Macro (It's 1:2 magnification, but with a hollow extension tube, the combination is perfect for budget macro shoot [around 60$].)
- Telephoto Portrait = Nikkor 135 F3.5 Ai-S (This one is not so dirt cheap, but superb IQ edge-to-edge.)
- Telephoto Candid, Zoo-seeing, Landscape = Nikkor 200 F4 Ai-S
All Lenses I mentioned can be hunted for under 100$ price point. At first I paired them with my good old D5200, then I earned more money from my full time job, so here comes A7ii.
People always guess wrong about lenses I use for my photos because the IQ is superb!
Everyone wants great modern expensive lenses, but not everyone is of convenience to afford one (including myself). A lot of people have a misconception that good lenses need to be expensive. If we think about it, the manual focus primes, back in the day, used to be professional grade lenses too! I watched Karl Taylor rant (czcams.com/video/4GflhBUSpdQ/video.html) and he was right. The expensive tools are for better business efficiency which they would get a lot more money in return.
kitkaneth the 135mm f/3.5 is cheap considering its superb performance
Shang-Hsien Yang You are right. But it was quite expensive compared to other Ai-s lenses.
kitkaneth I have my 135/3.5 on my D5500 for all portrait shots. That lens has taught me more than all vids on CZcams combined about the exposure triangle.
Paid $70us for a 135 f3.5 ai in nice condition recently. The more costly lens was a 105 f2.5 ai in very good condition, at around $200us. Also picked up a 50 f2 to go along with the 28 f2.8 that I bought in 1978. Focus peaking would be nice for my aging eyes, but the rangefinder dots work okay too. Get great results with these amazingly constructed lenses. Looking for a 180 or 200mm next.
I just ordered 200 F4 from Japan. I just can't wait until it arrives.
Oh my now its Hasselblad and a $2000 Nikon lens. Really hilarious.
I've used an AI'd converted model of that lens on my D200 and it works nicely for my purposes, but I've found I've used the 135mm f/2.8 and 180mm f/2.8 more often. Much easier for me to dial in the focus on the D700 though!
One thing I'd add is that that lens was a premium lens when it came out and probably cost a pretty penny. Just our luck we can get them so cheaply today :) :)
I have a 135 2.8 and it is a damn good lens. Paid fifty bucks for it, and it is clean and sharp!
How was the quality of the Fotodiox adapter? I got one to mess around with the old Minolta auto focus to Nikon adapter and it works pretty good other then I do find it hard to nail focus.
I actually picked up that 105 I hated to spend the money but it's lovely! not going to look back.
I can't believe it's so inexpensive. I have one. Almost an insult to the lens to be so cheap. I love this lens. It's world-class.
I think it's fair to say that the f/2.5 105mm Nikkor is a bad-boy of a lens. I don't own one but for now my 40yr+ old Pentax Asahi Takumar f/1.4 is a beauty.
I love that Nikon vintage lens. I use vintage all the time when filming.
Witch lens do use for filming?
I use the ais 28mm 2.8 on my Z6. Any other good lens for filming?
Sotto Sopra Don’t buy lenses from 60s or older, from any manufacturer. I also don’t prefer lenses made in the 70s, with a few exceptions. Keep in mind that every older, vintage lens will not have the coatings that are available today on modern lenses, so glaring and ghosting is an issue. You can overcome some of these issues with a matte box.
Do your research; every lens is completely different and articles written at the time of lens release will not completely apply to modern, digital sensor cameras. Also, ebay is the wild west when buying lenses. Some sellers list the lens incorrectly or use terms very similar to the lens you are searching. Most vintage lens contain dust because they were not sealed like modern lenses. Some contain mold. And some have “balsam lens separation,” which is when two clear lens elements are glued together during manufacture, become unglued, or slightly unglued, due to heat, like left in attic for years.
I needed to say all that first before you just jump in.
I prefer Nikon AI-S lens from the 80s. Also Nikon lenses from the 90s are great too.
Some Zeiss Distagon *T are nice too. I always compare modern to vintage before purchase; sometimes modern lenses are the same price!
Adorama is a safe bet when buying, but there are other websites that pre-approve all sales to be of a specific quality and are upfront & clear about what you are buying. ebay & paypal returns are agonizing.
Sotto Sopra 50mm 1.2
@@Photographicelements thanks a lot for informative answet
I collect and use old lenses. While some are a disappointment, most provide a much more organic feel to the images they help me create. Furthermore, most of the old lenses I have, turned out to be exceptional and affordable, relatively. Digital bodies are another matter...
Really good digital bodies tend to be really expensive. I own a Canon system and an Olympus system, and fortunately, they offer good and excellent compatibility with old lenses respectively. Unfortunately, I cannot, even remotely, justify the expense of a medium format digital body, or even a new, so-called, full-format digital body. My solution was to look back again, and pick up some film era cameras. Once I rediscovered film, I realized just how much I appreciated the look it can afford.
I now own a number of native film bodies for my lenses, including a medium format 6x6 camera. The results I get are remarkable. They have helped to bring back the magic that I experienced when I picked up my first camera in the 1970's. They also offer a look, natively, that digital doesn't without some considerable post processing manipulation, and even then, I'd argue, the result is less appealing.
I would say that an old lens is the first step. Follow it up with an old body, and film, and you're on your way to some beautiful images with a softer gentler quality, in a very good way. Now when I compare the two, I find that many digital images look far too "sharp" - almost clinical by comparison. Anyway, my two-bits..
Now, if I could afford a digital Hassy, would I own one and use one? Almost certainly, but what I'm trying to relate here, is the look that analog era equipment offers (lenses and media) is incomparable in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the old Nikkor.
Damm, Matt I had one of those, I used it on my Nikormatt ELW, but sold it so I could go digital (I was broke). BUt at the time I did nto knwo what Bokeh was. But I did take some nice portraits with it on 35mm
You are cheating just a bit Matt. You know it doesn't matter what you shoot Steph with, it's impossible to take a bad photo of her! 😊
I just picked up this lens for my D750. I'm already loving it just testing it out around the house. Thx for this very informative vid.
Matt, would you buy this 105mm f/2.5 lens over a Tokina 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens for portraits? Is there a big difference between these two with only 5mm focal length and 1/3 of a stop separating the lens specs?
So, to solve the metering and focusing issue with the D200 and similar cameras, you just got to get the AI version?