grantgoodes wrote:
Love that: "Rafael-condition". Yes, if I had any advice on satisfying a case of NGAS it would be to hold out for a relatively pristine copy of whichever lens you are hunting for since it is such a joy to behold (and use) a like-new Nikkor. My only "rough" Nikkor is my 180/2.8 ED Ai-S, which is clearly an ex-Pro copy: Lot's of exterior scuffs and dings (though the optics are clean). Otherwise, I have found with patience and diligence you can locate a great copy of nearly any lens without breaking the bank (often from Japan sellers). I just recently caved on my ongoing obsession with 105mm lenses and picked up a 100/2.8 Series E and a factory AI 105/2.5 P "Sonnar", both well under $100. The Series E is mint with box and is a fun bit of kit. The Sonnar just has some beauty paint-wear on the metal focus ring and a couple of small bright spots on the silver snout, but the optics are pristine and for a nearly 60 year-old lens it handles like new. I'm up to six 105mm Nikkors now (well, technically the 100/2.8 Series E is neither 105mm nor a Nikkor!), which does indicate I have a problem. Luckily, I'm not going to pay for a UV-Nikkor 105/4.5, but if a Bellows-Nikkor (short-mount) 105/4 showed up in good condition/price I would probably cave again. ...Show more →
Yep, best to leave the "caving" door open.
The last two MF Nikkors I bought (last year, I must fix that) were as close to Rafael-condition as I've ever gotten. The Japanese sellers sure look after stuff. There are just fewer of them who ship to South Africa. I'm always on the lookout. Recently, I was surprised to be able to source a Z-GR1 from Nikon Store Japan through Amazon. Thing has transformed my relationship with the Z5 from like to love.
I missed one of Rafael's ultra-wides today. There was a super rainbow while I was stuck in traffic. I could see the full arch of it including both ends. By the time I got home it was quite diminished and I had no ultra-wides in sight. A pretty end to my birthday though.
cadman342001 wrote:
Enjoying recent shots, Colin's street work, Raphael's garden (nice succulent area / path, is it new?),
Jim's super macros (I have posted extreme macro shots here before Jim using a 200mm/f4 tube lens with a Nikon 10x objective. I'll post one below.) and lots more including the IR stuff.
That is a beautiful waterfall, and photo, Andy. Now that you mention it - I think my faulty memory recalls a bugs face you shot a while back. Was that the one?
Easter morning we went to one of my kids houses for a coffee and tea thing, and to visit. These two grandsons were very happy to see me, and led me around by the hand to show me all their treasures. D800 with the 50mm f1.2 ais and the modified tc-16a.
First giant saguaro blossoms seen this Spring. May and June seem to be normal to sll these blossoms. Chandler Arizona, 4/24/2025. Nikon 400 F5.6 AIS lrns used..
Harry Palmer
Saguaro blossoms.
NIKON Z 7_2400mm f/5.6 lens400mmf/5.61/400s64 ISO-1.0 EV
Thanks Richard,
Now I know to never open up my copy of this wonderful lens. I was hoping your article might have a method for tightening the built in lens hood - like cementing a strip of felt inside it's inner circumference once removed. . Mine looks externally like it was used as a hammer or club. Small dents, and many many scratches, but the locking pin notch in the mount showed it had been heavily used and was rounded out. This made me suspect it was favored for good reason. I usually look for crisp notches, but not this time. It also had a UV filter that could not be removed due to a dent in the filter ring. Otherwise it worked fine, and I managed to remove the filter, and using very thick leather and pliers coaxed the rim back into proper shape - then ran a new UV filter on and off a bunch of times to realign all the threads. You mentioned that it is reported to work well with tele-converters, and I can confirm that it works great with both of my modified Nikon TC-16A. Also, I only shoot it wide open, and never ever stop it down. Here is an example mounted on the D7200 for an effective focal length of 960mm, and the modified TC-16A makes it a semi-AF lens. Tufted Titmouse from January 2024 near MFD - uncropped - distance - approximately 15 feet.
One night, just about four years ago, I was leaving work and could see the arch of a double rainbow, all I had on me was my phone, so I used that to at least capture it. Looked like one end of the rainbow was dumping right into one of the Promasters
(forgive the iphone 8+ shot, all I had)
SiMuMe wrote:
I missed one of Rafael's ultra-wides today. There was a super rainbow while I was stuck in traffic. I could see the full arch of it including both ends. By the time I got home it was quite diminished and I had no ultra-wides in sight. A pretty end to my birthday though.
