Nikon FAQ Version 2.3 Date: Aug 6, 1995 Original maintainer Ken J. McFadden, kjm@ubbpc.tredydev.Unisys.COM Current maintainer Bo-Ming Tong (Version 2.0), bmtong@cs.arizona.edu PREFACE This is a list of frequently asked questions and answers about Nikon 35mm photographic equipment. Comments, submissions and corrections are directed to Bo-Ming Tong (bmtong@cs.arizona.edu). Contributions which specifically address single issues and those which could be directly incorporated into the FAQ by simple cut and paste are most appreciated (you now have an idea of how lazy I am). Furthermore, there are quite a few question marks (?) in the tables which need to be filled out. I occasionally add my own comments to contributions and I mark such as [BMT]. This doument is copyright 1994-95 by the contributors listed in the acknowledgement section below. This document may be copied and distributed freely except for direct commercial advantage. The maintainer and all contributors made their best efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information in this FAQ. However, neither the maintainer nor any contributors assume any responsibility for losses and damages resulting from the use of the information in this FAQ. Use the information at your own risk. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The FAQ has grown tremendously in size from 17k of the original version to 150k of 2.0. This has been made possible by a large number of contributors, including but not limited to the following. If I missed out anyone, please let me know and I'll make amendments. Tom Ascher Alan Barta John Breeden Peter Cheung Kenward Chin John Cofer Norman Diamond Andrew Donkin Don Erway Bob Foringer D. Galensky Peter Hoegel Jr. David Jacobson Allen Johnson Yasha Karant Jansen Lam Grover Larkins John R. Latala Tom Lathrop Yu-Jin Lee Kevin L.J. Lim Peter W.C. Lo Quang-Tuan Luong Joe Martz Ken J. McFadden Fernando Menandro Geoffrey S. Mendelson Steve Morin Bob Neuman Scott Newman Ilkka T. Nissil{ Steve Norvich Alan Peterman Nils Peterzelka Walter Pietsch Laura Elizabeth Poole Daniel A. Probst David Rosen Paul Rubin Zack Sessions Matthew Jay Severt Jim Stover Sepe Susi Bo-Ming Tong J. J. Varley Ben Weiner Lawrence You HISTORY Jan 22, 93 Last update of the Original Nikon FAQ Nov 7, 94 2.0 Alpha Test Version Nov 14, 94 2.0 Beta 1 Jan 16, 95 2.0 Release Version Jan 29, 95 2.02 - various versions of F2 Feb 1, 95 2.04 - Nikon School dates Mar 19, 95 2.1 - Grover's subjective lens evaluations updated Apr 16, 95 2.14 - I added solemn warnings against using f/5.6 lenses with 2x teleconverters (very important for beginners) Jun 27, 95 2.2 - updated info on Nikon mailing list updated 'other sources of information' Jul 3, 95 2.22 - corrected URL for Nikon mailing list updated Subjective Lens Evaluation Aug 6, 95 2.3 - Bob Neuman's addition to Subjective Lens Evaluation CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1.1 Where could I get this FAQ ? 1.2 How to find Nikon in the US 1.3 Other Sources of Information 1.4 Bibliography 1.5+ Is there a Nikon mailing list ? 2 Bodies 2.1* Many camera bodies today seem to be missing important features like depth-of-field preview or mirror lockup, which bodies offer these features? 2.2* Why does LCD aperture display not always match setting on aperture ring? 2.3* Nikon USA uses model numbers like "Nx00x[s]" for camera bodies, but every where else in the world they are different. What are the equivalent models? 2.4* Can Mirror-lock-up be used on F so that no frames are wasted? 2.5* How can I determine depth of field with a body that doesn't have a depth-of-field-preview button? 2.6* Can I do multiple exposures on a single frame, if my camera body doesn't have a multiple exposure switch? 2.7+ What is a N90s (F90X) ? 2.8+ What is a N70 (F70) ? 2.9 Which should I buy, N50 (F50) or N6006 (F601) ? 2.9.1 Similarities 2.9.2 Flash 2.9.3 Metering 2.9.4 Handling 2.9.5 Manual Control 2.9.6 Compatibility 2.10+ How about the old N90 (F90) and N8008s (F801s) ? 2.11+ Is the N5005 (F401x) any good ? 2.12 Help ! My N6006 (F601) does not read film speed correctly ! 2.13 What is a N6000 (F601M) ? 2.14 F2 questions 2.14.1+ What are the differences between F2, F2A and F2AS ? 2.14.2 Shutter speeds of 2 to 10 seconds on F2 2.14.3+ Using an electric cable release on F2/MD2 2.14.4 Can I calibrate the meter of my F2A myself ? 2.14.5 The metering display of my F2A goes out of place, could I fix it myself ? 2.15 Could I use a F4 screen on a F3 ? 2.16+ Program mode and shutter priority on FA 3 Lenses 3.1* Mail order ads sometime list AIS, AF and AF-AIS, are all of these autofocus lenses? 3.2* What do all those "AI", "AF-D", "AI-S", etc stand for ? (Was: Can I use manual focus lenses on auto focus bodies and vice versa?) 3.3* What do those obscure lens designations mean? 3.4 What 'D' type lenses are available ? 3.4.1+ 'D' type lenses from Nikon 3.4.2 Third party 'D' type lenses 3.5 Teleconverters 3.5.1 AF teleconverters 3.5.2 AF-I teleconverters 3.5.3 What is a TC-16A ? 3.5.4 Manual focus teleconverters 3.5.5+ Are the third party converters any good ? 3.6+ Could I fit a tripod collar on a 80-200/2.8 ? 3.7+ Is the Sigma 28/1.8 any good ? 3.8+ What is Nikon lens Series E ? 3.9+ Could I convert a non-AI lens to an AI one ? 3.10+ What does the letters used to designate the non-AI lenses mean ? 3.11+ What are the differences between AI and AI-S lenses ? 4 Flashes 4.1 Is my lens compatible with the internal flash of my N6006 (F601) ? 4.2+ Can I use a flash unit with standard ISO hot shoe on a F3 ? 4.3+ What is the function of each pin of the hot shoe ? 4.4+ What is 3D matrix flash metering ? 4.5 Flash capabilities chart 4.5.1 What are flash modules ? 4.5.2 How do I use these charts ? 4.5.3 Camera feature table 4.5.4 Flash feature table 4.6+ Could I do flash exposure compensation on body/flash combinations without such a feature ? 4.7+ What are all the "matrix balanced fill-in" modes of SB-24 all about ? (planned, not available yet) 5 Others 5.1+ Nikon School 5.1.1+ The Nikon School brochure 5.1.2+ A Review of Nikon School 5.1.3+ Nikon School Dates 5.2+ Underwater Photography APPENDIX A+ Ratings of Nikon lenses by "Chasseur d'Images" APPENDIX B+ Tests of Micro-Nikkors APPENDIX C+ Subjective Lens Evaluations * - from the original Nikon FAQ. + - generous contributions from fellow Nikoners - thanks a whole bunch ! 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Where could I get this FAQ ? This FAQ is obtainable through world-wide web (WWW). The URL address is http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo/nikon-faq It is also obtainable by ftp ftp://ftp.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo/nikon-faq 1.2 How to find Nikon in the US If you are in the US, you may phone Nikon for free brochures at 1-800-NIKON-35. 1.3 Other Sources of Information The other FAQs associated with rec.photo.* are in the following sites: ftp://moink.nmsu.edu/rec.photo ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo ftp://ftp.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/ There you'll find rec.photo.FAQ, Canon EOS FAQ, Camera Feature List, Mail Order Survey, Zuiko (Olympus) Lens Tests, etc, far too numerous to be listed here. 1.4 Bibliography B. Moose Peterson "Nikon System Handbook" Nice book with a history of Nikon, a brief description of every Nikon body or Nikkor lens produced, flashes, accessories, and a price guide to used equipment. 1.5 Is there a Nikon mailing list ? From ard@borg.cs.waikato.ac.nz Thu Jun 22 08:12:48 1995 Date: Thu, 22 Jun 1995 12:08:06 +1200 From: Andrew Donkin Subject: Nikon mailing list. To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu I've set up a mailing list for those interested in Nikon gear, and wondered if you might like to add this information to your Nikon FAQ. Further information is at http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~ard/photo/nikon/ ...and the WWW-impaired can send "help" in the body of an email message to "majordomo@majordomo.cs.waikato.ac.nz" for the usual advice. =========================================================================== Andrew Donkin, UNIX admin, Sch. of CompSci&Math, Waikato Univ, New Zealand Email: ard@cs.waikato.ac.nz HTTP://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~ard/ PGP keyprint:AA-47-E3-D8-AA-BD-02-AC--48-93-BF-EE-FE-38-8C-09 Key 0B0F9FE5 2 BODIES 2.1 Many camera bodies today seem to be missing important features like depth-of-field preview or mirror lockup, which bodies offer these features? There is an AF SLR Camera Features FAQ that covers every conceivable feature for all currently available AF SLR's from all of the popular manufactures. My list only covers some features that I consider important, but it covers many of the manual focus bodies too. The other FAQ is posted with the subject "Camera Features List - AF" by glporter@hebe.calpoly.edu (Glen Porter). The chart below indicates some features and which bodies they are found on. The feature abbreviations are listed first. ISO Flsh - uses an ISO flash shoe for mounting standard flashes NS Flsh - uses a non-standard flash shoe PC Flsh - has PC connector for Studio style flash DOF Prvw - has depth-of-field preview MLU - has mirror lockup Mult Exps - allows multiple exposures on a single frame Spot Mtr - has a spot meter Mtrx Mtr - has matrix metering Auto Brck - allows auto bracketing Mech Rls - can use an inexpensive mechanical cable release Elct Rls - can use an expensive electronic "cable" release No Batt - can be used without a battery No Lith - does not use expensive/short lived lithium batteries Expr Lock - has botton for locking metered exposure then changing composition \ ISO NS PC DOF Mult Spot Mtrx Auto Mech Elct No No Expr Body \ Flsh Flsh Flsh Prvw MLU Exps Mtr Mtr Brck Rls Rls Batt Lith Lock -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F | Y Y Y Y+7 Y Y Y F2 | Y Y Y Y Y Y Y+1 Y Y F2A[S] | Y Y Y Y Y Y Y+1 Y Y F3 | Y Y Y Y Y Y Y+1 Y+5 Y Y F3AF | Y Y Y Y Y Y Y+1 Y+5 Y Y EM | Y Y+6 Y+2 Y+7 Y Y+5 Y FG | Y Y+6 Y+2 Y+7 Y Y+5 Y FG-20 | Y Y+6 Y+2 Y+7 Y Y+5 Y FA | Y Y Y Y+2 Y Y+8 Y Y+1 Y+5 Y FM | Y Y Y Y+2 Y Y Y+1 Y Y FM2 | Y Y Y Y+2 Y Y Y+1 Y Y FE | Y Y Y Y+2 Y Y Y+1 Y+5 Y FE2 | Y Y Y Y+2 Y Y Y+1 Y+5 Y Y F4 | Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y+3 Y Y Y Y N2000 | Y Y+6 Y Y Y N2020 | Y Y+6 Y Y Y N4004[s] | Y Y+6 Y+9 Y Y N5005 | Y Y+6 ?+A Y Y Y N6000 | Y Y+6 Y Y Y Y N6006 | Y Y+6 Y Y Y Y Y N8008 | Y Y+4 Y Y Y Y+3 Y Y Y N8008s | Y Y+4 Y Y Y Y Y+3 Y Y Y N50 | Y Y+6 Y Y N70 | Y Y+6 Y Y Y Y Y N90 | Y Y Y Y+3 Y Y Y+3 Y Y Y N90s | Y Y Y Y+3 Y Y Y+3 Y Y Y 1 = with accessory motor drive 2 = pseudo MLU - mirror locks up prior to exposure with self-timer 3 = with proper accessory data back 4 = with special adapter 5 = has only 1 shutter speed without a battery 6 = "potentially dangerous" method of depth-of-field preview is possible (see question #8) 7 = "unofficial" method of multiple exposures is possible (see section 2.6) 8 = FA has AMP (automatic multi-pattern metering), which was the prototype for matrix metering 9 = N4004[s] matrix metering uses 3 segments instead of 5 A = T (timed exposure) on shutter speed dial delays exposure for 0.5 seconds after pressing shutter release according to Andreas Wolpers (wolpers@ira.uka.de). could this delay be for a pseudo MLU prior to exposure? * you can't use cable releases at all on N4004[s]/5005/50 2.2 Why does LCD aperture display not always match setting on aperture ring? Newer lenses with CPUs can determine their effective aperture, which may be different from the aperture set on the ring. Camera bodies that can read this information from the lens, display the effective aperature on their LCD displays. The F4 only displays this information on the LCD of MF-23 and MF-24 data backs. CPU lenses that can have different set and effective apertures include: - Micro (marco) lenses, due to bellows factor at high magnifications, and - Non-constant aperture zoom lenses (have smaller effective apertures at longer focal lengths 2.3 Nikon USA uses model numbers like "Nx00x[s]" for camera bodies, but every where else in the world they are different. What are the equivalent models? N2000 = F-301 | N5005 = F-401X | N8008 = F-801 N2020 = F-501 | | N8008s = F-801s N4004 = F-401 | N6006 = F-601 | N90 = F90 N4004s = F-401s | N6000 = F-601M | N90s = F90X | N70 = F70 | N50 = F50 2.4 Can Mirror-lock-up be used on F so that no frames are wasted? Yes. MLU and the shutter release interact on the F. MLU normally occurs after pressing the shutter release - you fire a frame and get MLU on the next one. Also if you advance the film prior to dropping the lockup, you waste a frame because the mirror doesn't come down. The "tapping" technique for MLU without losing frames on the F is: Advance film, compose, turn up lockup, tap shutter release lightly but sharply, fire shutter release using self timer, drop lockup, advance film. 2.5 How can I determine depth of field with a body that doesn't have a depth-of-field-preview button? The "safe" method is to use the depth of field markings on the lens barrel, but not all lenses have these markings (most or all AF zooms lack the markings). The "dangerous" method is to unlock the lens from the lens mount and turn it to the position where you would remove it from the body, but hold the lens against the body. At this position the lens is stopped to the set aperture and you get the same effect as a depth-of-field- preview button. You will have to lock the lens in its normal position before making the exposure. BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DON'T DROP YOUR CAMERA AND/OR LENS WHILE USING THIS METHOD. This method is performed by professional stunt photographers; please don't try this at home. >8^) 2.6 Can I do multiple exposures on a single frame, if my camera body doesn't have a multiple exposure switch? On some bodies, the answer is yes, sort of. The way to do this is to disengage the film advance and then cock the shutter with the film advance lever. The problem is that the film may still move a little anyway, so frame registration may not be exact. On the Nikon F, turn the film advance/rewind collar to the rewind position before recocking the shutter with the film advance lever. Reset the collar after the completing the last exposure on the frame. On the EM, FG and FG-20, press the film rewind button on the bottom of the camera before recocking the shutter with the film advance lever. It is highly recommended to also press down on the film rewind crank assembly while recocking the shutter to ensure that the film doesn't move too much. The rewind button will reset itself each time the film advance lever is used, so you will have to press the rewind button for each additional exposure you make on the frame. The N8008[s] bodies have a multiple exposure switch. On the other Nx00x series cameras, you are probably out of luck. Built in motor driven film advance and rewind prevent the disengaging of film advance from the non-existant film advance lever. I'm not sure, but the N2000 and N2020 may still have film advance levers, but I'm almost certain that the N4004[s], N5005, N6000 and N6006 all don't. [N2000 and N2020 do not have film advance levers - BMT] I believe that the frame counter goes up each time you use the film advance lever, even if you don't really move on to the next frame. So you will have to keep track of the actual frame you are on manually. 2.7 What is a N90s (F90X) ? From: karant@gallium (Dr. Yasha Karant) Newsgroups: rec.photo.advanced,rec.photo Subject: Nikon USA N90s specs ... Date: 22 Sep 1994 05:57:14 GMT Through contacts I have just received the new Nikon USA N90s brochure which will be in some camera stores in a few weeks/months. I have also briefly seen the camera, not being one who gets to test new Nikon equipment pre-release. The brochure does *not* make it clear if the camera is being aimed towards pros or amateurs (unlike the original N90 and F4s brochures which seem pro oriented). It has 10 pages of marketing, which includes testimonials from four pros, one of which is dated in June 94, all praising the performance of the camera. Near the end of the brochure, some technical information does appear. I quote from pg. 28 of the brochure: "Improved Focusing Speed" Autofocus software and mechanism have been improved for faster autofocus operation. AF operation time between each exposure is faster because (1) shorter mirror movement time has lessened the time before the next focus detection; (2) shutter charge time is shorter; and (3) an improved mechanism with a new coreless motor makes film advance speed faster. In addition, a new 2X faster CPU, 25% faster lens drive and new algorithms that are used to detect focus and operate the lens all add substantially to the N90s's faster performance." (end quote) One assumes "improved" means improved over the N90, not the F4, for example. Except for the clock doubling of the CPU (which is what I assume 2X means) and a film advance motor change, it sounds to me as though there may be bugs in the original N90 focus algorithms. The higher speed is not claimed to be achieved through the booster (MB-10, which accepts MS-11 to use lithium CR123A batteries and standard alkaline or NiCads with MS-10 battery holder) grip/lower shutter release, as this unit still uses 4 AA batteries as does the body without MB-10. Also, other than using the MS-11, Nikon specifically states *not* to use AA-type lithium batteries. The film advance speeds are given as: 4.3 fps in continuous high, 2.0 fps in continuous low, and in Focus Tracking, shooting speed is approximately 4.1 fps . There are some minor changes in the data link, but no RS-232 link mentioned, only the proprietary Sharp EO link. If anyone out there has actually *used* the N90s (F90x most places), field comparisons to the N90 would be interesting. Does it *really* autofocus significantly faster on moving targets (say birds flying across the field of view) compared to the "old" N90? The hype testimonials do not convince this photographer (but I can say, in side by side comparison on the same targets -- the N90 is significantly faster and hunts less than either a F4 or N8008 [F801]). By the way, looking at the brochure of N90s/MB-10 and the one sample I saw, the combination "looks" a lot like a Canon EOS with booster, especially the EOS-1. Yasha Karant karant@gallium.csusb.edu 2.8 What is a N70 (F70) ? From: Matthew Jay Severt Subject: nikon FAQ To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu (Bo-Ming Tong) Date: Tue, 15 Nov 1994 21:38:49 -0600 (CST) um er here are some of the specifications about the n-70 from the nikons brochure..... first of all i would be reluctant to describe it's interface as being similar to the n-50's.. _IMO_ it is _much_ more similar to the n-90 with the command dial set up. it also has the following modes for ae... auto multi program portrait hyperfocal landscape close-up sport silhouette night scene and motion effect (yes some are shared w the n-50, but so are many w the n-90) shutter speed 1/4000th sync 1/125th built in flash w red eye reduction bulb guide #46 ISO 100 [in feet - 14m in meters - BMT] slow and rear sync possible... the flash also is hooked up to the 5 segment ttl multi sensor and does the monitor preflash thing.... 3 light meters.... matrix (8 segment 3D) center weighted spot the lcd panel info lists it as having info for all mode exposure bracketing/flash exposure bracketing and frame counter/compensation value. the above mentioned panel is also lit, and seems to be on the large side (judging from the brochures photos) it has a pleasantly wide af sensor 7mm horizontal..3mm vertical the built in drive at its high speed is 3.7 frames per second.... it also (i think i forgot to mention this in other posts (have to check on that ...)) has a quick recall button that saves up to 3 favorite camera settings. it uses lithium batteries... 2- 123 cells.... ------------->it does not have a depth of field preview as near as i can determine:(.... that would seem to its achilles heel. in my opinion a shame since i nearly use that button on the 8008 more than the shutter (yeah so what if i'm indecisive about my depth of field :) )....if someone proves me wrong on this i will be delighted! still it would seem to be in very much the same class as the 8008... i can honestly state that the 1/8000th of a second top shutter has been of limited utility for me, the 1/250 flash synch is another story..... all in all a camera well suited for much of the advanced amateur work being done. matthew........ [even though it has the severe limitation of the lack of DOF preview, it is still quite an impressive camera. Built in flash controls include rear curtain sync, flash exposure compensation and flash bracketing. These affect the external flash as well, even if it is only a half-dedicated flash. The built-in flash lifts up very high to reduce the risk of lens blocking and red-eye - BMT] 2.9 Which should I buy, N50 (F50) or N6006 (F601) ? The following is taken from the Nikon N50 vs N6006 FAQ, which was maintained by Bo-Ming Tong (i.e. me) and version 1.13 got merged into the larger Nikon FAQ. Actually, you'll find the materials in this whole section 2.9 to be pretty self-contained. It intends to summarize the differences between a Nikon N50 and a N6006. Outside of the US the N50 is known as F50 and the N6006 as F601. N6006 (F601) will be discontinued and replaced by N70 (F70), but that does not necessarily mean you should get the newer model instead because the newer model is much more expensive. It depends on whether you need the extra advantages of an N70 (better AF, high internal flash, red-eye reduction lamp, etc) or not. This section is targeted at beginners and I tried to use as few technical jargon as possible. Acknowledgements to the contributors of the original N50 vs N6006 FAQ: David Savitt (savitt@netcom.com) read a preliminary version of this FAQ and raised illuminating questions which lead to the clarification of a number of details. He read version 1.0 and corrected many of the mistakes I made. Matthew Jay Severt and Sudershan Goyal gave me invaluable suggestions which has been incorporated in version 1.1. Peter Hoegel Jr. (ph22@cornell.edu) helped me correct one of the mistakes I made in the section on handling, incorporated in V1.11. Gord Jeoffroy gave me great suggestions which are incorporated into 1.12. Last but not least, I would like to thank all of you who've sent me thank you letters. I greatly appreciate them and they're great encouragement for me to continue maintaining this FAQ. 2.9.1 Similarities a. Both N50 and N6006 uses the same AM200 autofocusing system, which works at light levels as low as EV -1 (EV is a measurement of the amount of light, here it suffices to say that EV -1 is the best you'll find on any AF SLR camera of any make). b. Both have shutter speeds ranging from 30 sec. to 1/2000 and a flash sync speed of 1/125 (which is to say when you use a flash the shutter speed can only be 1/125 or slower). c. Both cameras do NOT have depth-of-field preview function. d. Both have metal mount rings. e. There is NO red-eye reduction on both models. The lowest Nikon model which supports red-eye reduction, as of 11/94, is N70. Here is an excerpt, quoted from rec.photo FAQ, concerning what "red-eye" is. "What can I do about people's eye's turning red in my photos? This is red-eye, caused by light from your flash bouncing off the subject's retina, back through the camera lens. Red-eye reducing flashes emit a series of low-level flashes before the shutter fires, to cause the subject's iris to close a little, reducing the effect. Increasing the ambient light, even if only for a moment (with a flashlight, say, pointed at the subject's eyes) will accomplish a similar effect. Turning up the room lights, if possible, should help in the same way. These methods work, but to a limited extent. A better solution is to move the flash away from the lens, so the bouncing light misses the lens. This can only be accomplished with detachable flash units, and one usually does so by putting the flash on a bracket, mounting it some distance from the lens. Lastly, if you can bounce the flash off the ceiling, or even diffuse it to some extent, red-eye will be reduced. Note that in these cases, you must adjust your exposure, as less light from the flash will actually reach the subject." 2.9.2 Flash Both cameras have an internal flash with a guide number of 13 meters/ISO 100 (guide number is a measurement of a flash's strength). However, N50's internal flash only covers lenses with focal lengths of 35mm or above, but N6006 can cover a 28mm lens. Therefore, in a sense the flash of N6006 is more powerful than that of N50. If you have a 28-70 lens, you can use it without problems on a N6006, but if you use it on a N50, you will see dark edges when the lens is zoomed to 28mm. If your lens is too large and/or too long, it is possible that the internal flash is blocked by the lens itself, resulting in a shadow at the bottom of the photograph at certain focal lengths. Nikon has a list of lenses with which this happens. See the N6006 and N50 bronchures for details. A list of lenses compatible with N6006's internal flash is given in section 4.1. On a N6006 you can set two things on the internal flash: *rear-curtain sync* means that the flash is fired just before the shutter closes. Imagine shooting a motorcylist with the shutter opening for 1 second and the flash fires at the end. The resulting photograph will be a tack sharp motorcyclist with a trail behind. If this feature is not used the flash will be fired at the very beginning, resulting in a trail *in front*. You can also set the *flash exposure compensation* which allows you to adjust the relative brightness of your subject (illuminated by the flash) and the background (too far away to be illuminated by the flash). You can experiment with and use this control to attain the precise balance you want to have. You CANNOT do these things with the internal flash of a N50. A complete explanation immediately follows. These two settings of N6006 also affect the external flash (unlike other cameras in the Nikon line). It is useful to classify flashes into fully-dedicated, half-dedicated and non-dedicated. Examples are: Full: Nikon SB-24, 25, 26, Sigma EF430 for Nikon, Metz 40 MZ-2, 32 MZ-3 (need SCA 3401 adapter) Half: Nikon SB-20, SB-23, Vivitar 736AF Non: Vivitar 283 If you have a N6006, there is no point to spend more money on a fully-dedicated because N6006 cannot use the advanced features on them. A fully-dedicated behaves just like a half-dedicated. You can get the above two settings (rear curtain sync and flash exposure compensation) on both a full-dedicated and a half-dedicated, in the case of N6006. Of course, if your plan is to upgrade later to a higher Nikon model, such as N90s (F90X), N8008s (F801s), and F4, you may consider buying a full-dedicated flash even though your N6006 cannot utilize its advanced features. With an N50, you cannot have rear-curtain sync at all (thanks to Bob Foringer for telling me this). A half-dedicated does not give you flash exposure compensation, but a fully-dedicated does. Kenward Chin told me that an SB-25 will not autozoom on a N50. Therefore, neither the N6006 nor the N50 have the autozoom flash function, NO MATTER what flash you use. You will get it on higher models (N70, N8008s, N90s), and with a fully dedicated flash (SB- 24/25/26, Metz 40 MZ-2, 32 MZ-3, 50 MZ-5, Sigma EF 430). So what an autozoom flash really is ? The flash's angle of coverage changes automatically when you zoom the lens. The effect is illustrated as follows. \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Flash Flash Flash / / / / / / / / / Wide (28mm) Standard (50mm) tele (80mm) SUMMARY (Int means the internal flash) N6006 Int Full Half Non Autozoom N N N N Rear curtain Y Y Y N Flash comp Y Y Y N N50 Int Full Half Non Autozoom N N N N Rear curtain N N N N Flash comp N Y N N 2.9.3 Metering Metering is at least as important as autofocusing, since metering determines how much light should reach the film - refer to the introduction to photography FAQ for details (ftp moink.nmsu.edu, directory rec.photo). The N50 has 3D matrix metering capability when a 'D' series lens is used. Normally, there is a suffix after the lens' specification - like 35-80/4-5.6D, but a non-D lens has no such a suffix (35-70/3.3-4.5). Notice, however, that unlike N90, N50 does not have any 3D *flash* matrix metering. Matrix metering is a computerized procedure to analyze the scene and determine the proper amount of light to reach the film. With 3D matrix metering, the focusing distance is also considered by the camera's computer when it makes metering decisions. Although the N6006 does not have any 3D matrix metering (which means that you won't have a smarter N6006 by putting a 'D' lens on it), it does have a 3.5mm spot meter. The viewfinder frame is 24mm x 36mm, and this 3.5mm circle is a small area compared to the whole frame. In the spotmetering mode, the camera measures how much light there is only within this small 3.5mm circle. This feature is important for some people: you get to know beforehand which parts of your photograph will come out nice (properly exposed) and which will lose details (outside of the film's latitude). This is outside the scope of this FAQ. Right now, it suffices to say that me, a user of N6006 and more advanced models such as F801s (N8008s), feel that this feature is extremely important. It did not take me too long to learn this technique, but it takes a long time for *each* picture. I use about 1 minute to scan around the scene before I take just *one* shot. If you don't have the time and patience, then just let the computer do it (matrix metering). SUMMARY N6006 N50 3D matrix metering N with 'D' lenses Matrix metering with any AF lenses with any AF lenses Center-weighted Y Y Spot-metering Y N 2.9.4 Handling The user interfaces of N50 are N6006 are completely different. The N50 has a push button interface and N6006 uses dials. Try these out in a local camera shop and decide for yourself which one suits you best. The N50 has a switch which lets you switch to "simple" mode instantly, and on the N6006 it is slightly slower to do the same thing. In the "simple" mode the camera behaves as a fully-automatic point-n-shoot. N50 has a number of "program modes" like scenic, sport, portrait, silhoutte, night-scene and close-up, etc. They may be useful for people who do not know much about photography. They do not increase the camera's power as what these "program modes" do can also be done manually. N6006 has only 2 general program modes but no specific ones. My subjective opinion is that such "program modes" are completely useless because if I don't have time, I don't have time to choose the right program mode and I just use the general program. If I have time, I do things manually. They are not difficult to learn. Peter Hoegel Jr. (ph22@cornell.edu) informed me that, by pushing any two of the four function buttons (which are located on the top of the camera) at the same time for two seconds, the 6006 swiches back to "simple" mode (Pm, single advance, matrix metering, backlight compensation, etc). [Oops I don't know this feature of my OWN camera !] The N6006 accepts a cheap, mechanical cable shutter release, which is screwed to the camera's shutter release. The N50 does not have any kind of shutter release. However, it offers a 'T' mode (timed exposure). You enter the amount of time (say 1 minute) and it will open the shutter in that period of time. Do NOT confuse the T mode with the self timer. Self timer gives you time to pose before the picture is taken, but T mode specifies how long the shutter will open. By the way, both N50 and N6006 have self-timers. 2.9.5 Manual Control N50 allows you to manually set shutter speeds and aperture in 1/2 stops increments. N6006 allows you to set them in 1 stop increments (that is to say, N50 gives you more precise manual control over shutter speed and aperture). However, if you let the camera determine the shutter speed for you (i.e. in aperture priority or program modes), the shutter is 'stepless'. In other words, it would be 1/147 sec or 1/67 sec if the camera deems appropiate. N6006 allows you to set exposure compensation to +/-5 EV in 1/3 stop increments. N50 allows you to set the same parameter to +/-5 EV in 1/2 stop increments. This time, N6006 offers more precise control. 2.9.6 Compatibility You can fit almost all Nikon-mount lenses on N50 and N6006, with the exception of very old "non-AI" lenses. However, some features will be lost if you use manual focus lenses on them, as follows. SUMMARY N6006 N50 non-AI lenses cannot be used cannot be used AI, AI-S (manual) no matrix metering no metering at all Note that you can only use manual exposure mode (don't confuse the manual exposure mode and the manual focusing mode. Focusing and exposure are two orthogonal issues) when you use a manual focus lens on a N50 and there is no metering provided. This means you must have an external light meter or that you are very experienced in "guessing" exposure. If you are not, don't count on using manual focus lenses on a N50. On the other hand, manual focus lenses work well on N6006. Matrix metering will not work, and so are program mode and shutter priority modes. However, the limitation is much less severe than N50, and the average user does not think such minor limitations on N6006 are limitations at all. A great feature of the N6006 is that when you use manual focus lenses, the AF system will guide you with left and right arrows inside the viewfinder to focus manually. When your focus is dead on, you will see a dot inside the viewfinder. On the N50, only the dot is present. You only have a yes/no answer (in focus/not in focus). 2.10 How about the old N90 (F90) and N8008s (F801s) ? From: newman@broke.enet.dec.com (Scott Newman) Newsgroups: rec.photo Subject: Re: Nikon F-90 vs F-801s? Date: 9 SEP 94 09:08:58 I currently own both an N90 and an 8008s. The following is my opinion. N90 advantages over 8008s ------------------------- - much improved flash capability (not perfect, as others have noted) - much better autofocus (much quicker, can handle vertical lines) - tons of automation (none of which I use) - minor: frame counter in viewfinder (I wouldn't have thought this would be useful, but I find I miss it on the 8008s) - minor: more comfortable to hold (IMHO) 8008s advantages over N90 ------------------------- - +/- 2 stop "analogue display" (*) - less expensive - less expensive accessories - no temptation to upgrade to "D" lenses (*) I shoot in manual mode with spot metering most of the time. For slides, I usually want to check white/light objects to make sure they aren't much more than 1.5 stops over. With the N90's +/-1 stop display, I need to stop down to see how much over one stop some particular feature is. With the 8008s, I don't have to because the display covers a +/-2 stop range. I bought the N90 first, then bought a used 8008s to replace my N2020 as a second body. After being impressed by all of the automation on the N90, I find that I shoot in manual mode most of the time -- often using manual focus as well. I find that the N90's autofocus, while fast, is not fast enough for action (sports) shots, and my point of focus is seldom in the middle of the viewfinder. Scott 2.11+ Is the N5005 (F401x) any good ? Date: Mon, 14 Nov 1994 17:53:39 -0500 From: Fernando Menandro Message-Id: <199411142253.RAA03724@felix.seas.gwu.edu> To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu (Bo-Ming Tong) Subject: Re: Nikon FAQ 2.0 Beta I find one thing specially annoying in the 5005: there is no way to set the film type (100, 200, etc) manually. It only takes DX coded film, and does not accept rewinded cartridges. This can be very expensive if you become an avid photographer. I know the 6006 allows you to do it and think most new cameras should do it, but if they don't (N50 ?) there should be a warning to the beginners. [The N5005 also lacks the spot meter on a higher model like N6006 or N70. However, you get half-stop aperture setting on a N5005 - BMT] 2.12 Help ! My N6006 (F601) does not read film speed correctly ! From me In article , Hudepohl PMJ wrote: >A few days ago I posted a message, in which I asked for some help >because my Nikon F601 somehow saw an ISO 100 film as ISO 200. > >I haven't figured it out yet, but when I removed the battery and put >it back in again, the camera indicated ISO 100. >After completing the roll, rewinding and re-loading (same film, just >for testing), the camera also indicated ISO 100. The DX-code seems fine, >no scratches or whatsoever. Dear Patrick, Your N6006 (F601) is fine. You push the yellow button and while holding it pressing the ISO button which is also marked in yellow as 'DX'. If you turn on DX coding 'DX' will show on the top deck LCD. Press it again and DX coding will be turned off. You might have accidentally turned it off. Since you remove the battery the memory is erased and everything is fine again. 2.13 What is a N6000 (F601M) ? An F601M (N6000 in the US) is a F601 (N6006 in the US) minus autofocus, internal flash and spot metering. 2.14 F2 questions 2.14.1 What are the differences between F2, F2A and F2AS ? Newsgroups: rec.photo.help From: dg@mthost1.mt.att.com (131G30000-D.GALENSKY(MT4743)1019MT) Subject: Re: Nikon F2, F2A, and F2A(S) differences Date: Thu, 26 Jan 1995 19:51:09 GMT In article <3g8cjp$nbu@netaxs.com>, Mark J. Rosen wrote: >What is the difference between an F2, an F2A, and an F2A(S)? the finder. there are four: A, S, SB, and AS. AI is desirable to avoid having to recalibrate the meter when changing to a lens of a different maximum aperture. the ring resistor is not desirable as the part is no longer in manufacture and has low reliability (either failed by now or prbably imminent failure). the silicon blue photodiode metering is a much more sensitive meter (to EV -3 i think.) S SB A AS auto indexing no no yes yes ring resistor yes no yes no silicon blue no yes no yes photodiode thus the AS is the most desirable finder. also, since the S and AS were the last to be introduced, if the finder and body had been kept together, these bodies will have had the advantage of any minor internal modifications that may have been made along the way. my F2AS is a 1978 model, for example. [The model numbers of the S, SB, A and AS finders are DP-2, DP-3, DP-11 and DP-12 respectively. There exists older finders for F2. We call a F2 with a meterless prism a F2 and the a F2 with TTL finder DP-1 a F2 Photomic - BMT] 2.14.2 Shutter speeds of 2 to 10 seconds on F2 Alan Barta (72762.3572@compuserve.com) told me this neat little trick and all credits should go to him. Set the ring around the shutter release to 'T' mode. Set the self timer to the shutter speed you want (2 to 10 seconds), and trip off the shutter by pressing the shutter release. The shutter will open and the self timer will start counting. The shutter will close when the timer stops. On a F2AS, you could meter for the shutter speeds of 2 to 8 seconds as well. Turn the shutter speed dial to 1 second, and while depressing the tiny silver button at the center of the film speed dial, continue to turn the shutter speed dial. You will see the shutter speeds 2, 4 and 8 printed in green. 2.15.3 Using an electric cable release on F2/MD2 From jrl@53iss6.waterloo.ncr.com Wed Jan 4 00:46:35 1995 Subject: Nikon FAQ To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 11:36:05 -0500 (EST) From: "John R. Latala" If you put an MD-2 motor drive on an F2 body then you can get an electric shutter release in two ways. The more expensive of the two ways consists of getting a special extension cord for the motor release. The MD-2 has a fire button and a rotating collar for controlling whether the motor drive is locked or in single or continuous fire mode. By hitting a release this little section can be removed from the motor drive. You then plug the extension cord into the hole and the piece you pulled out then fits into the end of the extension cord. With the extension cord in place you can use the fire button or the collar to control single/continous fire. The second way to get an electric release is to yet another cord. On the front of the motor drive there's a little black plastic cover that you can unscrew. Under the cover is a keyed plug with three contacts. Two of the contacts are power and ground. The third contact is the fire button. If you ground this contact the camera will fire. If the motor is in single frame mode then it will fire shutter once. If the motor is on continuous fire it will keep cycling for as long as you have the contact grounded. Nikon sells a number of things that plug into this plug. There's an MR-2 shutter release that helps when the camera is being held vertical. There's a cable that ends in two banana plugs. Short the plugs together and the camera fires. I've been using this quite regularly to do computer controlled time lapse photography. If you pull the battery pack off then this same plug can be used to supply power to the motor drive from some external sources instead of eating into the batteries. I can't think of the number but there's an external power source (MP-something?) that's used with the ring light or some such. I've never had a chance to use one but this plug is also used by Nikon's wireless radio shutter release. -- john.Latala@Waterloo.ATTGIS.COM AT&T Global Information Solutions Waterloo, Ontario (formerly NCR Canada Ltd.) Canada N2J 4G5 (519) 884-1710 x5454 2.14.4 Can I calibrate the meter of my F2A myself ? Depends on how much risk you are willing to take. Use the following information at your own risk; I will not be resposible if you damage your beloved camera. I've calibrated the meters of two DP-11's successfully. May work on DP-1/2/3/12 as well. First find some reference point (a handheld meter or another camera), set to ISO 400 (or any other convenient point) and take reading. Transfer the reading to your camera. Make sure that it is within the EV 1-17 (ISO 100, 50/1.4) metering range of your metering prism. Next, use the ISO dial to bring the needle to the center. When you are done, unscrew the three screws on the ISO dial. Now the ISO dial should rotate freely. Turn the dial to 400 and put back the screws. You are done. 2.14.5 The metering display of my F2A goes out of place, could I fix it myself ? Again, try at your own risk. Remove the prism and look at the bottom. Near the Nikon label you'll find two very tiny screws held in place with some cement. These two are used to adjust the position of the metering display you'll see in the viewfinder. NEVER unscrew them too much or you'll not be able to put them back in again without disassembling the whole prism. 