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Fun with "Obsolete" Nikons

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I have an "obsolete" lens question, hope it's not too far off topic:

My 85mm lens is an ancient f/1.8 non-D. Optically, it's not a bad lens, but it's insanely noisy, very slowly when focusing and it's Bakelite style plastic is as ugly as it gets. Manual focusing is in reality impossible, due to lack of presission.

So I consider buying a new one. I'd love to buy the f/1.4 AF-S, but it's out of my budget at the moment. So it's the f/1.4 AF or the f/1.8 AF-S. Objectively, the f/1.8 is the sharper lens, particularly around the edges and corners. However, the old f/1.4 has "something", particularly used with film. Used 1.4 costs around the same as a new 1.8. What to do? Has anybody owned both?
 

Swissblad

Well-known member
I have an "obsolete" lens question, hope it's not too far off topic:

My 85mm lens is an ancient f/1.8 non-D. Optically, it's not a bad lens, but it's insanely noisy, very slowly when focusing and it's Bakelite style plastic is as ugly as it gets. Manual focusing is in reality impossible, due to lack of presission.

So I consider buying a new one. I'd love to buy the f/1.4 AF-S, but it's out of my budget at the moment. So it's the f/1.4 AF or the f/1.8 AF-S. Objectively, the f/1.8 is the sharper lens, particularly around the edges and corners. However, the old f/1.4 has "something", particularly used with film. Used 1.4 costs around the same as a new 1.8. What to do? Has anybody owned both?
Hi Jørgen

I have both - true the old AF 1.4 version can be used with all Nikons - but as I hardly ever shoot film anymore - I most often use the new F1.8 AFS version - it is light, compact, super sharp and a delight to use.

HTH, SB :cool:
 

Darin Marcus

Well-known member
....but what's with all these Nikon DSLR's? D40's? D2H's? D2x's? You got to be kidding? These are fairly recent additions to the Nikon line-up.
From a certain point of view, if it has a CCD sensor, it IS obsolete... :D



Nikon D40, AF-S DX Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR @ 150mm (225mm equiv.), 1/250, f/11, ISO 400
 

D&A

Well-known member
Darin Wrote >>>>"From a certain point of view, if it has a CCD sensor, it IS obsolete" :D<<<

Agree...but that leads to the question as to why are you posting an image derived from an obsolete camera? Oh wait, this is the fun with Obsolete Nikons thread! :)

Dave (D&A)
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
This speaks for itself.

Nikon D2x
50mm 1.8 G:


Wide Open on a rainy day. Surrealism can sometimes be better than the chaotic world we experience every day.
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
After many weeks of feeling quite ill, I picked up the Nikon D2x and attempted a quick handheld capture of our first tulip of the year. I felt completely out of practice... the pollen is quite obvious even with the available light.

I think with a lot more shooting, I will get back in the zone. But, it felt great using the D2x in spite of my mind being elsewhere with the stress all around. I am looking forward to bonding quickly again with this camera, it is really a favorite since I had a long run with my first D2x years ago. Now, my mind just needs tuning, if that is possible!

Nikon D2x 50mm 1.8:
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Wonderful photo Dave! Showed it to my wife and after she said how beautiful it is she also said “That’s just not fair!” We still have a few feet of snow on the ground here in Alaska. Spring is probably 4-6 weeks away.

Gary
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
From a certain point of view, if it has a CCD sensor, it IS obsolete... :D



Nikon D40, AF-S DX Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR @ 150mm (225mm equiv.), 1/250, f/11, ISO 400
Darin,

When I see your images, I am both delighted and a little sad.
I still miss my D40!!!!:):):)
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Wonderful photo Dave! Showed it to my wife and after she said how beautiful it is she also said “That’s just not fair!” We still have a few feet of snow on the ground here in Alaska. Spring is probably 4-6 weeks away.

Gary
Haha! Gary, I am sure there are blossoms in the snow somewhere in the Great White North. :)

Thanks for the kind post!

The weather has been so strange the last year, I am not sure what to expect with these tulips or the hybrid roses for that matter. I need to get busy gardening, there is so much to do. Maybe this year I will forego fertilizing them with weed killer!:ROTFL:
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
With the pandemic lockdowns and depression ruling our lives lately, I urge everyone to pick up a camera and have fun with it! It is therapeutic!:)

Be sure to use your old neglected obsolete cameras and see just how good a photographer you really are. You may be surprised and post them here!

I hope so!:thumbup:
 

Darin Marcus

Well-known member
Darin,

When I see your images, I am both delighted and a little sad.
I still miss my D40!!!!:):):)
Thank you Dave.
The D40 was my first DSLR, so I do have fond memories of it.
But I do not regret the upgrade to the D700 :) Apparently the same team from Nikon was responsible for both those cameras....

Continuing your "red" theme, this one comes from 2009, and the NEF was just reprocessed in Capture NX-D using the (original) camera compatible profile:



D40 & the (new) 55-200mm VR zoom of the time
 
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dave.gt

Well-known member
Life changes in a heartbeat, or the blink of an eye. Not long ago, no one ever heard of Covid-19. Now the whole world knows and fears the pandemic that has taken over the globe and caused so much suffering and death.

Today, I walked out into the backyard, with my trusty D2x and enjoyed a short time shooting the hybrid roses. It was a good time to do camera therapy and soothed my soul for awhile. Later, while feeling better and enjoying processing some of the images, I received a disturbing text just as I finished this image:


The text was bad news as we learned that my wife's brother tested positive for Covid-19 today with a severe cough. He is one of the finest gentlemen I have ever known and he and his wife have become replacement parents for their two granddaughters and now this...

We are heartbroken but I will take this hybrid rose as a good omen because it survived my inadvertent spraying of weed killer last year. It is a survivor.

I will now rename this rose, "Rick's Rose", in anticipation of his being a survivor too.:)
 
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dave.gt

Well-known member
I must add that the Nikon 50/1.8 G still amazes me.
It has become like a pair of comfortable jeans that just fits right and does what it does with the ability to produce fine images with just the right feeling that I am looking for.:thumbs:
 
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dave.gt

Well-known member
Hmmm.., as I think back, I never had an opportunity to work with a D70. Thank you for sharing that beautiful CCD image!:thumbup:
 

Swissblad

Well-known member
Hmmm.., as I think back, I never had an opportunity to work with a D70. Thank you for sharing that beautiful CCG image!:thumbup:
It was a fun camera - while it lasted - but I never bonded with it - like when we got the D700 - truly the 1st digital Nikon that just felt right - IMHO.

Digital photography was so different then - I remember the hassle of trying to shoot raw - a real PITA - now it's taken for granted.
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Still, I harbor a need, a calling, to use a now "obsolete" 200 2.0 with an "obsolete" Nikon body of choice. Maybe a D4/5/6...

Why?

Because I value feeling in an image more than technical perfection. Think Noctilux wide open in available darkness, or delicious, creamy bokeh.

Think film. Think Polaroids. Think anything, that is what moves me.
Obsolete art rules! Lol...:)

:thumbs:
 
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