One night, just about four years ago, I was leaving work and could see the arch of a double rainbow, all I had on me was my phone, so I used that to at least capture it. Looked like one end of the rainbow was dumping right into one of the Promasters
(forgive the iphone 8+ shot, all I had)
Thank you, Laura. It was a good day. People seem quite open to trying to sing to me on this day, for some reason .
That picture is it! I live in a place full of trees. Short of getting on the roof, no chance of having both ends of the rainbow in view once I got home. While driving I had full view but it was still raining on the road.
James Markus wrote:
That is a beautiful waterfall, and photo, Andy. Now that you mention it - I think my faulty memory recalls a bugs face you shot a while back. Was that the one?
As usual, Richard, a great deep-dive into a very interesting Nikkor lens. I'm not a telephoto shooter (my longest lens is the 180/2.8 ED Ai-S), but I was always intrigued by the 400/5.6 ED-IF, and it was great to see it featured by you. Really interesting that it doesn't have a helicoid focus mechanism.
I didn't really use my flickr account until December 6th of last year. Was always going to get round to it on my domain, but client photos, and business promotion always took precedent. Now that I live the life of a slug I can put some time into my own personal photos. (about 5000 uploads since December) and I have only scratched the surface It actually is a great way for me to organize, and the download zipped album feature is extremely helpful for backup.
Wish I had remembered your experiences into microphotography -I could have asked about ZS vs HF software, ELWD microscope objectives etc.
I have a wooden Old Spice cologne box from the 1960s, and I used it for treasures as a boy, and now microscope objectives. It is made of mahogany or maybe gum, has finger joint corners, and chamfered edges on the top. All that packaging for a cheap cologne. Barb saw me with it and asked about how it smelled, and that her father had worn it in Australia. Couple hours later she showed up with "the last one the store had" and it looked really old - like it had been opened a bunch of times and sniffed. The glass bottle had been replaced with a similar shaped plastic bottle with the signature tiny gray stopper. The aroma was very faint, but look at the new cardboard box. Never saw that line about grandpa before.
Heres a black F thats for sale on Phoenix Craigslist, its $275, owner says good condition, meter un tested. Camera looks great for a black F. PM me if any member wants to buy it.
Harry Palmer
Took this lens out for a backyard spin, do not get me wrong, I am posting my hillside because it is the prettiest now than it has ever been and summer will not be kind to it, be so as well, only have to weed once a year. I will compensate you with pics of the Japanese and Chinese gardens at the Huntington Library with the other 18mm, the 3.5.
Common to all the real wide old Nikkors, the near corners can be had real sharp when properly focused, the far corners almost never.
Here is the compensation for all those repetitious home photos, The Huntington Japanese Garden. Many more to come and will include the Broad and MOCA Museums as well.
Wow, I have my dad's, but it's black and silver. For his and the Nikkor-H 50mm f/2.0 Lens, he paid $244.88 in 1967.
Kingfishphoto wrote:
Heres a black F thats for sale on Phoenix Craigslist, its $275, owner says good condition, meter un tested. Camera looks great for a black F. PM me if any member wants to buy it.
Harry Palmer
I was hoping your article might have a method for tightening the built in lens hood - like cementing a strip of felt inside it's inner circumference once removed. . Mine looks externally like it was used as a hammer or club. Small dents, and many many scratches, but the locking pin notch in the mount showed it had been heavily used and was rounded out. This made me suspect it was favored for good reason. I usually look for crisp notches, but not this time. It also had a UV filter that could not be removed due to a dent in the filter ring. Otherwise it worked fine, and I managed to remove the filter, and using very thick leather and pliers coaxed the rim back into proper shape - then ran a new UV filter on and off a bunch of times to realign all the threads. You mentioned that it is reported to work well with tele-converters, and I can confirm that it works great with both of my modified Nikon TC-16A. Also, I only shoot it wide open, and never ever stop it down. Here is an example mounted on the D7200 for an effective focal length of 960mm, and the modified TC-16A makes it a semi-AF lens. Tufted Titmouse from January 2024 near MFD - uncropped - distance - approximately 15 feet.