2.15 Could I use a F4 screen on a F3 ? From ilu@niksula.hut.fi Sat May 13 14:14 MST 1995 From: Ilkka Nissil{ Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 00:14:25 +0300 To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu Subject: Re: F4 screen in an F3? Newsgroups: rec.photo.misc Organization: Helsinki University of Technology The F4 screens fit very nicely on an F3. There is a difference in the metal frame (the F3 screens have a hole which fits a plug in the body) but when you put the F4 screen in, the plug goes inside the body (spring behind it). No mechanical stress, everything fits like charm. Ilkka 2.16 Program mode and shutter priority on FA Date: Tue, 15 Nov 94 11:54:44 CST From: stover@asl.dl.nec.com (Jim Stover) To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu Subject: Re: Nikon FAQ and AI-S lenses In order for the FA (and others) to perform the shutter priority or program modes the camera must be able to stop down the lens to a calculated value. The operator sets the lens for the smallest aperature but focuses wide open. There is a lever the camera uses to hold the lens wide open during focusing/composing prior to shutter release. Normally, during aperature priority the operator has set the lens, and the camera needs only release the lever to get the correct aperature. In shutter priority and program modes, the camera uses the lever to set the aperature. On AI lenses, there is not necessarily a linear correlation between lever movement and aperature. Thus the camera may not be able to set the aperture accurately. AI-S lenses have a linear relationship between lever movement and aperature. Thus, in shutter priority and program modes the aperature can be set accurately. The FA detects AI lenses and attempts to set the aperature correctly in shutter priority and program modes. Once stopped down, the FA makes another exposure measurement and then adjusts the shutter speed to correct for any inaccuracy. For AI-S lenses it does not need to perform this extra step. Thus, AI-S lenses allow much more accurate exposure in shutter priority and program modes and you get the selected shutter speed in shutter priority mode. [probably this is the reason why AE lock is not available on the FA - BMT] AI-S lenses also have a notch to indicate if they are shorter than 135 mm (not longer!). The FA selects a "slower" program in program mode. For AI and longer AI-S lenses it uses the faster program to reduce the effect of operator shake. This is the reverse of your explaination and includes the "vague feature" comment. Thus AI-S lenses have two distinct features, linear lever movement and the notch for short lenses. Also, Series E lenses are AI-S and the smallest aperature number is a different color on AI-S lenses. 3 LENSES 3.1 Mail order ads sometime list AIS, AF and AF-AIS, are all of these autofocus lenses? No. All autofocus lenses incorporate AIS metering, but if the ad doesn't mention AF then the lens is almost certainly manual focus. 3.2 What do all those "AI", "AF-D", "AI-S", etc stand for ? (Was: Can I use manual focus lenses on auto focus bodies and vice versa?) In general the answer is YES, however there are some restrictions. Some older manual focus lenses should never be mounted on the more recent bodies. Plus you may lose certain camera features like programmed exposure mode on some bodies when you use manual focus lenses. A chart below explains the restrictions. The categories of lenses are: "pre AI" - [F-mount + meter-coupling-shoe] MOUNTING "pre AI" LENSES ON SOME CAMERAS CAN DAMAGE THEM; lenses not incorporating AI meter coupling "ridge" to indicate aperture ring setting to the meter ("pre AI" lenses have a "shoe" instead, this shoe is found on some later lenses); "pre AI" lenses include all lenses manufactured prior to 1977?; Nikon used to offer an upgrade service to convert older lenses to AI, but now this service is only offered by a few camera repair shops AI - [F-mount + meter-coupling-shoe + AI-metering] lenses that incorporate AI metering feature introduced in 1977 (1978?) Series E - [F-mount + AI-metering] same as AI (expect missing meter coupling shoe for "pre AI" bodies), lenses in this series are less expensive and marketed toward people who purchased the inexpensive EM body AI-S - [F-mount + meter-coupling-shoe + AI-S-metering(=AI + something)] upgrade to AI standard - changes include: 1) a scoop that indicates if lens is 135mm or longer & 2) a tab on the lens to indicate maximum aperture(?) (this is outdated for CPU bodies as CPU lenses now indicate this electronically); offers some vague features to certain cameras, like: choosing high/low speed programs on FA, permits matrix metering on F4, ... F3AF - [F-mount + meter-coupling-shoe + AI-S-metering + AF-by-lens-motor] original AF offered in 1983; only 2 or 3 lenses in this series; can only AF on F3AF and F4, no other bodies have the software to drive their AF mechanisms; never really took off and Nikon forgot about AF until Minolta and others made a go at it years later AF - [F-mount + AI-S-metering + AF-by-body-motor + CPU] newer AF introduced slightly after Minolta AF SLRs came out; first lenses to incorporate CPUs; unlike earlier F3AF lenses, these use a motor in the camera body to focus the lens AI-P - [F-mount + AI-S-metering + CPU] manual focus, but includes a CPU which is necessary for certain features on certain bodies; only lens in this series is 500mm f/4 EDIF P AF-D - [F-mount + AI-S-metering + CPU + AF-by-body-motor + distance-encoder] upgrade to AF that includes an encoder to indicate how far way the subject is from the camera - this information is used for calculating exposure with the new matrix metering introduced with the N90 AF-I - [F-mount + AI-S-metering + CPU + AF-by-lens-motor + distance-encoder] new motor in lens style AF; only F4 and N90 have software to drive their AF mechanisms; only the N90 takes advantage of the distance encoding \ "pre" Series Body \ AI AI E AI-S F3AF AF AI-P AF-D AF-I -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F | M M M+1 M M M+1 M+1 M+15 M+15 F2 | M M M+1 M M M+1 M+1 M+15 M+15 F2A[S] | M M M M M M M M+5 M+5 F3 | M M M M M M M M+5 M+5 F3AF | M M M M A M M M+5 M+5 EM | - M M M M M M M+5 M+5 FG | - M M M M M M M+5 M+5 FG-20 | - M M M M M M M+5 M+5 FA | - M M M M M M M+5 M+5 FM | M M M M M M M M+5 M+5 FM2 | - M M M M M M M+5 M+5 FE | M M M M M M M M+5 M+5 FE2 | - M M M M M M M+5 M+5 F4 | M M+23 M+23 M+2 A+2 A M A+5 A+5 N2000 | - M M M M M M M+5 M+5 N2020 | - M M M M A M A+5 M+5 N4004[s] | - M+234 M+234 M+234 M+234 A M A+5 M+5 N5005 | - M+23 M+23 M+23 M+23 A M A+5 M+5 N6000 | - M+23 M+23 M+23 M+23 M M M+5 M+5 N6006 | - M+23 M+23 M+23 M+23 A M A+5 M+5 N8008[s] | - M+23 M+23 M+23 M+23 A M A+5 M+5 N90 | - M+23 M+23 M+23 M+23 A M A A N70 | - M+23 M+23 M+23 M+23 A M A A N50 | - M+234 M+234 M+234 M+234 A M A M M = manual focusing only (even if both body and lens support some form of auto focus) A = auto focus possible - = mounting "pre AI" lenses on these bodies will squash AI mechanism on body, void warranty and most likely damage the camera (NOTE: there are camera repair shops that can convert most "pre AI" lenses to AI) + = restricted functionality, see definitions of numbers following the "+" below 1 = need meter coupling shoe added to aperture ring for older style camera meters to work 2 = lose program and shutter priority exposure modes 3 = lose matrix metering 4 = lose all exposure modes except manual/lose in camera meter 5 = body won't understand the distance-encoder 3.3 What do those obscure lens designations mean? CRC - Close Range Correction: designed to maintain good results even at closest focusing point PC - Perspective control: allows lens to be "shifted" to correct converging verticals (to a certain degree); used for example to make buildings not appear to fall over backward when shooting up at them Micro - Macro to every other manufacturer; lets you take extreme closeups of small objects ED - special glass to keep all colors focused together in telephoto lenses IF - focusing is done inside the lens without front lens element moving Noct - an f1.2 lens that can be shot wide open with good results; point light sources don't cause problems; meant for shooting at night? D - Defocus control (not to be confused with AF-D): let's you adjust where the depth-of-field is in relation to subject (instead of the normal 1/3 in front and 2/3's behind)? 3.4 What 'D' type lenses are available ? 3.4.1 'D' type lenses from Nikon From: sepe@kcl.fi (Tero . Tommila) Newsgroups: rec.photo Subject: Re: Nikon D-Type Lenses Date: 6 Apr 1994 11:42:14 GMT In maytag@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Chris Maytag) writes: >I've been trying to get an up-to-date list of Nikon's D-Type lenses, and >haven't been able to find one. If anyone has either a complete list or >personal knowledge about what's available, I'd appreciate a copy. Thanks! Here they are: 20-35 f2.8 400 f2.8 16 f2.8 28 f1.4 105 f2.0 ________________________________________________________________________________ FL |20-35mm |400mm |16mm |28mm |105mm LC |14e/11g |10e/7g |8e/5g |11e/8g |6e/6g PA |94-64deg. |6deg 10' |180deg |74deg |23deg 20' MaxA|f2.8 |f2.8 |f2.8 |f1.4 |f2.0 MinA|f22 |f22 |f22 |f16 |f16 CFD |0.5m |3.3m |0.25m |0.35m |0.9m AS |77mm |52mm (rear ?) |bayonet |72mm |72mm DM |82mm x 94mm |158mm x 374.5mm|63mm x 54.8mm|75mm x 77.5mm|79mm x 111mm WT |20.6oz (584g)|222oz (6293g) |11.5oz (326g)|20oz (567g) |22.5oz (637g) oth.|rotat. zoom | I IF-ED |orthog. fish |CRC aspher. | DC ________________________________________________________________________________ FL = Focal Length LC = Lens Construction (e= elements, g= groups) PA = Picture angle MaxA = Maximum aperture MinA = Minimum aperture CFD = Closest focusing distance AS = Attachment size DM = Dimensions (diameter x length) WT = Approximate weight oth. = Other features [The following list has been lengthened since it was originally posted] Others: Micro 60mm F2.8D (limit + A/M switch) - from inf. to 1:1 Micro 105mm F2.8D (limit + A/M switch) - " Micro 200mm F4D 18/2.8D 20/2.8D 24/2.8D 28mm / 2.8D (new optical calculation: 6 lenses instead of 5) 35mm / 2.0D 50mm / 1.4D 85/1.8D 180mm / 2.8D IF-ED AF-I 300/2.8D IF-ED (with tripod stand) AF-I 400/2.8D IF-ED AF-I 500/4D IF-ED AF-I 600/4D IF-ED (with tripod stand) 28-70/3.5-4.5D 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6D 35-70/2.8D (pump zoom) 35-80/4-5.6D 35-105/3.5-4.5D (internal focus, hybrid aspherical element) 70-210/4-5.6D 80-200/2.8D ED ("fixed" zoom, limit + A/M switch, no tripod stand) Teleconverters: (for I series) TC14E (1.4x) TC20E (2x) -- Sepe Susi ("Zeke the Wolf") alias Tero Tommila KCL/Finland sepe@rankki.kcl.fi Date: Fri, 2 Dec 94 20:32:19 PST From: joecool@CERF.NET To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu Here is some more D type lens info. 24mm f/2.8D AF FL 24mm LC 9E/9G PA 84deg MaxA 2.8 MinA 22 CFD 0.3m (1.25ft) AS 52mm DM 64.5mm x 46mm WT 9.5 oz (270g) Zack Sessions From walter@zaiko.kyushu-u.ac.jp Sat Jul 15 12:05:29 1995 Date: Sat, 15 Jul 1995 12:52:37 +0900 To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu From: walter@zaiko.kyushu-u.ac.jp (Dr. Walter Pietsch) Subject: FAQ - New D-Nikkor Since July 01, 1995: AF Zoom Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6D 7 lenses / 7 groups 1 asph. element 58mm filter min. focus 0.5m lenshood HB-10 listprice 33.000 Yen (~290 US$) the AF Zoom Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5 is discontinued !!! the MF Nikkor 85mm f/2.0 is also discontinued !!! ====================================================== DI Dr. Walter PIETSCH Kyushu University Faculty of Engineering 36 Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku Fukuoka 812-81 Japan ====================================================== 3.4.2 Third party 'D' type lenses The whole new series (1994) of Sigma zoom lenses have 'D' capability. This new series is characterized by ZEN finish and the *lack* of a window type distance scale. The distance scale is printed on the focusing ring. I am not 100% sure whether the prime lenses in the new series (28/1.8, 300/4, 400/5.6) are 'D' compatible. Phone Sigma and check it out (and then inform me so that I could update this FAQ). LENS FS CONST B A L MIN MAG DIMEN (mm) WEIGHT 28/1.8 58 9/ 8 8 2 0 0.3 1:7.5 69 x 61.5 290 300/4 APO 77 10/ 7 9 0 2 1.2 1:3 92.5 x 194.2 1,470 400/5.6 APO 77 10/ 7 9 0 2 1.6 1:3 92.5 x 257.2 1,645 18-35/3.5-4.5 82 11/10 6 1 0 0.5 1:8.1 88 x 71.5 280 24-70/3.5-5.6 55 11/ 8 6 1 0 0.5 1:6.15 70 x 63.5 265 28-70/2.8-4 UC 58 11/ 8 7 0 0 0.5 1:6.1 71 x 63.5 320 28-105/4-5.6 58 15/12 6 0 0 0.5 1:5.3 71 x 71 340 28-200/3.8-5.6 72 17/14 7 0 0 1.8 1:8.3 74 x 86 497 70-210/3.5-4.5 APO 58 12/ 9 6 0 1 0.75 1:2 77 x 117.5 600 70-300/4-5.6 APO 58 14/11 6 0 1 0.95 1:2 76.5 x 117 580 FS - filter size CONST - construction B - number of aperture blades A - number of aspherical elements L - number of low dispersion glass elements (APO) MIN - minimum focusing distance in meter (1 meter = 3.3ft) MAG - macro magnification WEIGHT - weight in grams There are older versions of 70-210/3.5-4.5 APO, 400/5.6 APO and 28/1.8 ashperical. You should examine by yourself whether the lens is a new version or an old one if you specifically want the D function. Tamron and Tokina also makes a number of 'D' lenses. LENS FS CONST B A L MIN MAG DIMEN (mm) WEIGHT Tamron 20-40/2.7-3.5 77 15/12 ? 2 0 0.5 1:10.2 81.5 x 80.4 525 Tamron 200-400/5.6 ??? Tokina ATX 24-40/2.8 72 17/13 7 0 0 0.4 1:7 76 x 77.5 520 Tokina ATX 28-70/2.6-2.8 Pro 77 16/12 8 0 0 0.7 1:8.1 79.5 x 109.5 760 I am not sure whether the updated Tokina ATX 300/2.8 AF II and ATX 100-300/4 AF II (with the new crinkle finish) support the 'D' function or not. The old versions certainly don't. 3.5 Teleconverters A teleconverter is something which is fitted between the lens and the camera body. A teleconverter is parameterized by its multiplication factor. Most common teleconverters are either 1.4x or 2x, but there are also 1.5x, 1.6x, 1.7x and 3x teleconverters. When a teleconverter is used, both the focal length and the maximum aperture of the lens is multiplied by a constant factor. For example, a 200/4 lens fitted to a 1.4x teleconverter becomes a 280/5.6. A very good account of teleconverters in general can be found in the rec.photo FAQ. The following, of course, is specific to Nikon. 3.5.1 AF teleconverters To date (11/94), there are no teleconverters for AF Nikkors (except the AF-I teleconverters, to be explained shortly) from Nikon. Only third party teleconverters from Tamron, Sigma, etc are available. If you want to use a teleconverter for your AF (non AF-I) lenses, either: a, stick with Nikon teleconverters and use manual focus, or b, get a third party teleconverter. IMPORTANT: the autofocus system is not designed to work with lenses dimmer than f/5.6. Therefore, if your lens + teleconverter combination is dimer than f/5.6 (i.e. a larger numerical value), AF WILL NOT WORK. You will experience excessive hunting and in many cases the camera will not even lock into focus. For example, if you have a 70-210/3.5-4.5 zoom lens and you attach a 1.4x converter to it so that it effectively becomes a 98-294/4.9-6.3 zoom lens, autofocusing may work at the wide end (98) but it will not work at the tele-end (294) because f/6.3 is dimmer than f/5.6. On the other hand, there has been reports that autofocusing performance is unsatisfactory (hunts too much) even though the lens + teleconverter combination is equal to or brighter than f/5.6. An explanation is given in the Canon EOS FAQ and I think it applies to Nikon as well: when a teleconverter is added, less focusing throw is needed to achieve the same amount of focus adjustment. The Canon EF teleconverters slow down the autofocusing to compensate for this. Many third party teleconverters, autofocusing at the full speed, while being extremely fast, often overshoots, resulting in hunting. Therefore, test all lens/teleconverter combinations you are planning to use and see if you could live with the autofocus performance. I conclude this section with a warning: don't even *think* about using a 2x teleconverter with a 75-300/4-5.6 zoom or a 200-400/5.6 lens. I have to use such strong wording to prevent beginners from wasting money even though such may be inappropiate in a FAQ document. When the aperture becomes f/11 as a result of the teleconverter, it is so dim that you will see almost nothing in the viewfinder. If your camera has depth-of- field preview, try previewing at f/11 to see what I mean. In fact, anything which is f/8 or dimmer (i.e. larger numerical value) is totally unacceptable to the majority of people. At 600mm or 800mm, camera shake is a very serious problem. There is nothing particularly special about these ultra-long focal lengths. 300mm is the longest most people will ever need. A few people (including me) feel that 300mm is already too long and never use it. 3.5.2 AF-I teleconverters Nikon makes TC-14E (1.4x) and TC-20E (2x) for the AF-I series of big cannons (AF-I 300/2.8 et al). These will work with ordinary AF lenses as well with manual focusing. 3.5.3 What is a TC-16A ? Nikon AF teleconverter TC-16A (1.6x) works on N2020/N8008/N90/F4, etc but NOT N6006 and N5005 - it does not AF (I've tried on N6006). The function of this teleconverter is to convert a manual focus lens to an autofocus one. This is achieved by moving the glass elements of the converter itself, not the lens'. So we have what we call 'rear element focusing' which is very fast, and the front element never rotates no matter what lens you are using. AF lenses will fit, but still the focusing is done by the converter, not the lens itself. Normally you focus the manual lens at infinity and let the converter do the focusing. However, it will not focus very close. Sometimes you may want to focus the manual lens closer so that TC-16A will focus at close ranges. In a sense, you 'preset' a coarse focusing range and let the teleconverter do the precise adjustment. With regard to quality, in my own experience the teleconverter is not as good as ordinary 1.6x converters. Its optical quality is more like a 2x converter. This converter is a transition from the manual focus era to autofocus, and I believe it has been discontinued. TC-16 (without the 'A') is the version for F3AF. 3.5.4 Manual focus teleconverters Nikon makes a number of manual focus teleconverters of high quality. These include the TC-14A, TC-14B (1.4x) and TC-201, TC-301 (2x). Use TC-14B and TC-301 only on prime lenses whose focal length is 300mm or above. Other lenses might not even fit onto the teleconverter. 