s/n: 1829596
Lens Designer: Tomowaki Takahashi ~ Yasuhiro Aono
Release Date: 1983
US Patent: US4699475A
Nikon Nikkor Lens Patent Database
There are so many good resources that have reported on Nikon manual focus lenses. I’m going to focus on three. The MIR site on the Zoom-Nikkor 35-105mm f/3.5~4.5s MACRO, the 1001 Nights Nikon series and Richard Haws site on the repair of this lens. Take a look if you are interested.
Richard Haw - Repair: Zoom-Nikkor 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Ai-S
What makes this lens cool? Adam, what makes it so cool?
It’s beautifully made, a gorgeous combination of metals, glass and enamel paint. Engineered by talented designers during a time of innovation, a lens that was built in a different time.
And it’s mine. I got it for a song. I have one of its sister lens, the AI Zoom Nikkor 35-200 f3.5-4.5S. I’m excited to complete the trio by collecting the AI Zoom Nikkor 35-135 f3.5-4.5S,
I’ll use them on the FE.
I love AI-S lenses. I’ve owned more than two dozen and I’ve sold every last one of them to buy second and third generation F-mount auto focus D and G series lenses. I ended up regretting that decision. Ultimately, I have repurchased a couple already. This one, I never had or held or even knew it had a connection to one of my favorite lens.
Give me a moment, I’m going to research a little bit about it, another reason why I am intrigued. They are well documented.
Google AI brought me to Nikkor - The 1001 Nights No 71. The lens in the story is the AI Zoom Nikkor 35-105 f3.5-4.5S Why the S at the end? This lens came out in 1983, a transitional time at Nikon. The AI Zoom Nikkor 35-105mm f3.5-4.5S was a transitional lens from previously bulky manual focus lenses to the compact walk around lens designed for the FM and about the time of the release of the F3. I owned an F3 and loved it but sold it. It didn’t represent what I wanted out of a purely manual focus experience. It was a digital viewfinder info display and I wanted a double needle. I really enjoy researching the history and having, owning and operating this classic equipment is a fantastic experience.
I’m not a plagiarist, you should read the story at Nikon, a story about a time that was filled with change, reorganization and the designer, Tomowaki Takahashi, an optical engineer at Nikon. Takahashi San wrote a book, “Lens Design: From Aberration Coefficient to Automated Design” I looked for it but could not find it, I did find a PDF at Nikon that references it HERE.
Anyway, I will look more thoroughly for the book later.
Researching manual focus zoom lenses, I learn the story of the Nikon system AND I already own one of the two lens that Mr. Takahash designed. The AI Zoom Nikkor 35-200 f3.5-4.5S. It’s sort of interesting how I picked out that lens out of all the choices available. I now own both and I’m excited to start using the AI Zoom Nikkor 35-105 f3.5-4.5S.
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