50mm F/1.2 Nikkor AI

Dxer

Senior Member
Hello guys. I just bought one of these off ebay for $50 and hopefully I should get it mid-week.

Now, I realize that an AI lens with my D3100 that EVERYTHING will be manual and that isn't really the issue.

I am just wondering if anyone else has this lens and what you experience with it was like? I mean that a 50mm F/1.2
in any other form is quite pricey but this one was quite inexpensive. So was this really a bad lens back in the day? Or
did I just get a bit lucky here?

If this guy was accurate with his description, it should be a pretty good lens. And if it isn't what I hoped for, I am only
out 50 bucks. :)
 

rocketman122

Senior Member
50 bucks is nothing for that lens. Sounds suspicious to be bought for 50 bucks. Worst case scenario u send it back and get refunded from PayPal. Maybe haze or fungus or stiff focus. Soon ull know though. But hopefully alls well. Soft at 1.2 butvfrom 2 shohld be nice. If your skill to focus is up to par. Good luck.
 

Dxer

Senior Member
Well, the guy has an excellent reputation and claims no fungus, haze or anything wrong with the glass. Only damage on the lens itself is a little ding on the filter threads which I believe I can fix anyway.

That being said, I just wonder why nobody else bid it up much higher than my winning bid? Why I was questioning if the lens was any good at all back in the day.
 

Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
You'll probably want to seriously consider installing an aftermarket focussing screen in your D3100. If it's like the D3200, the stock focussing screen is pretty much useless for manual focussing. Alas, I just now tried to do the eBay search that used to reliably yield such a screen, and failed. It may take some more doing to find it, but I'm sure it's out there—an aftermarket focus screen more in the style of those used in old classic film SLR's which a split prism in the middle.
 
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nzswift

Senior Member
You'll have to do stop down metering. I don't know is a D3100 is capable of that in which case you'll need a light meter....
 

Dxer

Senior Member
This will be an AI lens and everything will be manual including light metering. So yes, I will need a light meter. :)
An AI-S lens, then the internal light meter is suppose to work while everything else remains manual.
 

rocketman122

Senior Member
This will be an AI lens and everything will be manual including light metering. So yes, I will need a light meter. :)
An AI-S lens, then the internal light meter is suppose to work while everything else remains manual.

whats wrong with shooting and then adjusting? light meter. only thing Id use a light meter for is for studio work to check lighting ratios. just unnecessary I think.
 

Dxer

Senior Member
whats wrong with shooting and then adjusting? light meter. only thing Id use a light meter for is for studio work to check lighting ratios. just unnecessary I think.

Oh, nothing wrong at all. I should have clarified. I DON"T need a light meter, but just trying to state that the light meter in the camera will be IN-OP.
 

Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
You'll have to do stop down metering. I don't know is a D3100 is capable of that in which case you'll need a light meter....

If it's like the D3200, then there is no exposure metering at all with a non-CPU lens. You can only use the camera in “M” mode, and have to set the exposure manually.

I find it easier than using a light meter, to just make a guess, take a shot, and adjust it by trial-and-error.
 

Bob Blaylock

Senior Member
This will be an AI lens and everything will be manual including light metering. So yes, I will need a light meter. :)
An AI-S lens, then the internal light meter is suppose to work while everything else remains manual.

I believe you're mistaken, here. AI-S is a slightly-more advanced version of AI. Still not a CPU lens, and on the D3200, at least, (and surely on your D3100 as well), metering is only available with CPU lenses.
 
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Dxer

Senior Member
I believe you're mistaken, here. AI-S is a slightly-more advanced version of AI. Still not a CPU lens, and on the D3200, at least, (and surely on your D3\100 as well), metering is only available with CPU lenses.

Yes, you are correct. I wasn't sure about the d3000 series ( I am still quite new to the DSLR scene :) ). On some of the more advanced Nikons and some 35mm cameras, metering does work with AI-S lenses since I guess the camera body does it regardless of what lens is attached.
 
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SkvLTD

Senior Member
Link us the auction? Otherwise sounds like a steal if it's as described and for only that much. Might be f/2 though, how big did it look? Shooting @ 1.2 on DX will be a PITA, but great learning experience. And you can always AI it yourself if you ever upgrade to a better body, and you will have to.
 

Dxer

Senior Member
OMG....I am such a blind idiot. I was searching eBay on my phone yesterday when I saw this. I saw a period, not a colon between 1 and 2. LOL....So yes, it isn't a F/1.2. It is a F/2. Oh well. So I didn't get the bargain I thought. It should still work fine though. Just not as good as I hoped. :)

I still have other lenses that I want to pick up before my trip to St. Maarten this November.
 

rocketman122

Senior Member
50 bucks for a 50 ai f2 is not a good price. Try to cancel. U may be hit with unperfornibg buyer mark or some crap like that but i buy enough that they would have no issue cancelling the transaction

Nice catch @SkvLTD
 

Dxer

Senior Member
Nah, I committed to it. I'll take it. I'll practice using an AI lens. And if it takes bad pictures, then I'll just resell it on ebay. :) It's I just feel like such an idiot though thinking I might have found something good. :)
 

SkvLTD

Senior Member
50 bucks for a 50 ai f2 is not a good price. Try to cancel. U may be hit with unperfornibg buyer mark or some crap like that but i buy enough that they would have no issue cancelling the transaction

Nice catch @SkvLTD

I got my own copy ~45, I think it was with shipping, so for a good condition that's not a terrible blow given how much mileage a newcomer can truly put on it and love the experience. Not to mention how much longer it can last, because once 40 some years, what another 100, right? Haha.

And I figured f/2 because lenses always read 1:2 and such for aperture. Probably easy typo to make when listing it, and surely get way more hits in search, haha.
 

oldsalt

Senior Member
Yep - I thought you'd either got a "dud" or a real bargain - $50 for a 1.2 would have been a really sweet deal... I paid $300 for a "mint" 1.2 from japan many months ago, lovely lens, always lusted after one when I was a young guy just starting out with Nikons - never could afford one... but now I have one and it's veeeeeery nice too....anyway good luck with the f2 - you'll have fun learning how to take pictures "just like we did in the olden days"... heh heh
cheers
 

Dxer

Senior Member
Yeah, it's not a 1.2 sadly. Still, I have used it several times now and it is still quite a sharp lens. Very clean.
 

Bill16

Senior Member
My favorite lens while I had the D3100 was the Nikkor 105mm micro non-ai lens converted to ai! I had to go all manual but I was very soon enjoying it and still use manual all the time even though I don't have to! It works better for me that way! :)

I hope you have a real blast with your D3100, like I did when I had mine! :)
 

Dxer

Senior Member
I am having fun with it. It isn't anything fancy of course but it does the job. I already want to upgrade it. :)
But I am going after glass first. Sigma 120-400mm or 150/500mm is next on the agenda I believe. I enjoy
trying to shoot birds and the Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm just doesn't have quite the reach. I wasn't born to be a ninja. lol
 
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