3.5.5 Are the third party converters any good ? From dr8192@albnyvms.bitnet Sat Aug 13 14:48:26 MST 1994 Newsgroups: rec.photo.advanced Subject: Re: 1.7X extender for a Zoom Lense? Date: 9 Aug 1994 04:06:53 GMT JUST LAST WEEK we took some shots with a 1.7x brand-x af tc. we tc'd a sigma 75-200:3.8 zoom to 340mm and had to shoot wide open and one stop down. the subject was an "aerial" view of garden about 50m distant. from the tmx negs the 8x10s were quite good with plenty of crisp texture to the plants and trees all across the format. we also took some wider views from the same vantage using the same lens without the tc, thereby allowing a smaller aperture. the shots wide open with the tc and the shots stopped down with no tc both printed at the same contrast on our vc paper. i think there is much less difficulty making a decent 1.4x or 1.6x tc than involved with making a 2x tc. i have met plenty of cheap 2x tc's that gave noticably compromised images. i have used three brand-x 1.4's and one 1.55 and the results are all excellent. btw, it appears that all the 1.7x and 1.6x tc's of various labels are just alike. i have tested two 1.7x and found them to be 1.55x. this is good for quality, because 1.7x [were it for real] gets perilously close to 2.0x, where many independent name tc's fail to please the critical eye. i bought two promaster 1.7x tc's, one for business and one for pleasure. - dr dr8192@albnyvms 3.6 Could I fit a tripod collar on 80-200/2.8 ? From: peter@emrg.ubc.ca (Peter Cheung) Newsgroups: rec.photo Subject: 80-200 2.8 ED tripod collar Date: 2 Dec 1993 00:06:50 GMT Hello all, I thought that some of you out there with a Nikon 80-200 2.8 ED would like to know about this tripod collar made (or marketed) by Kirk Enterprises. For those of you who does not know what I am talking about, or don't own the 80-200 2.8 ED, it is the *essential* tripod collar replacement which Nikon never made (don't know why, the lens weighs a ton, although the Nikon reps insist that the camera mounts are strong enough to hold the lens). Anyways, I just purchased one through mail order and thought maybe someone else is thinking of getting it. Being from Canada, I ordered it from the CamTech Camera Exchange from Calgary (number taken from Shutterbug). The price is $139.95 plus shipping and tax. I received it in three days through Gray Hound Express Courier. The bracket itself is quite durable, black semi-gloss finish. It weighed about 1-2 pounds (never did weigh it, but it isn't that heavy). It was quite solid, and you can adjust the bracket to be used with any of the newer Nikon SLRs like 8008, 6006, N90, and F4s (not with F3 or older cameras, although you can probably make your own modifications). To convert from one camera to another, you have to take out a piece and/or remove a piece from the body base plate and lens ring base plate with the Allan keys provided. It does not take a long time, a couple of minutes, if you practice at it, a little cumbersome, but it does work. Once adjusted to the right camera body, you put the lens through the lens ring, mount the body to the base plate, make the final adjustments to that the lens is steady, and way you go... I found that with the bracket added, manual focussing needs a bit getting used to, if you hold the lens the traditional way (left hand from the bottom, with thumb pointing left and all fingers pointing right) since the bracket is a bit in the way. For those with big hands, it may not be a problem at all! What I do instead in place the left hand on *top* of the focus barrel, and turn it with the palm (remember that the camera is now mounted on the tripod or monopod, so your left hand is free!). This turned out to be an even faster focus method than the traditional way, but I have not done it in the field yet. Overall, it seemed to be a well built product, although definitely not cheap. My feeling is that it may save both the camera mount and the lens mount someday. and that's definitely worth the money. Plus, if gives me a piece of mind. Having shot many a football, basketball and hockey games, I felt so guilty seeing the darn lens dangling from the camera mount, there is just too much down force at the tip of the lens tilting the camera down. I don't have any idea how long this thing would last in the long run, but it is not really anything mechanical and my feeling is that it should last a couple of lifetimes, assuming that the metal does not rust (nice black finish, but will scratch). If anyone else is interested, or have more questions, feel free to email me. Peter Cheung UBC EMRG 3.7 Is the Sigma 28/1.8 any good ? From: dr8192@albnyvms.bitnet Newsgroups: rec.photo Subject: Re: SIGMA 28mm f/1.8 AF for Nikon Date: 29 Jan 94 19:02:24 GMT In article <94028.135941U15310@uicvm.uic.edu>, writes: >This is a rather unscientific report on my recent purchase of the above. >I wanted a FAST wide angle for my 6006 and didn't want to spend $1700 >on the new Nikon 28mm f/1.4. So, I got the Sigma for about $250. I >shot a role of kodacrome and just got it back and projected it. I shot >everything at f/1.8 to test at maximum aperture. Shot various objects >around the house at close distance, including newspaper, people, and >some distant objects as well. I didn't find anything wrong. No noticable >curvature, objects appear to be sharp throughout field, uniform brightness, >etc., etc. In short, this seems to be a good way to go for someone wanting >a good quality, fast wide angle for reasonable $$$. > >Tom Ascher Internet: u15310@uicvm.uic.edu >University of Illinois at Chicago Phone: (312) 413-3665 COMMENT: I LIKE MINE, TOO. i can detect the barrel distortion but it doesn't scream at me. it's an available light lens so i don't require it to do copy or architecture, etc. BUT, as an available light lens i do get some ghosts and slight veiling flare in typical low light conditions where some of the light sources may be in or just out of the frame. i use the included scalloped lens hood the flare problems are not too bad for the price. but if the light strenghtens to f:2.8 use levels, one is better off to carry an alternative. used 28:2.8 vivitars or sigmas are cheap, small, and cleaner in the flare dept. i am glad i got my 28:1.8 but it is not going to cause me to sell my 2.8. i don't even bring the 1.8 unless i know i NEED it. it's also bulky. but it gets me pix i have to get without flash, and at good shutter speeds. i got mine from camera world of oregon at $180, but that was last year. dr8192@albNYvms david rosen 3.8 What is Nikon lens Series E ? From: phr@netcom.com (Paul Rubin) Subject: Re: nikon E series lenses Date: Sun, 25 Sep 1994 18:57:48 GMT E series lenses generally have totally different designs than the corresponding Nikkors. The optical quality is fine, often as good as Nikkors, but the mechanical construction is not nearly as tough. For most amateurs, this is fine. Later, Nikon took to calling its amateur-oriented lenses Nikkors but many of these were originally series E designs. For example, the 50/1.8 was originally a big all metal lens built like a tank. The 50/1.8E was very compact and lightweight but people didn't like it because of its plasticy construction. The new 50/1.8N was basically a 1.8E with improved cosmetics. Nowadays, most new Nikon offerings are AF, but the lower priced lenses generally take the series E approach. The 28/2.8AF is apparently the series E design (5 elements) while the 28/2.8AIS had I think 9 elements or some such. Nonetheless it is a good lens. I've owned the 28/2.8AI, 28/2.0 Nikkor, 28/2.8E and 28/2.8AF and gotten good results with all four. The 75-150/3.5 series E is closed to legendary for its sharpness and was in great demand for fashion photography for a while. Other lenses like the 35/2.5 weren't so great though, apparently. Currently I have a 100/2.8E which I used a fair amount for portraits. It is a lot lighter and smaller than the 105/2.5 Nikkor, and quite sharp. 3.9 Could I convert a non-AI lens to an AI one ? From: phr@telebit.com (Paul Rubin) Subject: Re: Nikkor lens conversion worthwhile? Organization: Telebit Corporation; Sunnyvale, CA, USA Date: 28 Oct 92 03:09:02 This is a FAQ. There are two ways of converting an old Nikkor to AI: 1) replace the aperture ring with an AI one. Nikon used to do this but ran out of parts for many lenses and I believe they have stopped altogether. However, the results are quite professional. 2) Have an indepent repair shop machine the AI ridge in the existing aperture ring and (sometimes) affix a little strip of aperture numbers that become visible in the finder (through an optical system, for readers unfamiliar with Nikons). These work perfectly well if done right but are a bit ugly. >Would such a conversion harm the lens in anyway, if done properly? >And if done improperly, what kind of damage would it do to the lens? >Is such a conversion worthwhile considering the price of the lens and >the job? Depends on what you mean by doing it improperly. If the repairperson uses a sledgehammer inappropriately the lens could be severely damaged. But it is a routine operation for repairpeople who know what they are doing. Note however you can get an AI-Nikkor 50/1.4 for around US$100 if you look around. This is a smaller and probably somewhat better lens, with multicoating etc. (I don't have my Nikon System Handbook nearby). $40-50 may not be such a good investment for an older 50/1.4. If it were a 35/1.4 it would be a different story. There is a guy in Michigan who advertises in Shutterbug and charges around US$25 last time I looked, if that's of any help. 3.10 What does the letters used to designate the non-AI lenses mean ? Date: Mon, 7 Nov 94 20:30:05 EST From: bweiner@physics.rutgers.edu (Ben Weiner) Many users of old non-AI Nikon equipment (and other cameras which used Nikkor lenses, e.g. screwmount RFs, old Bronicas) are aware that their lenses are named with letters, like "Nikkor-P," and that different lenses of the same focal length can have different letters. Some may know that the letters code for the number of lens elements: "Nikkor- " U B T Q P H S O N D Elements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 In fact there's a rationale behind the code! The letters stand for standard prefixes: uni-, bi-, tri-, quadra-, penta-, hexa-, septa-, octa-, nona-, deca- This makes it a lot easier to remember, but they don't put it in the Blue Book ... Ben 3.11+ What are the differences between AI and AI-S lenses ? You may also want to read section 2.14 on FA as well. The following were submitted by Maohau Huang (mhuang@bu-ast.bu.edu) and I made quite a few cuts before including in this FAQ. From: phr@netcom.com (Paul Rubin) Subject: Re: Nikon F2A Photomic questions Date: Sat, 15 Oct 1994 23:20:54 GMT AI is the full aperture metering system that replaced the older pre-AI system. The pre-AI system coupled the lens to the camera via a fork mounted on the outside of the lens. The AI system used the little tab that is pushed along by a protrusion from the lens's aperture ring behind the lens. AIS is later modification to AI, used by the FG, FA, N2000 and F4 to do shutter priority and program mode. AIS is indicated by a small scoop in the back of the lens mount, plus (for most Nikkor lenses) the largest aperture number (e.g. f/22) being printed on the aperture ring in orange paint. The F3 and F2A both use AI metering. AIS lenses will work fine on all AI cameras, and AI cameras with no program mode cannot tell the difference between AI and AIS lenses. From: jbreeden@netcom.com (John Breeden) Subject: Re: What is difference between AI and AIS lenses? Date: Sat, 30 Apr 1994 16:25:52 GMT AIS (Adapture Indexing Shutter) lenses have a mechanical means of letting the camera body know the focal length of the lens. This is accomplished via a scoop in the lens mounting flange and a pin on the camera bayonet mount. All lenses manufactured since 1982, including autofocus, are AIS lenses. With a lens that is AIS (but NOT AF), only the Nikon 2000 will allow shutter priority to be used. All later Nikon bodys will allow only manual and aperture priority with non-AF AIS lenses. Also all Nikon bodys after the 2000, when used with non-AF AIS lenses are restricted to spot or center weighted metering (no matrix metering). The exception is the F4 which allows matrix metering with non-AF AIS lenses. The only lenses that will allow all program and metering modes are the AF AIS lenses and the AF-I AIS (autofocus-internal motor) lenses. The AF AIS lenses have a CPU in the lens barrel that transmits a number of facts to the camera body. The best example is matrix metering, with the exception of the F4, can only be accomplished with lenses that have CPUs. The N90 flash technology requires the lens' CPU to transmit distance information, therefore the current Nikon AF lenses have the "D" designation for distance coding (ie: 105mm AFD). Prior to this, the AF lenses only transmitted the position of the focus barrel to the body. To sum up, the only lenses that will allow shutter priority and matrix metering on an 8008(s) are either AF, AFI or AFD lenses. -- John Robert Breeden, jbreeden@netcom.com From: gsmlrn@mendelson.com (Geoffrey S. Mendelson) Subject: Re: What is difference between AI and AIS lenses? Date: Mon, 2 May 1994 00:44:09 GMT The AIs lenses are AI lenses that conform to a standard for proportional diaphragm closing. The original Nikon lenses had a simple standard, no pressure, closed to f stop set, full pressure open. When the FG (first "programmed" Nikon, possibly the first "programmed" slr) was made Nikon found that the lenses did not stop down 1/2 way when the diaphragm coupling was half pressed, etc. So the FG would calculate the exposure, close the lens down to where it wanted it, measure the light coming in and set the shutter speed appropriately. You always got "correct" exposure, but it may have had very little to do with what the camera said it was. So Nikon came out with a standard for proportional closure and indicated that the lenses followed the standard with the "s" suffix. To indicate that to the camera, a small indentation was placed in the rear of the lens. Note that adding the indentation will force a camera into thinking that an AIs lens is mounted, but it will not convert the lens to AIs. All AIs lenses have their maximum marked aperture in orange. Except some 20mm f2.8 AI lenses, the orange maximum f stop marking is the best clue. AI lenses came out in 1978. AIs lenses came out around 1980. All series "E" and AF lenses are AIs. Geoff. -- "I am number six. Others come and others go, but I am always number six." (From the movie "Eminent Domain".) Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ (215) 242-8712 gsm@mendelson.com 4 FLASH 4.1 Is my lens compatible with the internal flash of my N6006 (F601) ? First off, note that *all* AF and AF-D Nikkor lenses will work on N6006 with full autofocusing and metering capability. However, some lenses, because they are physically large, may block the internal flash on a N6006 (and that of N50 as well). N70's internal flash is designed to lift up to a very high height, much higher than N50 or N6006, which reduces the risk of blocking (and red-eye as well), but you should still check Nikon's brochure to make sure. The N6006 manual lists the following lenses to be usable with the internal flash. If your lens turns out to block the internal flash, don't despair. Just buy an external flash and everything will be fine. Remember that the cost of a half-dedicated flash is just the price of a few lithium batteries. In the long run you are saving and you will have no red-eye, high output power, and probably an AF illuminator beam, bounce and swivel. Also, Nikon specifically states that at macro focusing distances, the internal flash cannot be used. Lenses which can be used freely: AF 35-70/3.3-4.5 AF 35-105/3.5-4.5 AF 70-210/4 AF 70-210/4-5.6 AF 75-300/4.5-5.6 28-50/3.5 35-70/3.3-4.5 35-105/3.5-4.5 43-86/3.5 70-210/4 75-150/3.5E 80-200/4 80-200/4.5 100-300/5.6 Cannot be used at a focal length shorter than 28mm, or when shooting a subject within 1m (3.3ft) at 28mm focal length: AF 24-50/3.3-4.5 Cannot be used when shooting a subject within 1m at a focal length shorter than 35mm: AF 28-70/3.5-4.5 Cannot be used at a focal length shorter than 35mm, or when shooting a subject within 2m at 35mm focal length: AF 28-85/3.5-4.5 28-85/3.5-4.5 Cannot be used at a focal length shorter than 50mm: AF 35-70/2.8 35-70/3.5 35-200/3.5-4.5 Cannot be used when shooting a subject within 2m at 35mm focal length: AF 35-135/3.5-4.5 35-135/3.5-4.5 Cannot be used when shooting a subject within 2m at 80mm focal length: AF 80-200/2.8 Cannot be used at a focal length shorter than 35mm, or when shooting a subject within 1.5m at 35mm focal length: 28-45/4-4.5 Cannot be used when shooting a subject within 1.5m at a focal length shorter than 50mm: 36-72/3.5E Cannot be used when shooting a subject within 1m at a focal length shorter than 70mm: 50-135/3.5 4.2 Can I use a flash unit with standard ISO hot shoe on a F3 ? First, there is a hot shoe adapter called AS-4 which lets you do this. However, you will lose TTL capability. Only the flash ready light is supported. Actually, F3 does not have any TTL quench circuitry. All it has is a sensor at the bottom of the mirror box. Dedicated speedlites for F3 has the necessary circuitry to do TTL. There is a mechanical lever on the shoe of the flash to detect where you have turned the film speed dial to. On a SCA 344 (Adapter for Metz hammerhead on F3), there is no lever to detect the setting of the film speed dial. You have to set the film speed on the adapter. Personally, I see this as an opportunity to set film speed of ambient and flash independently rather than an inconvenience. If you use Metz flashguns, simply buy two modules, one for F3 and the other for your other Nikon cameras. From: cofer@newtonatlanta.emna.slb.com (John Cofer) Newsgroups: rec.photo Subject: Re: F3 and SB-25, any adapters ? Date: 19 Apr 1994 00:14:13 GMT In article <1994Apr18.171147.22202@qiclab.scn.rain.com>, al@qiclab.scn.rain.com (Alan Peterman) writes: |> Vivitar used to make an adapter for F3 to the standard ISO flash |> mount which DID couple the TTL signal. Worked well with their |> TTL compatible flashes. Whether it is still available is a good |> question. Since the Vivitar TTL flashes with the Nikon compatibility |> work fine on other Nikon bodies like the FA, Nxxxx and such, it would |> seem very likely that this coupler would work to couple a Nikon flash |> like the SB-25 to the F3 TTL circuits. Have an F3 and the Vivitar adapter, it does NOT work with a Nikon SB-15, so will probably not work with other Nikon flash units. There appears to be a difference between the flash signal coupling for an F3 and for the ISO shoe models; note that Nikon makes two modules for the SB-16, one for the F3 and one for ISO, would have been simpler to provide an adapter if the signals were compatible. The Vivitar 5600 with the Nikon ISO module works on an F3 using the Vivitar adapter, by the way. This indicates that it may have something to do with the 'sufficient light' indication, as that is something the Vivitar units do not provide on ANY Nikon model. -- | John Cofer - System Admin. Internet: cofer@atlanta.emna.slb.com | | Schlumberger Industries Sinet: SWAMC1::COFER | | Electricity Division Phone: (404) 447-7300 x7135 | | 180 Technology Parkway Norcross, GA 30092 | 4.3 What is the function of each pin of the hot shoe ? From bmtong Tue Feb 8 18:59:05 1994 Subject: Re: What do different contacts in ISO access. shoe do in Nikons? To: jacobson@cello.hpl.hp.com (David Jacobson) > >Does anyone out there know how the TTL flash works via the contacts in > >the ISO accessory shoe in Nikons? The contacts are arranged (except F3) > >in the following form, when looking from top and camera lens facing oposite. > > > > > > o 1 > > > > O 2 > > > > 3 o o 4 > > > > Number 4 is the TTL quench signal. I know this because one kind of > extension cord sold by Nikon that is supposed to support TTL quenching > has 3 conductors. My SC-17 synch cord and my SB-24 have jacks for > this kind of cord. A simple continuity check showed that the > conductors are ground, 2 and 4. And since 2 is the trigger, 4 must be > the TTL quench signal. In addition the voltage on 4 is 3.76 with the > SB-24 in TTL mode but only. .338 when the SB-24 is in manual mode. > > You say 3 is the ready light. I was unable to confirm that. I > observed voltage on it, with no clear change when the ready light came > on. Perhaps its coded in some kind of AC signal. Keep in mind that > it has to be fairly simple, as it must work on old cameras that don't > have fancy electronics, including the FM-2, which is really primitive. > I found that an FM-2 has only conductors 2, 3, so 3 is probably the ready light. I suppose pin 3 is also a part of the digital link. Therefore you cannot observe any changes in voltage. There must be some means for your SB-24 to distinguish the type of the camera. > I'm guessing that 1 has something to do with the AF illuminator and > the data link to fancy AF cameras. I'm quite sure these two functions > are are carried on the same pin, as I used to own a SunPak 433AF. It > has an AF illuminator. But the AF illumintor would come on any time > my 8008 did almost anything, even when the meter timed out 8 seconds > after pushing the shutter release to the half way position. On my > SB-24 this pin has zero volts. On the 8008 it has 1.74 when the meter > is on, and it drops to zero when the meter is off. (These readings > are all with the flash not on the camera.) Probably, pin 1 is output (camera->flash) and pin 3 is input (flash->camera), but all such are speculative. > -- David Jacobson -- Bo-Ming Tong (bmtong@cs.cuhk.hk), M. Phil. student Department of Computer Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong 4.4 What is 3D matrix flash metering ? Date: Wed, 9 Nov 94 09:25:09 +0900 From: diamond@jrd.dec-j.co.jp (Norman Diamond) If you use an N90s, N90 or N70 with an SB-25 or SB-26 and a D lens, then the camera does a little bit of preflashing and measurements just before opening the shutter, then alters the duration of the real flash so that the object in focus has a better chance of being properly exposed. Otherwise, it still performs ordinary matrix TTL fill flash, or even more ordinary plain TTL fill flash, etc., depending on the amount of light reflected from various parts of the film during the flash, which still helps get a balanced exposure but not necessarily best for the exact object that was in focus. [N70 has 3D matrix flash metering on the internal flash as well. N50 has 3D matrix metering only for *ambient light*. 