Agreed with Smiert. the screw-on hood on the AI version of the 105 2.5 is a bit clunky.
I believe the other difference is that the AI focus ring is a bit stiffer while the AIS (although I haven't used the latter) has a softer action. That may make somewhat of a difference depending on usage.
I have owned and extensively used three 105/2,5 AI-s and two 105/2.5 AI lenses at one time or another over the last thirty or so years.
I much prefer the screw on hood of the AI version because it does a better job of shading the front element being longer and deeper. It can be attached/undetached quickly by using the little tab that you depress. Additionally, it offers better front impact protection over the sliding hood of the AI-s version.
The AI has a much longer focus throw than the AI-s which is handy for precise focusing. Focus stiffness is the same on both versions I've owned. The AI has five mounting screws on the lens bayonet as opposed to three on the AI-s. Never heard of any AI-s lenses dropping off because of this though so three is good enough it seems.
The AI and AI-s are the same optically although there was a change (presumably as an improvement) to the front lens element coating on the latter AI-s lenses. Never could see the difference in IQ in use though. I still use an 105/2.5 AI on my D3 and it stacks up well compared to the modern Nikon pro lenses. I find images from the older Nikon manual lenses benefit from an increase in contrast in PP. It's a fantastic portrait, travel and all round short telephoto lens and is built to last like all of the manual Nikon pro lenses were. These older high quality lenses will outlast most of us.
The AI has five mounting screws on the lens bayonet as opposed to three on the AI-s. Never heard of any AI-s lenses dropping off because of this though so three is good enough it seems.
The 5 vs. 3 mount screws is really a non-factor, particularly for small primes, since on a lot of AI lenses with 5 mount screws, only 4 actually secure the mount to the lens frame. The 5th screw (at 6 o'clock) on quite a few of them does nothing except secure a small post on the back side of the mount for the end of the stopdown lever spring.
Back to the question about whether these lenses are suitable for landscape work, here is a five photo panorama taken with an earlier version, the 105 f/2.5 P-C AI'd. This lens has the same optical design as the K, AI and AI-s, with curved aperture blades and longer focus throw found in the early versions but not the AI-s. The hood, HS-4, easily reverses. It is a beautifully made lens and is a real pleasure to use.
And here is a photo of four 105 lenses, from the 105 f/1.8 AI-s on the left to the 105 f/2.5 P AI'd, 105 f/2.5 P-C AI'd to the 105 f/2.5 AI-s. I don't own the AI or the K.
zesto wrote:
Excellent work CGrindahl. The panorama is very good.
Thanks. Most of the credit goes to Photoshop CS 6 which was able to take five hand held shots and stitch them together. I only needed to hold the camera steady...
You seem to know a bit about these lenses. If you still have an MF Nikkor or two in your kit and are shooting with a Nikon camera, whether film or DSLR, I'd encourage you to check out the Nikon Manual Focus Glass thread. We've no one participating from New Zealand, only one from Australia, one from Singapore and one from Hong Kong representing that side of the globe We could use another hand to keep the thread active while folks in the U.S. sleep at night and folks in Europe get back from work. We definitely are running 24/7 and having a great time celebrating these beautifully made lenses. You're welcome to join us. All we ask is that if you post photos they be taken with Nikon MF glass on Nikon cameras...
Thank you for the invite. I only have two MF Nikkors left now - 105/2.5 AI and 28/2.8 AI-s. Both are really sharp and hold their own against modern Nikkors.
I'm looking for a decent upload server. Don't mind paying as long as they don't downsize the resolution of the images posted. Have used a few like SmugMug. I'd appreciate any suggestions? Regards.
