Nikkor 20mm f4 AI

Nikon 20mm f4 AI
s/n: 114066

Edit: Timm Chapman responded and indicated that this is a pre AI type K lens that has been converted to AI. There is no optical or size difference. I bought this version based on Ken Rockwell’s review, his is the same and was not identified as such, as Timm said, semantics…

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This is the second lens made famous by a gifted photographer that I’ve purposefully hunted down and purchased, the first one being the Nikkor 105mm f2.5 AI used by Steve Mcurry (he used the AI-S version) for the iconic picture of the Afghan Girl. The Nikkor 20mm f4 AI being used by Galen Rowell because of its focal length and compact size. I grew up reading Galen’s books, dreaming of the pictures found within and the Owens Valley which is where he lived and did a lot of his climbing and photography is one of my favorite areas of the United States.

I almost didn’t get to own one. I’m constantly trimming my lens kit down as I used to be a lens junky. Once a photographer, do you really stop jonesing for new glass? I had bought an F6 which would mount my manual focus lenses but as I would work very hard to get into position to take a bunch of pictures, being tired I would blow the focus on a few. I needed those shots and I’m not less of a photographer if I use AF lenses so I decided to sell every last manual focus lens I owned. I found out about D series lenses and the crinkle finish auto focus lenses and started buying them. I just switched one addiction for another until which I realized I missed the manual focus part of my whole photography kit.

I sold my F3 and the FE2, I gave away my FG to my son. The F6 will mount the AI and AI-S but the experience isn’t the same. I thought about it and decided to build a small three lens manual focus kit that I could keep in a small camera bag. I decided on the 20mm f4 AI, the 50mm f1.8 AI-S and the 35-200 f3.5-4.5 AI-S with a Nikon FG. Three lenses and a flash that is reasonably inexpensive and durable. I can shoot manually and with aperture and shutter priority. That’s my manual focus kit and the reason I bought this lens.

Kodak Ektar 100 ~ Nikon FE - AI Nikkor 20mm f4 @ f11 - 1/250

Resources

NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights No.20

whatdoineed2do.blogspot Nikkor 20mm f4 AI

Nikkor Auto 20mm f/4

Ken Rockwell: Nikkor 20mm f4 AI

Photo Art From Science Nikon 20mm f4 Review

DP Review: Nikon 20mm f4 Review

Richard Haw - Nikon 20mm f4 Repair

MIR Pre AI & AI Nikkor 20mm f4

camera | lens | film | flash

Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AIS

Nikon FE2 + Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AIS

Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AIS

s/n 5534748

Yeah, I found mine with an FG. My EM died, I wasn’t interested in wasting any more time trying to fix it and this lens came bundled. I liked the idea of a simple yet compact film camera. The FG ticked nearly all the boxes and on top of that, this particular one came with a lens I wanted. 

I lust for a Nikkor NOCT 50mm f1.2 AIS but it’s way too expensive and I’ll never realize the performance in that lens at this time, and the difference between the two?

I’m not the photographer that could tell.

This is what it looks like as I brought it home, not bad.

I do know that the quality of this lens is close and that it once was a very popular lens mounted on many professional photographers F3 back in the day.

Instead of the NOCT, which is a 58mm fast lens, I prefer something a little wider view. The 1.4 is still fast and it’s a great lens. I can afford this lens and it’s the second manual focus 50mm prime in my kit but the first Nikkor.

I had been researching where I could get one. eBay always has a whack of them but you never know what your going to get, what you will feel till it’s in your hands and until you can see through it. As I put the FG through its paces, I knew the total price was worth the lens alone so I bought it. Time to clean it up and mount it on the FE2.

On the FG after cleaning

The 50mm f1.4 lives on my MD-12 ~ FE2. My first Nikon SLR. The ergonomics of this system is so nice. I can one finger focus this lens and it is a pleasure to use. I use an HR (rubber) folding lens hood that serves double duty as a protective ring on the lens, the Nikon UV filter protects the front element.

