So I bought a 135 f/2.8 AI Nikkor and it ....

S

SamSpade1941

Senior Member
Came attached to this.. I had been looking for a cheap lens to expand my stable and I got a really good deal on this 135mm f/2.8 AI Nikkor lens. For those who do not know , the 135 f/2.8 Nikkor is probably one of the great lenses made by Nikon and they really do not command a huge amount of money. I got this one for way less than what they normally run for. The gentleman I bought the lens from ask me what I was going to use the lens on and I told him I was going to use it on my D40. He ask me if I knew it would not meter on the D40 and I said yes I was aware of that and I told him would use it wide open when the light allowed and use a handheld meter.

He said he had an N70 that works fine, and that I could have it with the lens. I was like totally blown away by his generosity, I know the N70 is not a top tier film camera, but considering my budget for the F4 or F100 I wanted is exactly $0.00 I thought it was pretty cool. After hunting down a copy of the manual for the camera thanks to a website. I have it in full manual mode and it works like a charm with the AI lens. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this little camera actually has many of the features that the more advanced Nikon cameras have on them. It even uses and recognizes my AF S lenses with no issues other than the fact they are DX lenses and I know they will not work right with the frame on the 35mm film. Any way I have worked my way through part of a roll of Fuji Color film and will get it developed soon.


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E

Eye-level

Banned
Nice. I have a 135 Q which is the older non Ai version and Glenn has a 135 too (ais I believe). It is one of the most seriously underrated and overlooked Nikkors there is. Yours is Ai so it works on anything Nikon. You really don't need a meter because you can chimp or look at your histogram. Back in the day 135 was considered a must have portrait lens and as such they made tons of them. They are cheap cheap cheap especially the non Ai. If you have an extra 75-100 bucks to throw around (less for the non Ai) and you like the focal length buy one you will not be disappointed with the performance at all. That image of me in my gallery was made with a 135 by my ten year old kid manual focus and all. I hope Glenn catches this thread and comments on the lens.

That generation of camera and the F100 are bangers with AF. They are almost like having P&S 35mm auto. They meter very good and make taking film snaps almost as easy as using a DSLR.
 
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