Godfrey
Well-known member
A couple of old favorites of mine:Following on from a few discussions on lenses and adapters etc. I need some educating, what are the must have manual focus lenses that will fit either with an adapter or native for the D800?
I've read about the Leica R 19mm, I have the Zeiss 21 and 135, I've found a 50 f1.2 that I'm tempted by, what else can I buy that is amazing and manual focus?
Nikkor-H 85mm f/1.8, Pre-AI :: I had one of the lenses on loan from my uncle in 1969-1970 and always remembered it fondly. Bought another a couple of years ago, it's still my favorite Nikon 85mm.
Nikkor 20mm f/3.5 AI-S (52mm filter) :: small, light ... always impressed me with its contrast and sharpness. The later 20/2.8 is supposed to be superior, but I had one and sold it to get the f/3.5. This was my ultra-wide on Nikon bodies from 1982 to 2002.
Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 :: one of *The* Nikon classics. I've seen it through at least three if not four revisions. It's always been a superb rendering lens.
Nikkor 180/2.8 ED AI-S :: a truly delightful fast tele. The ED version is critical, previous version was a bit soft at the edges of the frame.
I'm also enamored of the Micro-Nikkors ... I have a pre-AI 55/3.5 and AI-S 105/2.8 both of which are simply outstanding quality. The 200/4 ED-IF is another excellent performer.
Beyond those, if I ever bought a Nikon DSLR body, I would likely get some Leitax.com mounting flanges for my Leica R lenses (Summicron-R 50/2, Summilux-R 50/1.4, Summicron-R 90/2, Elmarit-R 135/2.8, and Elmarit-R 180/2.8). These are older series Leitz R lenses, they don't have the razor crispness of the more modern late 1980s and onwards APO models, but their rendering qualities are simply beautiful and quite distinct from the Nikkors and Zeiss alternatives. I use them today as my telephoto range on FourThirds format, or on the Leicaflex SL they were designed for.
G