Recommend a lens for Nikon 35mm?

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rhysherbert

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Good evening fellow TPers.

I've recently been going through this 'old is the way forward' phase, and just bought a Nikon F601 online for around £20. Anyway, it was delivered yesterday and I've realised that the one lens that I have which is compatible (my nifty fifty) is quite restricting in terms of, well, wideness. So can anyone recommend a suitably cheap prime lens in the region of 20-30mm that would be compatible? I'm quite happy to deal with manual focus if necessary. Not really looking to spend too much so I have a budget of around £40.

Also, if anyone in the Kent area knows any quirky old camera shops that could help, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks guys!
 
Not in Kent but these people have a huge stock of old equipment...they're in Camden. Never used them so can't vouch for them but I think they'd have something at your price point. They do a lot of business selling cameras and equipment to students and then buying it back off them at the end of the course...or at least that's waht they told me!

http://www.nicholascamera.com/

Website isn't generally up to date...
 
rhysherbert said:
Good evening fellow TPers.

I've recently been going through this 'old is the way forward' phase, and just bought a Nikon F601 online for around £20. Anyway, it was delivered yesterday and I've realised that the one lens that I have which is compatible (my nifty fifty) is quite restricting in terms of, well, wideness. So can anyone recommend a suitably cheap prime lens in the region of 20-30mm that would be compatible? I'm quite happy to deal with manual focus if necessary. Not really looking to spend too much so I have a budget of around £40.

Also, if anyone in the Kent area knows any quirky old camera shops that could help, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

If you can find one a sigma super wide (24mm), available in MF (AI) or Af (the MF is slightly sharper, IMO). The mini wide II (28mm) is also a good lens, as is the Tokina RMC 28mm.

My copies fall into order of sharpness (sharp to less sharp), Mini Wide II (on M42 via optical adapter), Tokina, and finally the Super Wide (the AF version). The gap between the Mini Wide Ii and Tokina is tiny though, but a Nikon fit Mini Wide II should be slightly sharper still. My 18-55 kit lens is unbearably soft in comparison to all 3. It's quite surprising that even via optical adapter the Mini Wide is still so sharp.

If you're lucky you could pick any of those 3 up for about £20, but people are starting to realise the benefits of old lenses, and so atm all 3 are going for £60-100 on ebay (although my Tokina has a sticky focus ring, so it was much cheaper than that).
 
Also worth looking at are the vivitar 28/f2.8 and 28/f2.5, but it's a bit more complicated with them, as there are 3+ manufacturers involved.

You can determine which manufacturer made vivitar's lenses based on the first 2 numbers of the serial numbers:

22 -> Kiron/Kino
28 -> Komine
37 -> Tokina

(There are many other manufacturers that vivitar used, but those are the only ones I've seen on nikon fit)

In terms of sharpness, the general consensus seems to be Komine > Tokina > Kiron/Kino.

Also there is a 'Close Focus' version, which was manufactured by Komine, and is even sharper than their non-CF version.

The close focus version tends to go quite pricey on ebay/etc as do the Komine non-CF, but you might find a Tokina or Kiron/Kino fairly cheap. They're all 'OK' lenses, with a reputation for distinctive lens flaring from the sun (which can be a pain, or a artistic '70s style movie' look depending on your tastes)
 
ronald white in maidstone might be worth a look
 
so is the 50mm lens the only one you have ??
 
Beardy said:
Not in Kent but these people have a huge stock of old equipment...they're in Camden. Never used them so can't vouch for them but I think they'd have something at your price point. They do a lot of business selling cameras and equipment to students and then buying it back off them at the end of the course...or at least that's waht they told me!

http://www.nicholascamera.com/

Website isn't generally up to date...
Click to expand...

You're right about the website not being up to date :lol:
Will have to give them a call I think. Thanks for the link!
 
NikkiA said:
If you can find one a sigma super wide (24mm), available in MF (AI) or Af (the MF is slightly sharper, IMO). The mini wide II (28mm) is also a good lens, as is the Tokina RMC 28mm.

My copies fall into order of sharpness (sharp to less sharp), Mini Wide II (on M42 via optical adapter), Tokina, and finally the Super Wide (the AF version). The gap between the Mini Wide Ii and Tokina is tiny though, but a Nikon fit Mini Wide II should be slightly sharper still. My 18-55 kit lens is unbearably soft in comparison to all 3. It's quite surprising that even via optical adapter the Mini Wide is still so sharp.

If you're lucky you could pick any of those 3 up for about £20, but people are starting to realise the benefits of old lenses, and so atm all 3 are going for £60-100 on ebay (although my Tokina has a sticky focus ring, so it was much cheaper than that).
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're well versed in the art of traditional lenses :lol: I'll have a look into the three you've mentioned. Thanks very much for the effort you've gone to here!
 
http://www.nicholascamera.com/

Website isn't generally up to date...
Click to expand...

rhysherbert said:
You're right about the website not being up to date :lol:
Will have to give them a call I think. Thanks for the link!
Click to expand...

Do a search for him - seems to be a few who have had problems with this shop. I've passed by a few times and took a look in the window and it's chaotic but certainly worth looking through if you are passing.
 
Ebay is the way to go. The 28mm f/3.5 AI is an absolute bargain if you can stretch to about £45 - just got one of these and the build quality far exceeds any modern Nikon lens (they don't build to the same quality these days). You can also get converted "non-AI" lenses but never tried one myself. Here is a handy link to identify a lens type http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-153.html

Another lens to look out for is 24mm AI/AIS - anything wider tends to be very pricy!

There are also the "E" series Nikkors if you are on a rock bottom budget but they are a bit plasticity compared with a genuine AI or AIS.
 
rhysherbert said:
Ah I think I might've been there once or twice. Thanks!



I have an 18-55mm kit lens and a cheapo 70-300mm, but I just assumed they were both DX lenses and thus not compatible. Is that correct?
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you can use them ,, the 18 - 55 above 22mm ( unless you want vignetting )
 
boliston said:
Ebay is the way to go. The 28mm f/3.5 AI is an absolute bargain if you can stretch to about £45 - just got one of these and the build quality far exceeds any modern Nikon lens (they don't build to the same quality these days). You can also get converted "non-AI" lenses but never tried one myself. Here is a handy link to identify a lens type http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-153.html

Another lens to look out for is 24mm AI/AIS - anything wider tends to be very pricy!

There are also the "E" series Nikkors if you are on a rock bottom budget but they are a bit plasticity compared with a genuine AI or AIS.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! How is the optical quality of the 28mm f3.5 AI may I ask, sharpness-wise?
 
The E series lenses may be a bit plasticky but they are optically excellent. I had the 50mm and 35mm f2.5 and they were both excellent, the later 35mm has a metal lens mount which makes it feel a little more robust and the same is also true of the 28mm f2.8.
Great lenses at a really reasonable price.

Andy
 
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