3D matrix *flash* metering is performed on neither the internal flash nor an external one - BMT] From: probst@vortex.econ3.uni-bonn.de (Daniel A. Probst) Date: Fri, 18 Nov 94 09:25:37 The following should give a little info to how the 90-series exposure system incorporates distance info from d-lenses. Whereas most people agree that it brings advantages for flash photography, opinions are split for non-flash situations. Here is my understanding of the systems working in non-flash situations based on the following very recommendable booklet (and personal exerience): "Nikon F90, Michael Huber, Laterna Magica". The exposure system works with following variables: - average brightness over all 8 sensor fields - the darkest field - the brightest field - the contrast between the two above - the distance set (only D-lenses) - in/out of focus + brightness of three small central fields Now some typical cases (I do not have the exact Nikon algorithm): - Large focus distance, central subject in focus: take all 8 fields into account with strong weight on middle small, 3 fields. The computer can differentiate between normal situations and strongly backlit ones (for which it can apply the appropriate exposure correction). This also works the other way round: strongly lit main subject with dark backround. The large number of fields should also give fine enough resolution to recognize extreme lighting situations in parts of the picture (sun, white jacket etc.) Such extreme values are not taken into account, leading to a correct exposure. - Short focus distance, central subject in focus: the probability that the main big 5 fields cover the subject is high and information from the small central 3 is not used. With little contrast the exposure system works as integral; in higher contrast situtations it exposes more for the center. - Central subject out of focus: The computer differentiates between 2 situations: 1) If contrast middle/edge was high and it went dark->bright from middle->edge before the focus lock and subject change then use the corresponding old exposure calculation. This situation is interpreted as a standard situation with strong background light for which the previously calculated exposure correction should be o.k. 2) if contrast was low or middle->edge is bright->dark (before subject change) put more weight on reading from outer fields to get off center subject with higher probability. 4.5 Flash capabilities charts 4.5.1 What are flash modules ? Many third party manufacturers have a modular flash system. Flashguns in a series share optional, interchangeable interface modules for use on camera bodies from different vendors. Examples include the Metz SCA 300, SCA 3000 and the Sunpak DX systems. 4.5.2 Classification of flash units Certain features require the interaction of the camera body and the flash unit. Therefore, they must be supported by both the camera body and the flash unit (with a suitable adapter, if applicable). I classify flash units into 3 categories: fully-dedicated, half-dedicated and non-dedicated. Half-dedicated flashes have only an analog circuitry to handle TTL. Fully- dedicated flash units have a digital data bus to support autozoom flash and in some cases 3D matrix flash metering, in addition to the regular TTL analog circuitry. To determine whether a certain feature is available, use the following procedure. 1. Find your camera body in the 'Camera Feature Table'. You'll see some features are available on a half-dedicated flash, some only on a fully- dedicated flash, etc. 2. A list of fully-dedicated flashes are shown in the 'Flash Feature Table'. If your flash is not on the list, you might assume it to be half-dedicated if it is marked 'TTL' or non-dedicated otherwise. There are far more half-dedicated flash units than can be listed in this FAQ. That does not mean half-dedicated flashes are no good. In fact, whether you have a half-dedicated or a fully-dedicated makes no differences in the particular case of N6006 (F601). That's why you should check the 'Camera Feature Table' rather than blindly paying more cash for the top fully-dedicated. In addition, you'll soon discover that no single flash is 'the best' and possesses all capabilities. Neglect the 'fully-dedicated' words you'll find in ads. Most such are only half-dedicated according to my standard. A flash qualifies to be fully-dedicated if it supports autozoom, rear curtain sync and flash exposure compensation on an N8008 (F801). 4.5.3 Camera feature table ------------+--------------+---+-+-------------+ camera |built-in flash| X |S|3 R H A 2 F F| |24 28 35 50 80| |G|D E S Z C C B| ------------+--------------+---+-+-------------+ F4 | |250|1| 1 1 1 | F90X N90s | |250|5|7 7 7 1 2 6 8| F90 N90 | |250|5|7 7 7 1 2 6 8| F70 N70 | 14 |125|5|4 4 1 5 5 5| F50 N50 | 13 |125|1| 1 | F801s N8008s| |250|1| 1 1 1 | F601 N6006 | 13 |125|1| 5 5 | F401x N5005 | 12 |125|1| ? | ------------+--------------+---+-+-------------+ * blank - feature not available * 1 - has feature on fully-dedicated flash * 2 - has feature on half-dedicated or fully-dedicated flash unit * 3 - has feature on built-in flash only * 4 - has feature on built-in flash, SB-25, SB-26 or Sigma EF 430 for Nikon * 5 - has feature on built-in, half-dedicated and fully-dedicated flashes * 6 - has feature on half-dedicated flash unit if multi-function databack is used, or on a fully-dedicated flash * 7 - has feature on SB-25, SB-26 or Sigma EF 430 for Nikon only * 8 - has feature on half-dedicated and fully-dedicated flash unit if multi- function databack is used * built-in flash - guide number shown at each coverage in meters (ISO 100). A blank entry indicates that the coverage is not available. * X sync speed - in 1/n sec. * SG - number of flash metering segments * 3D - whether the flash fires monitor preflashes to support the 3D matrix flash metering system of Nikon * RE - red eye reduction * HS - high speed sync * AZ - autozoom * 2C - rear curtain sync * FC - flash exposure compensation * FB - flash exposure bracketing * a footnote on F50 - it uses D series lenses but not for flash metering. * it is uncertain whether Sigma EF 430 for Nikon supports 1/4000 high speed sync or not. * there has been complaints that the 1/4000 high speed sync of SB-25 and SB-26 is very difficult to use. 4.5.4 Flash feature table The following is a list of all fully-dedicated flash units I know of, as of 11/94. Others like SB-23, Sunpak, Vivitar, Metz SCA 300 system, etc, are what I call 'half-dedicated'. Whether a half-dedicated flash unit will support rear curtain sync, slow sync and flash exposure compensation depend on what camera body you are using. Consult the table in the previous section. +------------------------+--------+------+---------+-----------+---+ | Guide number |S 2 R A| wide | manual | Dimen |Wgt| |24 28 35 50 70 80 85 105|T R T U| cv GN|power stp| W H D | | METZ SCA3000--------------------+--------+------+---------+-----------+---+ 50MZ5 | ? ? ? 50 ? ? ?|Y Y Y 12| |1/256 1/3|103 244 118|880| control unit for 50MZ5 | 67 35 89|138| 40MZ2 | ? ? ? 40 ? 46 |Y Y Y 12| |1/256 1/3| 82 94 123|397| 32MZ3 | 23 27 32 37 | 3|o ? ?|1 | 77 89 117|260| 32Z2 | 23 27 32 37 | 3|o ? ?|1 | ? ? ?| ?| NIKON--+------------------------+--------+------+---------+-----------+---+ SB26 |30 36 42 50 |Y ?|i18 20|? | ? ? ?| ?| SB25 |30 36 42 50 |Y ?|i20 20|? | 79 135 101|380| SB24 |30 32 36 42 47 50 |Y 10| no |1/16 1 | 80 131 100|390| SIGMA--+------------------------+--------+------+---------+-----------+---+ EF430 | 30 32 36 40 43 |Y |o18 ?|1/16 1 | 76 116 107|420| -------+------------------------+--------+------+---------+-----------+---+ * Guide number - shown at each coverage in meters. A blank entry indicates that the coverage is not available. * ST - stroboscopic flash * 2R - secondary flash reflector. Primary flash reflector can swivel and tilt. Secondary cannot, and is used for fill-in. * RT - remote TTL capability. It is surprising to see that Metz flash units offer true remote TTL capability (you need 2 flash guns and a SCA 3080 slave adapter) while Nikon SB-26 does not. The claimed remote capability of SB-26 is NOT TTL. Personally, I don't see any differences between a SB-26 using 'A-mode' remote firing and a completely non-dedicated Vivitar 283 flash and a slave adapter, except that SB-26 has a 'delay circuit' which is said to facilitate remote firing. * AU - number of selectable apertures in auto mode (auto mode is a non-TTL mode where a sensor on the flash is used to ensure correct exposure). Useful if you intend to use your flash on a camera body without TTL (e.g. FM2) as well. * wide - wide angle diffuser. i = included, o = optional, cv = coverage, GN = guide number * manual - first number indicates minimum output power, second number indicates precision in f-stop * With respect to 3D matrix flash metering, SB-26, SB-25 and Sigma EF430 have it. No Metz flashguns have 3D matrix flash metering. * Sigma EF430 only tilts, but not swivel. * I strongly suspect that you can fit a SCA 3401 adapter on a Metz hammerhead flash (45 CL and 60 CT) via a SCA 3007A connecting cord and get all of the following features: AF illuminator, rear curtain sync and flash exposure compensation (+/- 3-1/3 stops in 1/3 stop steps). * Except 32 MZ-2, all the flashes in this table have autozoom and AF illumination. * (from Nils Peterzelka) Stroboscopic flash with SB 24: max. no. of flashes Hz | with 1/8 power| with 1/16 power ------+---------------+---------------- 1-10 | 4 | 8 Stroboscopic flash with SB 25 and SB 26: up to 50 Hz (don't know the corresponding max. no. of flashes). Question: is this high frequency used for the FP flashing ? * (from Nils Peterzelka) For the Metz 32Z1/32Z2/32MZ3 light reduction filter set Metz 32-76 available. For the Metz 40MZ2 light reduction filter set Metz 40-76 available. For the Metz 50MZ5 light reduction filter set is in preparation. Work like light reduction filters for lenses. Filter set contains four different grey/black filters. 4.6 Could I do flash exposure compensation on body/flash combinations without such a feature ? From qtluong@bach.eecs.berkeley.edu Sat May 6 22:48 MST 1995 From: Quang-Tuan Luong To: Bo-Ming Tong Date: Sat, 06 May 1995 22:48:26 -0700 How to do flash compensation with a TTL flash camera and a standard flash. The goal of flash compensation is to allow you to choose the balance between the exposure received by the background (which is not lit by the flash) and by the foreground (which is lit by the flash). On the N6006, the function is built in the body, and is therefore available with any TTL compatible flash. The N8008, N90, and F4 normally require the SB 24/25/26 do do this, since the function is built on the flash. However, this can be done simply provided that you have TTL flash, some form of exposure compensation, and manual mode. Let suppose I want to reduce the flash illumination by 2 stops, and keep the same exposure for the background. I dial an exposure compensation of -2 on the camera body (if this is not present, I multiply ISO number by 4). Anything on the camera is affected, including the TTL flash, which is going to underexpose 2 stops, and the meter scale. Now to get the wanted illumination for the background, I use manual exposure mode, and I select a combination of stop and speed so the viewfind shows two stops of overexposure therefore zeroing the exposure for the background. Tuan. 5 OTHERS 5.1 Nikon School 5.1.1 The Nikon School brochure This is a brochure on the Nikon School, generously typed in by: laurap@neuro.duke.edu (Laura Elizabeth Poole) The Nikon school welcomes every photo enthusiast, regardless of what camera you own! The Nikon School has become famous for its practical effectiveness in teaching 35mm photography. The School blends the latest audio-visual methods with the give-and-take of open discussions to make it an exciting personal experience for all photo enthusiasts. Photography really comes alive at the Nikon School. No dusty theories or complex formulas here. You get clear, practical information on taking the kind of pictures you want, and doing it successfully. You actually enjoy learning as your instructors guide you through the techniques that you've wanted to know more about. You'll find yourself among fellow enthusiasts who share a common goal: to explore new areas of photography and develop the skills they already possess. No matter what 35mm SLR camera you own...from the simplest to the most sophisticated...the Nikon School welcomes you to a photographic experience that you'll find both enjoyable and informative. 1992/93 CURRICULUM If photography is your passion, then learn more about it at Nikon School. Nikon School is a celebration of photography, a place where you can let your imagin- ation soar. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned professional, Nikon School is a wonderful learning experience. Nikon School welcomes every photo enthusiast regardless of what camera you own The Nikon School Instructors: Each of the Nikon School instructors brings a unique combination of photographic teaching and presentation skills to make learning about photo- graphy exciting. With years of photographic experience, they have assisted the top photographers in the world in creating images. Some of their photographic experience has even been out of this world since they have also trained NASA astronauts in the art of photography. Photojournalism, Fine Art, Sports, Portrait, Scenic and special purpose photography will all be discussed and literally hundreds of photographs shown and explained. Lens Selection: The camera's lens is your view of the world. At Nikon School, learn how lenses work and why we dispel the "myth" of a normal lens. Selecting the right lens is critical to photography. We'll discuss wide angle, telephoto, zoom and special purpose lenses that will broaden your photographic horizons. Exposure Metering: Measuring light is a critical component to your photography. In this section, you'll learn about the relationship of f-stops, shutter speeds, film speeds. Understanding 18% gray and your camera's metering system. How to use exposure to change the mood of your photography. What meter is best for a particular situation. What happens when the light is changing and your subject is moving. Details on how to shoot fireworks, lightning, celestial bodies, rainbows, sunsets and more. Composition: Learn how to "see" photographically and discover what attracts you to a subject. How to break down the visual elements of composition within the frame. How does technology influence composition? Learn basic rules to follow that will immediately add impact to your photography. About Films: The choices available in film emulsions today is overwhelming. Nikon School takes a fresh look at both the old and new. Learn about specific film characteristics and which are best for various photographic applications. Using Filters: Impact. Clarity. Mystery. Filters help you attain those characteristics. Learn how to dramatize ordinary photographs with color correcting and special effects filters...turn day into night...eliminate reflections...add more impact to your photography. You'll see firsthand why filters are a crucial part of the photographic process. Light-The Essence of Great Photography: It's all around us, and the great photographers have learned to control and manipulate it. The brightness, color and quality of light can add or detract from a photograph. Learn some of the techniques that combine day- light with electronic flash. You'll be amazed what the impace of a few single techniques can do to your photography. Electronic Flash: Today's SLR cameras and electronic flashes are equipped with extra-ordinary picture-taking potential. In this section, you'll learn how to use flash more effectively, how to take daylight balanced fill-flash even if your subject is moving. Using off-camera and multiple flash techniques...What is rear curtain synch and how will it give you expanded creative photographic opportunities. Close-Up Photography: An incredible world of close-up photography awaits you right in your own backyard. Nikon School will teach you how to capture these extraordinary images. We'll teach you about magnification ratios, close-up lighting, extension tubes, bellows, slide copying, and more. Plus: What is a multi-function back and how can it give me better pictures? How to make multiple exposures? Taking the mystery out of flash photography. Tricks of the trade. Traveling with your camera and more. ENROLLMENT The complete Nikon School course is conducted twice in one weekend. You can attend all day Saturday or all day Sunday. The $75 fee includes lunch and a special edition of the Professional Photographer's Handbook - a $14.95 value. Attendance is limited to the number of seats available. The earlier you enroll, the more certain you can be of getting into the session of your choice. How to enroll: Call (516)547-8666 to register by phone (have your VISA, MasterCard, or American Express card ready) or, choose the session you prefer, fill in the registration form and mail it with your check or money order (made out to Nikon Inc.) to: The Nikon School 1300 Walt Whitman Road Melville, New York 11747-3064 You'll receive your admission ticket indicating the exact location shortly before the course. Late Admission: If it seems too late to enroll by mail, telephone Nikon School between 9:30am and 4:00pm New York time [EST], Monday to Friday. If seats are available, we will tell you how to register at the door. Registrations must be received by Nikon School ten days prior to the school date. When seats are available, late registrants may pay at the door on a first-come first-serve basis. See your local Nikon dealer for school locations or phone Nikon School at (516)547-8666 between 9:30am and 4:00pm New York time. Credit cards accepted at the door. Personal checks will be honored. School fee is refundable if cancellation and returned ticket is received 5 days prior to Nikon School date. SCHEDULE (1993) California: Los Angeles - Jan. 16-17 San Diego - Jan. 23-24 San Francisco - Mar. 13-14 Connecticut: Meriden (Hartford/ Feb. 6-7 New Haven area) Florida: Miami - Feb. 20-21 Georgia: Atlanta area - Mar. 20-21 Massachusetts: Boston - Jan. 16-17 New York: New York - Mar. 13-14 Oregon: Portland - Jan. 9-10 Pennsylvania: Philadelphia - Feb. 27-28 Texas: Dallas - Feb. 20-21 Houston - Jan. 9-10 Washington,D.C. D.C. - Jan. 23-24 ******************************************************************************** This was the entire text of the promotional pamphlet printed and distributed by the Nikon School. Nikon, 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747-3064. copyright 1992. Please write or call for official application form and info. 5.1.2 A Review of Nikon School From you@taligent.com Fri Nov 18 18:53:13 1994 Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 17:51:00 -0700 To: Bo-Ming Tong From: you@taligent.com (Lawrence You) Subject: Re: Nikon FAQ 2.0 Beta ------ The Nikon School Reviewed by Lawrence You (you@taligent.com) February 13, 1994 Berkeley Marina Marriott ("San Francisco") I recently attended The Nikon School in Berkeley, California. Because I didn't know what to expect going in to it, I thought it would be useful to write up my experiences about the one-day course to help people get a better idea of why they should go (or not go for whatever strange reason). I'm not affiliated with Nikon in any way other than owning Nikon photography equipment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Nikon School -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Lunch break for an hour and smaller breaks inbetween Cost $80, including a sitdown sandwich lunch, special meals seem to be accomodated. Instructors Steve Heiner and Mike Corrado. Both are employees of Nikon. Steve represents Nikon at some events as a technical representative; he is quite knowledgeable of Nikon equipment. Mike shoots professional sports and of late has been Nikon's studio photographer. A majority of the slides--perhaps all with few exceptions--used over the course of the day were their own. They are excellent photographers both technically and artistically. They have slightly different shooting styles which improved the variety and perspective of the material. Format and Materials Small. (Actually, the course was aimed at 35 mm photography but, of course, could be applied to any kind of photography). The format of the course was something like the following. There were about six major sections subdividing the day into chunks of about an hour or so. Topics included * Basics * Flash * Composition * Lenses * Close-up * "Pro-Tips" The instructors switched off after talking about a topic or subtopic at length. Attendees numbered around 200 or so. A single projection screen was used all day displaying one, two, or more images at a time. The slide presentation itself was very professional and really exemplified what a professsional presentation can be. Several "sound synch"s were used to "reiterate" ideas which were just explained or to just plain show off their work. As I heard before, The Nikon School Handbook is great! It's given out at the beginning of class and is probably one of the best field-bag photography references I've seen. If Nikon sold these for under twenty bucks, I'd buy them as gifts for all my photo friends. This class is NOT hands-on. It is a combination slide show and lecture. There are almost no opportunities to shoot (except perhaps at lunch) so bringing a camera is probably not useful. The course is not interactive, which is important to learning, but for what is a fairly unidirectional flow of information, I couldn't imagine a much better format. Each topic would be covered in detail from the very basic to the very involved. I think this allowed the students--whose photographic background I'm sure varied widely--to pick up what they needed and to learn about things they hadn't even heard about. The speed and progression was quick--this day was packed and I overheard a woman after the class say "my brain is going to be oozing photography for weeks." I liked the rapid pace and even though a lot was review, never really got bored. For me, this format worked out well because I have certainly experimented to some degree in almost every topic covered but I went in, heard tidbits of advice which I could directly apply to my own experiences, and feel like I leanred something. For instance, I know that one of the most difficult things about hand-holding a camera is keeping it from moving when I press the shutter release. What I didn't know is that if I use the trick of using the motor drive to fire two or three pictures while I'm holding still taking pictures of even a still subject, I may end up with at least one or two good pictures because I'm 1. taking more frames, and 2. firing off pictures while holding my finger still on the shutter release. Finally, the format also worked well for me since it was extremely dense. While I was mostly interested in the more advanced issues, seeing well-picked slides emphasized a certain aspect of a topic particularly well. These pictures were certainly worth a thousand words. Also, since everything was packed into one day, it worked well with my personal life. Here I could spend one day covering materials that I would expect to find in a five- or ten-week course without the overhead of going somewhere, waiting for class to start, learning for a half-hour, wrapping up, and then leaving. Instead, it was bang! bang! bang! and on to the next topic. Although I've never taken any photography courses, I'd say it was one of the best nine hours of instruction I've had in any area. Camera Needless to say Nikon cameras were used exclusively to photograph all slides. However, the instructors were careful to show how to apply any ideas to all cameras, whether it be manual, autofocus, Nikon, or any other brand. At times, the "plug" for Nikon was subtle by saying "this is how you would do this on a Nikon." For me this was great since I could understand how to use my SB-24 flash on my 8008s now without having to read the incredibly poor user's manual one more time. I think it will stick this time. Lenses The slides were fantastic. They were visually charged. But, when I thought about it a little, they were a little unsatisfying in some ways. Many of the dramatic pictures in the "sound sync" slide shows were taken with lenses of focal lengths 16mm-20mm, or 300mm and up. Certainly there were outstanding photos at the 28mm to 200mm range, but they didn't jump out at me as much. Perhaps it was because I use lenses from 24mm to 200mm and to see something different is noticeable. I don't believe that buying lenses is going to make me a better photographer but it makes me think "to get that kind of frame-filling super-sharp shallow depth-of-field photo I'll someday want to get the 300mm f/2.8 lens." Not a bad message for Nikon to give, especially if they never even said it explicitly, but it certainly doesn't help curb my appetite for an even wider range of lenses. I guess all photo buffs deal with this over and over. To be fair Mike gave some good, cheap advice on how to approach close-up photography. His favorite way is to use a reversing ring. It's cheap, it's small enough to keep in his bag, and it works. In fact, hey, I'm going to go out and buy one of these things as soon as I can find one. Want to spend more money? buy an extension tube. Still not satisfied? Get a macro lens and/or a bellows. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loading Keep film winder crank up. You can see the film actually loaded. [I just turn the crank to make sure it's taught.] Filmspeed. What DX is. Holding Use 1/focal length "rule". It's not a rule. Use it but don't be afraid to lose it. Use left hand to support. Keep elbows in. Support Support the camera with a good tripod or anything in a pinch. Bogen table-top tripod is excellent. Its ball head is useful. Picture of Galen Rowell using two X-C ski pole straps to cradle the camera. Very low shutter speeds possible. Monopod will buy one, two, or maybe more f-stops. Long and heavy lens and body can help improve this. Steve claims 1/30th of a second with a 300mm f/2.8 on his F4s (about three stops). Use the motor drive to shoot off two or three pictures in succession at slow shutter speeds. This gives better changes at a good picture because shake may differ between the frames and because the action of pressing the shutter release may cause more movement than while holding the release down. Focusing For focus-priority shooting use Single Servo, i.e. the shutter won't be released until the lens is focused. For shutter release-priority shooting use Continuous Servo, i.e. the shutter is released as soon as you press the button, regardless of how the lens is focused. Use predictive focus for even high speed focusing. Erratic focusing will not work. Operation depends on camera. AF depends on contrast--on Nikon, AF cell needs vertical lines with contrast. Exposure Choosing which light to use in a high contrast situation can be easy or tricky. Try to expose for highlights for slides and let the shadows fall whereever. Try to expose for shadows for negatives and let the highlights fall whereever. Compromise in tricky situations. One or two-thirds of a stop can make a really noticeable difference on slide film. For fireworks: use f/8 and "be there." Or use f/5.6 or f/11. Smaller apertures for thinner trails. Shoot early (lots of smoke). It can be boring to just shoot the fireworks--include other things like cityscape or even multiple exposures with a flash. Learn to trust matrix metering for shooting nighttime skylines and also neon signs. Shutter For action photography, learn to estimate when the camera will fire its shutter. There's a delay from the time you press the shutter release to the time the shutter. Remember: if you say it happen in the viewfinder, you didn't get it on film. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flash Photography -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fill-Flash Use matrix balanced fill flash to get evenly exposed background and foreground. The results are dramatically better than using only TTL. Overexposure may occur if the subject is too far away or too small in a scene. The meter can't pick up the reading from too small of an area. Use flash compensation to turn it down or use manual flash. N90 uses 5-segment flash metering. A small series of flashes go off after the mirror goes up, before the shutter is opened. Lens side of curtain has an 18% grey surface, off of which the light is metered. Shutter Sync Use Rear-Curtain sync to force slow shutter sync. Use Front-Curtain sync to force 1/60th to 1/250th sync speed in automatic modes. Balancing Flash and Ambient Aperture + Shutter Speed dictate ambient light exposure Aperture dictates flash exposure Figure out what kind of ambient light you want. Pick an aperture and you'll get a shutter speed to match , assuming shutter speed is less than full sync. This aperture will dictate the range of the flash. Auto fill-flash will try to fill the (near) subject. Flash Compensation On 8008s/N90 + SB-24 or 25 automatic flash compensation may occur. In high contrast situations (outdoors) no compensation is used. In low-contrast situations, compensation may be reduced. Manual flash compensation occurs when you make the head/shoulders symbol on the SB-24/25 flash. Dial in +1 to -3 compensation. This overrides any automatic compensation. * Matrix Balanced Fill Flash Matrix Metering mode. TTL Flash, auto flash compensation. Flash compensation range is from 0 to -1 stop. * Matrix Fill Flash Matrix Metering mode. TTL Flash, no flash compensation. * Center-Weighted Fill Flash and Spot Metering Fill Flash Center-Weighted and Spot-Metered Fill Flash always use -2/3 of a stop of flash compensation. Flash Compensation with Camera Exposure Compensation Camera Exposure Compensation is independent of all other compensation. Use the camera's exposure compensation to adjust ambient exposure as you normally would. For instance, if the background is white, add in a stop or so. Flash compensation is based on the TTL reading, adjusted by the camera's exposure compensation. Therefore, to make the background dark by one stop but keep the center subject at full flash compensation, use -1 stop on the camera and +1 stop on the flash. Bounce Flash Bouncing flash is good for diffusing light from the flash. Use 60 deg. bounce to add "catchlights" to subjects' eyes. Bounce flash at 90 deg. for lower amoun tof light. Use a wall to bounce if a ceiling isn't available or if you want side lighting. Use anything to bounce: paper plates taped to the flash, a styrofoam cup capped over the flash, be inventive. Ceiling color will tint the color of the flash. Red Eye Red eye occurs from a bright flash bouncing off of the retina of the subject's eyes. In dark light, the irises are dilated, increasing the chance of seeing redeye. Reduce redeye by moving the flash off-camera or preflash. Note that infants' eyes do not respond as quickly to light so they may still get redeye. Multiple Flash Units To help separate subjects which are front and back, e.g. two things that are positioned left and right of each other but separated from the front and back, using multiple flash units can help the composition by making shadows help separate the two subjects. Flash units are taken off camera with the Nikon SC-17. Steve asked a Nikon engineer how many of these flash cords could be used. The answer: "as many as you can afford." Off-Camera Flash Use the AF (red) illuminator to help target the off-camera flash. Lithium Batteries Steve said he couldn't recommend lithium because Nikon will not warrantee the devices. However, he said he has been using them for many months without any problems and hopes Nikon can recommend them after further testing. Flash Angle When using a very wide angle lens, it's not possible to get full coverage. Instead of making it look like a mistake, take the flash off camera and use a narrow angle. Composition Elements Use the point, the line, the shape. Use repetition. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Close-Up Photography -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RR/MR = film size/actual size Macro Mode Use your lens and focus close in "macro mode." Probably can't get below 1/3 size. Screw-in Magnifiers Screw-in magnifiers are another cheap way of doing close-up photography. When these are on, there's not infinity focusing. With 50mm lenses, use the +0, +1, +2 and stacking is OK. For lenses in the 75mm to 300mm range, use the 5T and 6T lenses. Reversing Ring Another cheap alternatie is the reversing ring. It's cheap, easy to use, and small enough to carry around all the time. After putting a lens on backwards, focus at infinity. Shorter focal lengths give greater magnification. Use TTL metering for flash, regular "stopped down" metering still works fine. BR2 with 24mm lens gives 2.5x magnification BR2 with 50mm (f/1.4) gives 1.1x magnification BR5 with 35-70mm gives 1.6 to 2.1x magnification Aperture control also works. Focusing is at a fixed distance for a particular lens. This is one of Mike's favorite ways of doing closeup. Be careful of the rear element--it's the most fragile and expensive to replace. Macro Lenses Macro lenses have built-in extension, allowing very short distance focusing. Other Close Up Combine an extension tube with reversing ring to get more magnification. Use a teleconverter which causes magnification. Some teleconverters have tripod mounts, use this with the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF lens to help balance the camera since it doesn't come with a tripod mount or collar. Use a bellows with long focal lengths to get closer. Exposure & Focus For exposure, use aperture priority. Tohelp focus, use a focusing stage. Another trick to help focusing is to use the "focus trap" such as found on the databacks. Lots of light is needed; you can help focusing by shining a flashlight. Point light sources like a flash are better than the ring light which causes the image to be completely flat. Use an off-camera flash cord. To evenly illuminate a subject, put a styrofoam cup around the subject and fire a flash into the side of the cup. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pro Tips -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Travel By far the most questions they answer are about travel. The Nikon School Handbook has good information about travel. Transporting Film Air passengers have a right to have their film hand inspected. It always helps to be polite and ask. This only applies to the U.S. Carry film in "brick" form of 20 rolls. This is prepackaged and they will not likely ask to have them opened up. Another form is to throw all used or unused film without boxes in a heavy-duty Ziploc bag. This is also a good method for carrying film around on a daily basis--just keep a bag full of the film to be used only for that one day. TAP Plastics carry plastic tubes which can also be used for carrying film. There are no absolute rules on ISO numbers that are safe. All film will fog to some degree. Also, putting film into lead bags is not a good idea; upon seeing a black box in your luggage, an inspector will turn up the X-rays until they can see something. Beware of the effects of cumulative fogging from X-rays. It is easy to go through three or four X-rays during international travel. Also, bags that are checked may have four or five exposures at EACH airport. Transporting Equipment Steve unloads his cameras, puts them into a hard case (like a Pelican case). A National Geographic photographer's tip is to put that really nice looking case into a crappy old hardsided suitcase with a belt around it. To keep your film cool and to protect your camera equipment, keep all of it stashed in a cooler in your car. Backpacks, fanny pakcs, and vests distribute weight much better than just a shoulder bag alone. This is a good idea for saving your back. Hang your camera from its strap on your body so the camera body's base turns out instead of in. This helps protect the lens and the camera. Lens caps Search for tupperware or other plastic container covers for those large lens hoods. Rear Lens Caps To carry lenses without them banging against each other, and to keep from having to juggle all those caps, epoxy two rear lens caps together and then store the lenses back to back. Nikon rear lens caps are best for this since they have little ridges which mate up nicely. Misc Items Other items to carry or use: * Notebook * Swiss Army Knife with corkscrew (has a tiny screwdriver in it) * Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails (like Glyptol) for securing screws if they start to come out) * Army surplus gloves which are fabric but have little rubber nubs to make holding the camera easier * Plastic garbage bag Cleaning Never use compressed air in the mirror box. It doesn't help the picture quality, it can scratch the mirror really easily. The new microfiber cloths are great for cleaning. Never use them dry. Always clean a moist (breathed on) lens. Rain Help make your camer waterproof by using a heavy-duty ziploc bag. Put the camera in the bag, screw on the eyepiece and pull the round circle out. Do the same for the front lens. You can open up the bag (keep the open end down) or use it sealed. Use a garbage bag to keep shooting outdoors. Carry your gear hidden in the garbage bag in unsafe places. Cold weather Use a blimp case, which is also used for sound, to keep your camera cold proofed. Before bringing a camera indoors, put the camera in a plastic bag, removing as much air as possible. Bring the camera to room temperature slowly. The plastic bag reduces condensation because the dry outdoor air contains a lot less moisture than indoor air. Databack The databack features can be used in many ways beyond the immediately obvious. Focus Priority Use focus priority for action photos as well as waiting for an event to occur at exactly the point where the camera's focused (for example, point to shoot along the top of a fence to capture a squirrel or, more likely, a cat). To dial in reproduction ration, set the focal length first and then use focus priority to force a picture to be taken. Remote Do long distance remote with radio. Do short distance remote with the Modulite Remote, an IR pair of devices that can also be used for firing a slave flash. The Kentucky Derby is an amazing place for remote photography. There are hundreds of cameras in the infield, all set up in advance and fired from photographers from around the track. Supports Other kinds of supports to use include the suction cup made especially for the car like Bogen's device. Steve took a dramatic picture with the camera mounted on the hood pointing back to the driver and passenger. An off-camera flash was put in the glove box and dashboard. The camera was fired with a remote shutter release. Bogen makes a "superclamp" which allows more than one camera on a tripod. Cheat for an extra 3" of height by turning a camera upside down. Use a monopod with a cable release for another four to six feet up. Shoot with wide angle to help with the aim Super tricky: you can even use the small ball head from a Bogen tabletop tripod on top of a lamp. The standard lamp bold is 1/4"-20, exactly the right size. Use this in a hotel room when there's no other tripod in sight. It's even good for over thirty second exposures. Night Photography Use a multifunction back for long exposures. Beware that long exposures can eat batteries. Use the widest aperture possible at night. Cyalume light sticks come in different colors. These can make brightly colored night photos where an outline is traced. Nightime skyline photos may look better with tungsten film to tone down the yellowish/green color of lights. Multiple Exposures When making double exposures, double the ISO temporarily. To achieve soft focus, use multiple exposures on a tripod, only make one picture out of focus. Think about making slide sandwiches when taking pictures. High contrast, silhouette images are good candidates. (c) 1994 Lawrence You you@taligent.com 5.1.3 Nikon School Dates From tgl@ycc.kodak.com Wed Feb 1 