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Ken Rockwell: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AIS

Phillip Reeves: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AIS Review

Camera Labs - Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AIS Vintage Lens Review

Back to the Basics: My Experiences With the Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AI-s

Richard Haw: Nikkor 50mm f1.4 Ai-S Repair and Review

camera | lens | film | flash

Zoom Nikkor 100-300 f5.6 AIS

Nikon FE2 & the Zoom 100-300mm f5.6 out on patrol for houses of the RICH

Zoom Nikkor 100-300 f5.6 AIS

s/n 199729 + 241419

The first one I purchased was $50 delivered. It had zoom creep so bad, it was loose. The lens was dusty inside. But it performed admiringly as I had no idea what I was doing. I ended up selling it as I made a huge mistake. My manual focus photography was really important to my photography. I sold all my manual focus lenses, camera everything. I thought the DSLR would satiate my desire and the F6 would too.

But I really missed the process. I mist the mechanics a the fine engineering of a Nikkor manual focus lens.

The FG I was using had a funky row of LED lights that indicated exposure. Although I tried with it, it wasn’t the experience I wanted. The F3, although a bomb proof camera, I didn’t like the LCD display. The FE2 was nearly perfect however, it wasted film. I would not meter frames 00 and 0. 

I looked into all the manual focus cameras and came up with the FE, just what I wanted, nothing more. I also love the MD-12 motor drive/grip too.

I’m putting together a minimal manual focus lens kit and the 100-300mm f5.6 zoom was a last piece as I put it all together. 20mm f4 AI, Japanese Pancake 50mm f1.8mAI-S, the 28-50mm f3.5 AI-S, 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 AI-S, the 35-200mm f3.5-4.5 AI-S and finally the 100-300mm f5.6 AI-S. That’s it. No mas.

I plan to do some street photography with it, I know, an odd choice but it’s a good choice for what I want to do with it. I’ll be using it from the Subaru too.

Below are images from the first one I had. I will add in some photos soon…

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Resources

Richard Haw: Zoom Nikkor 100-300mm f5.6 AIS Repair
MIR: Manual Focus Nikkor Zoom lense 100-300mm f/5.6s MACRO

 

camera | lens | film | flash

Zoom Nikkor 80-200mm f4 AIS

Zoom Nikkor 80-200mm f4 AIS
s/n 284618

I bought this lens in a private sale for $50. Looking back, it was really a good buy. The glass is clear, not scratched and everything works as it should, it looks newish however it has lens creep. The focus barrel moves freely. The focus and zoom is fine, it just won’t hold on its own when the lens is tilted. I never one hand hold my camera/lens so no big deal. I’ve taken a few pictures with it up on Wonderview Rd on Camelback Mountain with the EM and the magnification fell short. But at the time, I didn’t understand focal lengths, I thought I could just buy my subject closer, I had it all wrong and understand now.

It was embarrassing to have purchased this lens once I began to understand how a zoom worked so I placed it in a storage bin in the closet. A couple of months ago, I pulled it out, I might sell it but decided, no, I’m going to keep it and use it to understand why this type of lens was made. I’m understanding much much more about focal lengths and choices in lenses from using them. I’ll use it for what it was designed for, I’m starting to understand why.

Anyway, I put a Hoya Skylight Filter on it to protect the front element and I bought the HN-23 lens hood for it. Now that I’ve used it, I’ll take it out for a day of rock art hunting where I’ll be asking the lens to frame pictures at varying distances. I believe it might also work with some alpine stream meadow photography. Or even pictures of beach fly fishing during the day but not in the early light.

On any account, let’s see what I can do with it.

The below images are from an afternoon of purposeful use with this lens in mind. I like this lens, inexpensive but quite useful. I won’t hesitate to call on it as well as its bigger brother, the Nikkor 100-300 f5.6 AIS. 

As I review each old lens in my kit, I am realizing how much I’m learning by doing. It’s a lot of fun to play with these decades old lenses. They work so well and are truly amazing pieces of glass, metal and pretty enamel paint. No doubt, I am super impressed.

Nikon FG with the Zoom 80-200 f4 Ai-S

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Resources

Ken Rockwell: Zoom Nikkor 80-200mm f4 AIS
MIR: Nikkor MF Zoom lenses - 80-200mm f/4.5
Richard Haw: Zoom Nikkor 80-200mm f4 AIS Repair

camera | lens | film | flash