15:48 MST 1995 Date: Wed, 1 Feb 1995 17:46:30 +0500 From: tgl@ycc.kodak.com (Tom Lathrop) To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu Subject: Current information on the Nikon School Some of the information in the Nikon FAQ about the Nikon School is out-of- date. Here is the current information (The descriptive part of the brochure seems to be unchanged.) Current class schedule (1995): San Francisco June 10 or 11 Miami Feb 25 or 26 Atlanta Feb 4 or 5 Chicago April 1 or 2 Boston March 25 or 26 St. Louis April 29 or 30 Rochester, NY April 8 or 9 New York City May 20 or 21 Portland, OR March 11 or 12 Philadelphia March 4 or 5 Houston Feb 11 or 12 Dallas April 22 or 23 San Antonio June 17 or 18 The complete Nikon School course is conducted twice in one weekend. Class hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The cost is $80, and includes lunch and a 157-page special edition of the Nikon School Handbook. You can register by calling 516-547-8666, or by mail to: The Nikon School 1300 Walt Whitman Road Melville, New York 11747-3064 When registering, specify what city and which date you want, and give a second choice if possible. Tom Lathrop tgl@ycc.kodak.com 5.2 Underwater Photography Date: Sun, 18 Dec 1994 10:11:07 -0700 To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu From: jmartz@lanl.gov (Joe Martz) Subject: Material for Possible addition to Nikon FAQ Steve Norvich and I have been exchanging some interesting e-mail on the merits of various high-end housed camera systems (and the Nikonos RS). It occurs to us that this information may be useful to others. I've copied the text of a discussion we've exchanged on these topics. "Quoted >" segments are from myself. Unquoted segements from Steve. (note: all camera models referred to within this text are Nikon models) ----- >Thanks for the reply. I'm interested to hear the details of your decision >to go with the F4s/Subal. I thought you might be interested to also hear >what I weighted in my decision. > >First, let me say I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to housed systems. >I've used a few on brief occasions (enough to know an action finder is >almost essential), but the bulk of my UW photography experience comes from >many years with the Nikonos V system. More experienced housing users may >have different opinions. > >It became clear that there were 4 choices of camera: F4s, N90s, F3, and >Nikonos RS. I discounted the F3 from the beginning but put in the 8008 as a possibility. >In making this selection, I judged two features as most >important: availablity of an action finder and availability of a decent >housing. I too, felt those were primary. However I STARTED at the housing side to insure that cameras selected would be usable. >Three of these (F4, F3, RS) have an action finder available. >This excludes the N90s, but the superior characteristics of this camera >(especially the new wide-area autofocus system), coupled with the >availability of a computer-controlled housing, suggest that this system >deserves serious consideration even if an action finder is not an option. I agree. In fact it was a very difficult choice between the N90s, which I like better as a camera EXCEPT for the action finder. I think the features and usability of this camera exceed the F4s, but being 51 was worried that if I could not see it, I could not capture it on film. The other factor in favor of the F4s viewfinder is that it is a 100% viewfinder as opposed to 92% in other cameras. >Foremost, the new Aquatica 90 housing offers nearly complete control of the >camera through a special keypad and computer interface. As such, this >housing has access to a stunning variety of camera features, many of which >can't be found on a traditional mechanical-coupled housing. On the >downside, early versions of this housing had a cable arrangement for manual >focus which was basically unacceptable. I'm told Aquatica has rectified >this problem with a more traditional focus coupling. The Aquatica control of the N90 is perhaps the best camera housing marriage. With the F4s, however, other factors come into play. >The F3 is a solid, less-expensive choice (going used prices for F3/motor >drive/DA-2 action finder/lenses/housing are around $2-2.5k), but it doesn't >offer autofocus, advanced metering options, and most important, has a funky >TTL system. I've been told (though have no direct experience) that the TTL >adapter for the F3 gives less than satisfactory results. However, if you >desire a good, solid housed system and you don't mind manual-everything, >this is the way to go. I don't mind the F3 but like all of the missing features for above water photography. >The F4s is clearly the ultimate 35mm SLR (though the N90s may now challenge >that reputation). Further, it's the only AF land camera which offers >interchangable viewfinders. The metering system is 1989-state-of-the-art >matrix technology. However, use of the DA-20 action finder disables the >matrix metering! Yes, the single fly in the ointment. If it were not for that, I would be a totally happy camper. > In retrospect, this was the deciding factor against the >F4s (see discussion of RS, below). On the slight downside, the autofocus >system in the F4 is a single element, narrow band system which is not up to >current wide-area standards. The low-light sensitivity of the autofocus >module is excellent, however, something of real advantage in a housing >where an autofocus-assist beam is impracticle. However, with a Tussy Strobe housing, you DO get an autofocus assist beam. You can house either the SB-24 or SB-25 (I went with the SB-25 in case I get a N90 body too) >Last, the Nikonos RS presents a pricey option (roughly equal to an F4s >system in a good, aluminum housing). I did not really MIND paying the price for the RS. Two primary factors dissauded me. I dislike the weight AND I like taking pictures on land as well. The other thing that bothers me a bit is the macro capability of the RS. I think the new 13 mm will solve the initial wide angle deficiency which I would have had to solve with the 20-35 zoom. >It is the only system which offers >both an action finder and matrix metering. The autofocus system is >identical to that found in the F4s (I think Nikon refers to it as the AM200 >module). Ergonomics of the RS are excellent (with the exception of severe >negative bouyancy) and the controls are a model of simplicity. The RS >includes just those features that an UW photographer would find useful >(aperature priority and manual exposure, simple exposure compensation >adjustment), while not cluttering the camera with unneeded options. This >isn't suprising, since the RS was designed from the ground up as an >underwater camera. On the downside, the system is very pricey, has fewer >lenses available, weighs a ton underwater, and can't practically be used on >land. Further, the RS must be treated with care and routine servicing >can't be done by yourself (unlike the Nikonos V or most housings). Flood >an RS and things get expensive quickly. Flood a housing, and you've got a >fighting chance of getting back to dry land before you've actually flooded >the camera/lense. Yes. Many housings also have alarms which increases your chances a bit. >So, all that said, I went with the RS mainly because I wanted both an >action finder and matrix metering. Further, I rarely take land >photographs, so the superior F4s would mainly just sit around when it >wasn't in a housing. If I took more land pictures, I would have gone with >the F4s and traded off the availability to do matrix metering underwater. I take land pictures and came to a similar conclusion. BUT it was close. If the N90 had an action finder, I would have preferred that. If the RS were land compatibile there is no doubt which way I would have gone. >Sorry for the long essay. No problem. Fun reading. By the way, are you aware of the new 105 strobe? Steve N. Norvich Lisle, Illinois Joe Martz Los Alamos, NM APPENDIX A Ratings of Nikon lenses by "Chasseur d'Images" From: inissila@beta.hut.fi (Ilkka T Nissil{) Newsgroups: rec.photo.advanced Subject: Chasseur d'Images Nikon lens ratings - updated Date: 27 Dec 94 12:38:58 GMT Here is an update to Quan-Tuon Luong's list. If something looks odd, it may be a typo. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratings of Nikon lenses by "Chasseur d'Images" lens performance quality/price "cote d'amour" Nikkor AF 16/2.8D fish ** *** **** 18/2.8D **** ** *** 20/2.8 **** **** **** 24/2.8 **** *** **** 28/2.8D **** *** **** 28/2.8 *** *** **** 28/1.4 *** * ** 35/2 **** **** **** 50/1.8 **** **** ***** 50/1.8 new **** **** **** 50/1.4 *** ** ** 55/2.8m ***** *** *** 60/2.8m ***** **** ***** 80/2.8 (F3-AF) **** *** 85/1.8 **** ***** ***** 105/2D DC *** ** **** 105/2.8D m **** **** **** 135/2dc *** ** ** 180/2.8 old **** *** *** 180/2.8 **** **** **** 200/3.5 (F3-AF) **** *** 200/4D m **** *** **** 300/4 **** **** **** 300/2.8 **** **** **** 300/2.8 AF-I **** *** **** 500/4 (AI-P) **** **** **** 20-35/2.8D *** *** **** 24-50/3.3-4.5 **** **** **** 28-70/3.5-4.5D *** *** *** 35-70/3.3-4.5 *** **** **** 35-70/2.8 **** *** **** 35-70/2.8D **** *** *** 35-80/4-5.6D *** **** **** 28-85/3.5-4.5 *** *** *** 35-105/3.5-4.5 *** *** *** 35-104/3.5-4.5 *** *** *** 70-210/4-5.6 *** **** **** 70-210/4 *** *** ** 75-300/4.5-5.6 *** *** *** 80-200/2.8 **** **** **** 80-200/2.8D **** *** *** Nikkor AI-S 18/3.5 **** ** ** 28/2 *** ** ** 28/2.8 **** *** *** 28/3.5 *** ** ** 28/3.5pc **** **** **** 35/1.4 ** *** *** 25/2 **** **** **** 35/2.8 *** *** *** 35/2.8pc **** **** *** 50/1.8 **** **** **** 50/1.4 ** ** ** 50/1.2 ** ** * 55/2.8m ***** **** **** 58/1.2 *** ** ** 85/2 *** *** *** 85/1.4 *** *** *** 105/2.8m **** *** *** 105/2 **** **** **** 135/2.8 **** *** *** 135/2 *** ** ** 180/2.8 **** **** **** 200/4 **** *** *** 200/4m *** *** *** 300/4.5 ED ***** **** **** !! 300/4.5if-ed *** *** *** 400/5.6if-ed *** *** *** 400/5.6ed **** **** **** 500/8reflex *** *** *** 28-85/3.5-4.5 *** *** *** 35-200/3.5-4.5 *** *** ** 35-70/3.5 *** ** ** 80-200/4 *** *** *** 80/200/2.8 **** ** * Nikkor E 28/2.8 *** *** *** 50/1.8 **** **** **** 36-72/3.5 *** *** *** 70-210/4 ** ** *** AI-P 500/4 **** **** **** -- I'm just starting my French classes so I can't reliably translate the texts. 35-70/2.8 AF-D is better than the AF-N from 50 mm up, at wider apertures. But the price is also higher! The tele end on zooms is often pretty bad. The 35-200 does surprisingly well in the midrange. The 28-70 doesn't do better than the 28-85 at equal settings. :-( The 35/2 AF and 35/2.8 AI-S, center leaves corners behind until stopped down to f/5.6 and f/8, respectively. The 16 AF fisheye is just as sharp as the 18 AF, but the barrel distortion drops two stars from the performance mark! Fast lenses "suffer" too. The 28/1.4 is sharper than the 28/2.8 AI-S at f/2.8 and f/4. The 80-200/2.8 MF is better than the AF at 200 mm but the AF wins in the short end. The 200 Micros differ at wide apertures (the AF wins there, par with the 200/4 ai-s non-micro). -- Ilkka Nissil{ APPENDIX B Tests of Micro-Nikkors Allen Johnson has performed rigorous testing on some micro Nikkor lenses. He also points out the complication and difficulties which could arise in lens testing. His results are reported in the 3 articles below. From: alj@stein2.u.washington.edu (Allen Johnson) Newsgroups: rec.photo Subject: resolution - R U NUTS? Date: 30 Nov 1993 05:22:47 GMT Summary: a start on a "practical" resolution measurement Keywords: lens film mirror resolution So, there I was, having bought a shiny new camera for close up and technical work and the net was telling me that I had to worry about mirror shake. How much? So, I decided to try to measure the stuff. The target - a electron microscope sample mounting grid (photolitho'd, ~120 um cell, line width ~20 um ), and some bars and wires outside. The film - tech pan in D dilution HC-110 The lens and camera - Nikon 105 micro w/ N90 How to do this stuff..... well, there are two motions to worry about, linear translations and angular translations - a close focus target emphasises the linear while the far target emphasises the angular motions. So, use a light table with variable illumination to keep the camera constant while getting selected shutter speeds. Back light the target.... humm, what to set the backlight as in the camera meter? I set ~18% gray - no particular reason why, and I still don't know if there is a right answer.... Film is covered with silver chloride/bromide grains, and the grains are either turned on by the exposure or the aren't - thus, edge sharpness increases for higher exposure (there are more "dots" to define the edge).... Further, "sharpness" is increased by increased contrast - if the lit edge spans 20um in fuzzyness, then if the film is driven to black by 1/2 the total illumination rise then the edge occurs in less than 20um.... (yes I understand that if the rise in density has the right form then this doesn't occur but reciprocity failure will get you in any case...). Okay, then we shoot the grid at ~1:1, and the targets at infinity, and then measure. I have access to a microscope with chilled CCD - at 100X it has a range of 0-4000 and an edge 20%-80% sharpness in bright field mode of 4um. We measure the grid in the vertical and the horizontal directions (why? because the motions of the camera won't be the same in each plane) and the distances and resolution are the same. Now we measure the film. First, most of the shots look awful - I shall have to do this over - there was no evident shift in focus from the groundglass to autofocus, but there may be a film plane error - I am making a ground glass for the film plane (kids don't do this yourself - dropping glass chunks into your camera ruins your day) - but as a practical number lets' proceed. What to measure? "lines per millimeter" sounds nice but if my eyes are fuzzy does that mean that my camera is bad? A useful measure from the pulse trade is time to transit from the 20% to the 80% of step response level. So! On not a very picky tripod, at 1 to 1, light set to ~18% grey, with the 105 set to f5.6, with a 2-4 sec exposure, we got a 20%->80% width of 11um. (note the fuzzyness of the microscope hasn't been removed). Contrast of the 20um line was 66% of full black. Note that the 20%->80% density levels were calculated from full black. On the distant target, with 2 sec exposure, backlit bars against the sky, the 20% to 80% width was 10-12um. Why the variation? The film has grain, and you can pick regions to plot density through where the onset is either rapid or slow... and get a variation of 1-2um in width. Neither target showed anisotropy in the widths. What to do from here? I think I shall shoot with the low contrast development recipe - one needs to record all of the luminance signature. I am concerned about the low contrast in the narrow targets - evidence of shake? I shall check the film plane to ground glass agreement - but since film is not flat unless the error is large it may be part of the wash. Which is to say - unless you sorta know what you are looking to get, a measure of "lines per millimeter" doesn't seem to me to be too useful - a 20-80 width (with anisotropy) can be used to calculate the contrast available at the film for resolving close objects. Since the resolution of the film is dependent on contrast as well as the illumination of the objects being resolved.... what you see may not be what you get. Which is to say - are we crazy? Allen This is part two of a report on an attempt to deal with the question of mirror shake, resolution, and similar fetishes.... Well.... quickly, the results for the test on Technical Pan in HC110 were disappointing - the best results were ~60% contrast for a 20um grid in 120um cell - with a 20% to 80% rise in about 10um for a step edge. This was shot with a 105mm Nikon AF micro. Distant targets gave step rises from 7-14um - there was no consistent pattern of results attributable to shake from 1/125 to 1 sec... but there was some structure in the image (the target was bars against the afternoon overcast sky) that made the measurement difficult. I have done another set of targets in HC110 with the F dilution developed 6 min, with the film metered at ASA 25 +2stops... The grain situation is better. Further, I tested the 105mm macro verses the 55mm F2.8 manual Nikon macro... this is using the grid target. So! CR is the ratio of the transmission of the grid lines, horizontal to vertical. Cl is the ratio of the transmission of the grid line to the wide border. Step is the 20%->80% response distance for a vertical edge. Note that Cl gives the edge contrast, CR is contrast loss due to shake, and Step is the resolution. I will note that technical pan has a loss of contrast in these ranges of feature size (due to development adjacency effects) and so absolute numbers are not too meaningful, other than for this treatment of TP. lens: 105 micro shutter speed Cl CR Step Notes 4" 1:6 1 12um F8, focused by ground glass at film plane 1/4 1:5 1:4 10um this set at 1:1 repro. ratio 1" 1:12 1 19um F2.8 1" 3:4 F8 repro. ratio 1:3.3 lens: 55mm micro 1" 1 F8 repro. ratio 1:3.3 1/8 1:30 1 8um 1/2 1:60 15um F2.8 1" 1:20 1 8um F8 repro ratio 1:2 This suggests.... that the 55mm micro is better than the 105AF, that one gets a loss of sharpness of ~2 going from F8 to F2.8, that the contrast available for 20um features is ~20-60% for the 105, and for 7-10um features for the 55 it is 2-5% (note that the 105 is giving about 2% in similar situations). the CR is a measure of the contrast loss due to shake - the 105 and 55 seem different - the 105 has a small problem at 1", no problem at 4" and significant problem at 1/4" for 10-20um features, whereas the 55 seems to be free of problems down to 7um and 1/8" and longer. I will note that the 55 was much sharper in the viewfinder. Also, the Kodak datasheet on TP say that for various cycles and two different developers the contrasts are (approx.): HC110 dil. D technidol cycles/mm 20 100 130 50 70 100 100 45 70 200 30 30 Last comments - the densitometer seems to have a 20-80 of 4um, 10% error is to be expected for most things, these are meant to be suggestive and not definitive, my employer would be horrified to learn I was doing such things, and all conclusions you reach from the above are your own responsability - but they are the best I could do with the time and apparatus I had at hand. Which is to say, I hope it is of use, but you can't hold me to any of it. Next project is to measure the 60mm micro, with technidol development, verses the 105 and 55 on the grid target. I may make a jig to measure the lens directly, and maybe do a star target (to get the airy disk) but then again, perhaps I mean to take pictures in any event, and so the results on film are more important. If I get anything of interest, I shall post. Hopefully, I will not feel that I should say how I did the measurement - (but people will missuse data if they don't know how it came about...) and I may want to sell my 105... but first I get the D version and look at that, I think... Allen From: alj@u.washington.edu (Allen Johnson) Newsgroups: rec.photo.advanced Subject: Re: Nikon lens test results - micro lenses revisited Date: 8 Aug 1994 05:27:52 GMT I used the projection method to look at the 60mm micro and 105mm micro - both D type. Note that this method uses an implied high contrast source (a Four Designs target - "good" to 320 lpm, although I think is has useful features to ~460lpm) and is not therefor necessarily comparible to reflective targets. Lens repro. ratio center corner 60 1X 160 143 .. .5X 226 160 .. .25X 254 101 105 1X 226 226 .. .5X 320 226 Notes: I used an enlarger to project the target on the stage of an inverted microscope with a 10X objective and 10X eyepiece. The lower ratios were projecting larger images and so the effects of the microscope may be minimized - with this objective I started running out of resolution at about 450lpm. However, it could also be that the best results out of the lenses are to be had at repro. ratios <<1. Projecting to infinity  (more or less) gave a resolution ~ 80lpm - but the illumination was quite low. Going to blue light improved resolution by about 25%. All aperatures were 5.6 ..... I still prefer the 60 mm - much the nicer lens, really. The corner resolution were sometimes refocused - due to the possible tilt in my enlarger the refocusing may not mean much, but then again the refocus didn't improve matters more than 25% either. So! These numbers are kind of an upper bound...., and aren't to be used without some seasoning.... questions to JOHNSON@CHEME.WASHINGTON.EDU Allen APPENDIX C Subjective Lens Evaluations From rec.photo.advanced Mon Jul 3 17:26:29 1995 From: larkinsg@solix.fiu.edu (Dr Grover Larkins) Newsgroups: rec.photo.advanced Subject: Lens Evaluations -- Subjective Date: 26 Jun 1995 18:04:43 GMT Organization: Florida International Univeristy I'm Getting quite a few questions pertaining to long lenses and Nature Photography Glass in particular so I've sort of compiled my and the experiences of my friends and am posting it in rec.photo.advanced -- enjoy! Teleconverter info for NIKON TC 14 and 14B and TC 300/301 have been added -- generall the effect of the TC + Prime lens is best modelled as the Square Root of the Optical Quality of TC times that of the lens ==> SQRT(4.5*4.5) = 4.5 (THIS IS WHY NO TC is PERFECT in THIS LISTING!!!!) Here are some Lens Rankings Based upon Personal Experiences of several Closely Allied Pro Photographers: NOTE: THESE ARE OPINIONS OF ABOUT 10 WORKING PROS -- They are ONLY OPINIONS -- If you disagree, fine; if you flame I'll ignore you (as will most others). They may not include your pet lens -- if not I'm sorry but it isn't one we use then or I've omitted it inadvertantly. Grover Larkins ********************************************************************** Rating is on a scale of 0-5 w/5 high and are Optical, Mechanical -- A RATING OF ABOVE 4 IS PRO QUALITY! 5 = Super -- Sharp at All Apertures until Diffraction Limitset in with Outstanding Contrast and Flare Resistance. 4 = Very Good -- Center 75% of the Image is Sharp Wide Open and by 2 stops down entire image is crisp w/very good contrast and flare resistance at all apertures. 3 = Good -- May have to be stopped down more than 2 stops to get the entire image sharp and contrast could be better but is still OK, Flare resistance is not as good as it could be -- this is a lens you need to be cautious using a teleconverter with. 2 = So-So -- Portraits and Family Photos -- Contrast is acceptable but not nearly as good as a 3 or 4 rated lens, don't even think of using a teleconverter. May have one good aperture for sharpness and contrast but in general a lens strictly for amatuer use. 1 = Dog -- Only slightly better than an Instamatic Lens. 0 = Awful -- a lens polished using sandpaper or bubble gum. Mechanical Ratings - 5= Pro Quality in EVERY respect 4= Better than Avg. Amatuer quality 3= Avg. Amatuer Quality. 2= Below Avg. Quality 1= It will Break in Normal Use 0= Manufactured Broken. Lenses: Ratings: NIKON: 20 f2.8 MF AIS Nikkor --------------------- 5,5 24 f2.8 MF AI/AIS Nikkor ------------------ 4.5,5 28 f2.0 MF Nikkor AIS --------------------- 4.5,5 28 f2.8 Series E Nikon -------------------- 4.5,4 35 f2.5 Series E Nikon -------------------- 3,4 35 f2.0 MF Nikkor AIS --------------------- 3.5,5 35 f1.4 MF Nikkor AIS --------------------- 5,5 35 f2.0 AF Nikkor AIS --------------------- 5,4 50 f1.4 MF Nikkor AIS --------------------- 4.5,5 50 f1.8 MF Nikkor AIS --------------------- 4,5 50 f1.8 Series E Nikon -------------------- 4,4 55 f1.2 Nikkor ---------------------------- 3,5 (a true dog) 55 f3.5 Micro Nikkor AI and Non-AI -------- 5,5 55 f2.8 Micro Nikkor AIS ------------------ 4.5,4.5 55 mm f2.8 AF Micro Nikkor ---------------- 4.5,4 58 f1.2 Noct Nikkor ----------------------- 5,5 60mm f2.8 AF Micro Nikkor ----------------- 5,4 85 f1.4 MF AIS Nikkor --------------------- 5,5 85 f1.8 AF Nikkor ------------------------- 5,4 105 f4 Micro Nikkor ----------------------- 4.5,5 105 f2.8 MF AIS Micro Nikkor -------------- 4,5 105 AF Micro Nikkor ----------------------- 5,5 200 IF Micro Nikkor MF -------------------- 5,5 180 ED MF Nikkor -------------------------- 4.8,5 180 EDIF AF Nikkor ------------------------ 5,5 (New Version) 180 EDIF AF Nikkor ------------------------ 5,4 (Old Version) 200 f2.0 EDIF Nikkor ---------------------- 4.5,5 300 f4.5 MF Nikkor (Non-ED)---------------- 3,4.5 300 f4.5 EDIF Nikkor ---------------------- 4.8,5 300 f4 EDIF AF Nikkor --------------------- 5,5 300 f2.0 EDIF MF Nikkor ------------------- 5,5 300 f2.8 EDIF MF Nikkor ------------------- 5,5 300 f2.8 EDIF AF-I Nikkor ----------------- 5,5 300 f2.8 EDIF AF-N Nikkor ----------------- 4.8,4.8 300 f2.8 EDIF AF 1st vers. Nikkor---------- 4.8,4 400 f5.6 EDIF Nikkor ---------------------- 4.8,5 400 f3.5 EDIF Nikkor ---------------------- 5,5 500 f8 Mirror Nikkor ---------------------- 3.8,5 500 f4 EDIF-P Nikkor ---------------------- 5,4.5(Wimpy Tripod Mt.) 500 f4 EDIF-AF-D Nikkor ------------------- 5,5(Much improved mount) 600 f5.6 EDIF Nikkor ---------------------- 5,5 600 f4 EDIF Nikkor ------------------------ 5,5 600 f4 EDIF-AF-D Nikkor ------------------- 5,5 (Fast AF) 20-35 AF Nikkor --------------------------- 4.5,4.8 (Pretty close to prime lens performance but some slight flare in high flare situations) 75-150 f3.5 Series E Nikon ---------------- 5,4.5 80-200 f4.5 AI Nikkor --------------------- 5,5 35-70 f2.8 AF Nikkor ---------------------- 4.7,4.5 43-86 Nikkor ------------------------------ 3,4.5(later vers. better but still not great) 80-200 f2.8 EDIF MF Nikkor ---------------- 5,5 80-200 f2.8 EDIF AF Nikkor ---------------- 4.8,4(No Tripod Mt) 50-300 f4.5 EDIF Nikkor ------------------- 5,5 200-400 ED MF AIS Nikkor ------------------ 5,5 (A cult Classic for Africa) TC-14 and TC-14 B (Long Lenses ONLY) ------ 4.8,5 (NO Teleconverter is Perfect) TC-300 and TC 301 (Long Lenses ONLY) ------ 4.5,5 (See above) CANON: 20-35 f2.8 EF-L --------------------------- 4.2,4.5 (Flare a bit worse than in prime but still awfully good!) 100 f2.0 EF ------------------------------- 4.5,4 300 f4 EF L ------------------------------- 5,5 300 f2.8 EF-L ----------------------------- 5,5 400 f5.6 EF-L ----------------------------- 4,5 500 f4.5 EF-L ----------------------------- 4.8,5 600 f4 EF-L ------------------------------- 5,5 45 EF TS ---------------------------------- 4.5,5 90 EF TS ---------------------------------- 4.8,5 80-200 f2.8 EF-L (Early) ------------------ 4,4.5 80-200 f2.8 EF-L (Recent)------------------ 4.5,4.5 100-300 f5.6 EF-L ------------------------- 3.5,4 35mm FD TS -------------------------------- 4.5,5 80-200 f4 FD L ---------------------------- 4.8,5 300 f2.8 FD-L ----------------------------- 4.5,5 300 f2.8 Fluorite ------------------------- 4.8,5 400 f4.5 FD ------------------------------- 3,4.5 500 f4.5 FD-L ----------------------------- 5,5 500 f4.5 FD Fluorite ---------------------- 5,5 600 f4.5 FD ------------------------------- 3.5,4.5 150-600 f5.6 FD-L ------------------------- 4.9,4 (Some break in the Middle!) PENTAX: 200 f4 Macro ED --------------------------- 5,5 300 f4.5 AF EDIF -------------------------- 4.9,4.5 300 f2.8 EDIF MF -------------------------- 4.5,5 200-600 f5.6 ED AF Zoom ------------------- 4.8,4.8 MINOLTA MAXXUM: 200 f2.8 APO ------------------------------ 4.5,5 300 f2.8 APO ------------------------------ 4.5,5 600 f4 APO -------------------------------- 4.5,5 SIGMA: 80-200 f2.8 APO (Canon EF mt.) ------------ 4.8,4.8 28-70 F2.8 (Canon EF mt.) ----------------- 4.5,4.5 300 f2.8 APO (Minolta Maxxum Mt.) --------- 4.5,4 (MF Linkage Breaks sometimes) 400 f5.6 APO Canon EF Mt. ----------------- 4.7,4.8 TOKINA: 300 f2.8 MF Nikon mt. --------------------- 4.8,4.8 300 f2.8 AF Nikon Mt. --------------------- 4.8,4.5 80-200 f2.8 APO MF ATX Nikon Mt. ---------- 4.5,4.5 (Tripod Mount is chinzy) 100-300 f4 APO MF ATX Nikon Mt. ----------- 4.5,4.8 TAMRON: 300 f2.8 LDIF MF (Early) ------------------ 4,4.8 300 f2.8 LDIF MF (Recent) ----------------- 4.4,4.8 300 f2.8 LDIF AF -------------------------- 4.5,4.5 400 f4 LDIF MF ---------------------------- 4.2,4.8 200-500 f5.6 MF --------------------------- 3.5,4.5 80-200 f2.8 AF (Nikon) -------------------- 4.5,4.5 LEITZ: 100 f2.8 Macro R -------------------------- 5,5 280 f2.8 APO R ---------------------------- 5,5 400 f2.8 APO R ---------------------------- 5,5 180 f3.4 APO R ---------------------------- 5,5 180 f2.8 R--------------------------------- 4.5,5 560 R ------------------------------------- 4,4.5 (Clumsy) Medium Format View Lenses/Press Lenses I use: SCHNEIDER: 47mm f5.6 Super Angulon ------------------- 5,5 75mm f8 Super Angulon --------------------- 4.8,5 (Monocoated -- slight flare) ZEISS: 100 f3.5 Tessar --------------------------- 4.5,5 Coated -- coverage is restrictive and has some flare. All of these lenses we've seen hundreds of transparencies taken with -- some tens or hundreds of thousands (400f3.5, 500f4, 600f4/5.6, 200-400 f4 & 50-300 EDIF Nikkors, 75 - 150 Series E, Leitz Glass, and Canon Long Teles of both MF and AF types) so this *subjective* rating is pretty comprehensive and evenly based. Grover From rpn1@cornell.edu Sat Aug 5 20:35 MST 1995 Date: Sat, 05 Aug 1995 23:37:22 -0400 To: bmtong@cs.arizona.edu From: rpn1@cornell.edu (Bob Neuman) Subject: Updated "SUBJECTIVE Lens Evaluations, Mostly Nikkors" I posted the following in rec.photo.advanced (about 25 years work playing with lenses went into this), thought you might want to add it to FAQ's: Having used all of the following lenses (often multiple samples), I cannot resist adding my experience to Grover Larkins' useful and valuable summary of performance. (Please see his summary in rec.photo.advanced for a description of the subjective rating system, and for lenses not rated here.) To his "O" through "5", I will add two more levels: "6" - darn near perfect lens, and "7" - perfect lens in every respect, all apertures, all distances, center-to-corner. You will find no "6" or "7" in the list below, but I want to place real- world optics in the context of a scale running from completely terrible, unable to form an image ("0"), to absolutely perfect, able to form an image with no defects under any conditions ("7"). Any lens rated "4" or above is excellent, capable of fine, professional-level performance. Please remember that these are SUBJECTIVE ratings, not mathematical, and that differences of 1/2 point are quite subtle. Smaller differences are included to try to differentiate quality among similar-performing lenses, but please DO NOT get hung-up on them (the area between "4" and "5" is crowded with many fine lenses). This rating system does not allow for details of performance, like variations in sharpness with distance, or the particulars of wide vs. mid-aperture performance. It is too general, but it is still a good rough guide to relative lens quality. In this updated listing, you will find more notes on the outstanding particulars of some lenses, and you will find some additional lenses I had forgotten in my first listing. (BTW, I am a photographer, and do use lenses, not just test them - but I am also an equipment nut, and prefer to use fine lenses, the performance characteristics of which are familiar to me. Poor lenses can be used to make fine photographs, but how much more fun it is to use good lenses and not need to find ways around their shortcomings!) Hope this helps, AND DO NOT TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY! (photography should be fun!): ^^^ LENSES: RATINGS: NOTES: (NIKKOR, MANUAL-FOCUS, (number of samples tried, unless otherwise noted) in parentheses) - 6mm f5.6 -------------- 4 (1) (no TTL viewing, no accurate v.f., fits only on bodies with mirror lock-up, 220 degree [!] circular image) - 7.5mm f5.6 ------------ 4 (1) (no TTL viewing, though the separate v.f. is remarkably accurate, fits only on bodies with mirror lock-up, 180 degree circular image) - 8mm f2.8 -------------- 4.6 (2) (180 degree circular image, excellent sharpness to edge of coverage by f11, not wonderful wide open, equally good in B & W and color [6, 7.5, 8, 15mm f5.6 have built-in filters], physically large size) - 8mm F4 Sigma ---------- 4.4 (1) (c. 165 degree circular image, better in color than B & W, good wide open in color, compact size) - 15mm f5.6 ------------- 3-4.8 (several samples, somewhat variable, very low linear distortion, even center to corner performance, very even illumination [in common with all the Nikkor super wides, except the 18mm's at wide apertures, and the 21mm], slightly yellow color cast compared with other Nikkors, best at f11-16, need to open 1/2 stop from meter reading, corners improve slightly in B & W using yellow, orange, or red filter) - 15mm f3.5 ------------- 4 (2) (poor corner performance in B & W) - 16mm f3.5 ------------- 5.5 (3) (wonderful lens, can be used wide open, works well w. TC14A by f5.6 for a great people super-wide lens) - 16mm f2.8 ------------- 4 (3) (works well w. TC14A by f5.6, 180 degree full frame image [slightly wider than 16mm f3.5]) - 18mm f3.5 ------------- 4.4 (2) (better in color than B & W) - 18mm f4 --------------- 3 (2) (avoid this lens) - 20mm f3.5, f4 compact - 2.8-3.5 (many samples, avoid these) - 20mm f2.8 ------------- 5 (3) (design is same as AF) - 21mm f4 --------------- 4 (3) (no TTL viewing [though the separate v.f. is remarkably accurate], no linear distortion, some tendency to flare, extremely compact when mounted on the camera, though will fit only on F, F2, [F3?] bodies) - 24mm f2.8 ------------- 4.5 (many samples [one bad], design same as AF, needs lens shade) - 24mm f2 --------------- 4 (1) (low contrast wide open) - 28mm f4 PC ------------ 5 (3) (better off-axis performance than 28mm f3.5 PC - all of the Nikkor PC lenses will illuminate the complete frame, even with the most extreme movement [beyond the recommended shift limit], but all require f16-22 to sharpen the far edge of coverage [f8-11 is sufficient to sharpen the top corners of a horizontal frame with full rise applied])=7F - 28mm f3.5 PC ---------- 4 (3) (better wide aperture performance with no shift than the 28mm f4 PC, but off axis, it is not up to f4) - 28mm f3.5 AI ---------- 5 (4) (good wide open, very even center to corner performance) - 28mm f3.5 non-AI ------ 3 (3) - 28mm f2.8 early ------- 3.8 (2) (very resistent to flare) - 28mm f2.8 AIS --------- 5 (4) (good wide open) - 28mm f2.8 E ----------- 2.8-3.5 (of several tried, one good stopped- down, others poor - avoid these - the AF design may be the same) - 28mm f2 --------------- 4.5 (many samples) - 35mm f3.5 PC ---------- 3.5 (1) - 35mm f2.8 PC non-AI --- 4 (3) (non-AI PC's fit AI cameras) - 35mm f2.8 PC AI ------- 5 (3) (excellent to the corners wide open shifted up to about 3mm - the best performance of all the 35's at f2.8, good on TC14A with c. 5mm or less shift [effectively 7mm] when not stopped down beyond about f5.6) - 35mm f2.8 non-AI ------ 3.5 (1) - 35mm f2.5 E ----------- 4 (2) - 35mm f2 --------------- 3.5-5 (many samples, somewhat variable, the best are good wide open, though all show illumination falloff at wide apertures, and have some tendency to flare with strong backlight) - 35mm f2 AF ------------ 4.3 (1) - 35mm f1.4 ------------- 4.5 (3)(good wide-open at mid-long distances) - 50mm f2 --------------- 4.3 (several samples) - 50mm f1.8 AIS metal --- 4.8 (many samples, very even center to corner performance at all apertures, good wide open) - 50mm f1.8 E, AF-------- 4.5 (many samples, design is same as AF, usable wide open, no linear distortion)=7F - 50mm f1.4 non-AI ------ 3.8 (many samples, poor wide open, though excellent at middle and smaller apertures [wide apertures can be sharpened with a red filter in B & W]) - 50mm f1.4 AIS --------- 4.8 (many samples, design is same as AF, excellent short of corners by f2) - 50mm f1.2 ------------- 5 at 4 to 15 feet or so, otherwise 4 (several samples, excellent center to corners wide open near optimum focus distance, with declining quality as approach infinity focus) - 55mm f1.2 ------------- 3 (3) (avoid these) - 55mm f3.5 Micro ------- 5 close, 3 infinity (several samples, noticeable field curvature near infinity) - 55mm f2.8 Micro ------- 5 at infinity, 4 close (sev. samp., AF same) (this lens tends to acquire oil on the diaphram leaves) - 58mm f1.2 ------------- 3 (1, pos. defective, wide apertures poor) - 60mm f2.8 Micro ------- 3 at infinity, 5.5 close (1 sample, pos. defective [soft at infinity at wide apertures, though excellent stopped down], I will check out another 60mm soon) - 85mm f2 --------------- 5 (several samples) - 85mm f1.8 non-AI ------ 5 (2) (very good wide open, flares easily with backlight) - 85mm f1.8 AF ---------- 5 (1) (sl. better in corners wide open near minimum focus distance than near infinity) - 85mm f 1.4 ------------ 5 (4) (good wide open, floating element maintains good performance down to minimum focus distance) - 90mm f2.5 Vivitar Ser I 4.8 (3) (flares easily near infinity, is the best of the macros have tried for magnifications near 2x, requires skylight filter to match color with Nikkors) - 90mm f2.5 Sigma macro - 4.7 (2) (odd center flare spot with some converter-tube combinations - the acromat that comes with this lens is excellent and works well with non-macro lenses [Sigma acromat + 200mm f4 Nikkor compact non-macro lens at f11-16 + TC200 or PN-11 makes a very sharp macro combination for about 3-3.5X magnification]) - 100mm f2.8 E ---------- 4.5 (2) - 105mm f4 Micro -------- 3.5 (2) (not great at wide apertures) - 105mm f4 short mount -- 3.5 (1) (same optics as 105mm f4 Micro) - 105mm f2.8 MF Micro --- 5.5 at infinity, 4.5 close (2) (the best center to corner performance at infinity at f2.8 of all lenses have tried 85mm and over [with the possible exception of the 180mm AF] - this is a great aerial photography lens) - 105mm f2.8 AF Micro 1:1 4.7 at infinity, 5 close (2) (too difficult to focus manually near infinity - focus is too fast) - 105mm f2.5 AI --------- 5 (several samples) - 105mm f1.8 ------------ 4.8 (many samples) - 135mm f3.5 ------------ 4.5 (2) - 135mm f2.8 non-AI ----- 4.5 (3) - 135mm f2.8 compact ---- 4.8 (4) - 135mm f2.8 E ---------- 4.5 (2) - 135mm f2 -------------- 5 beyond 10', 3 at minimum focus (3) (very sharp center to corner at f2 at mid to long distances, but there is some very slight field curvature at infinity, performance is very poor near minimum focus at wide apertures) - 150mm f5.6 Vivitar VHE enlarging lens (actually, a Schneider Componon-S in Viv. clothes) on PB-4 tilt-shift bellows --- 4 (1) (needs strong skylight filter to match Nikon color, provides the 35mm user with a mini long lens view camera of good quality) - 180mm f2.8 non-ED ----- 4.4 (1) - 180mm f2.8 ED --------- 4.8 (1) - 180mm f2.8 EDAF ------- 5.7 (1) (this lens is SUPERB all apertures center-to-corner, all distances [even on short tube]) - 200mm f4 older -------- 4 (several samples) - 200mm f4 compact ------ 4.5 (several samples) (can be great as macro - see 90mm Sigma comments) - 200mm f4 MF Micro------ 4 (2) - 300mm f4.5 ------------ 3.4-4.5 (several samples, some variation) - 300mm f4.5 ED non-IF--- 5 (1) (particularly good with converters) - 300mm f4.5 EDIF-------- 4.8 (2) (good at minimum focus, and on tubes, but not good with converters) - 300mm f4 AF ----------- 4.8 (1) - 300mm f2.8 EDIF MF----- 5 (1) (good with converters) - 400mm f5.6 EDIF ------- 4.8 (1) (good with converters) - 400mm f5.6 Sigma APO -- 3.4 (2) (decent, but not a great performer) - 400mm f3.5 EDIF ------- 5 (2) (very good with converters) - 500mm f8 mirror, early- 4.4 (3) (good with TC14B, performs better near infinity than near minimum focus distance, rate film speed 1/2 stop lower when using this lens, there is a moderate center "hot spot" as there is with most mirrors [using the TC14 reduces this]) - 500mm f8 mirror, late - 3.8 (2) (very close focus, best performance near middle of focus range) - 500mm f8 Tamron mirror- 3.3 (1) - 1000mm f11 mirror ----- 3.5 (1) (it is very difficult to use a lens this long beyond a few hundred feet because the air qualities have a great affect on the image quality) - 25-50mm f4 ------------ 4.4 (several samples) - 28-50mm f3.5 ---------- 4.3 (2) (very sharp, but unusually high field curvature near infinity) - 28-85mm f3.5-4.5 ------ 4.4 (2) - 28-135mm f4-4.5 Tamron- 4.6 (2) (very even performance center to corners at all apertures and distances except macro under about 50mm, very slightly lower contrast over all than Nikon lenses, high linear distortion near long end, must be used with the large shade made for it, needs skylight filter to match Nikon color) - 35-70mm f3.3-4.5 ---- 4.2 (several samples) - 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 MF -- 3-5 (many samples - this is Nikon's most variable-quality lens [sample variability is generally not a problem with Nikkor lenses], a good sample is excellent at all apertures center to corners except near infinity near 105mm, macro is excellent, must be used with the short shade made for it) - 35-135mm f3.5-4.5 MF -- 4 (2) (appears to cheat a bit in the marked focal-length range, not wonderful wide open, but excellent by mid apertures) - 35-200mm f3.5-4.5 ----- 2-2.8 (two samples, both not good) - 43-86mm f3.5 ---------- 2-3 (2) (avoid all versions) - 50-135mm f3.5 --------- 5 (4) (non-rotating front, good wide open) - 70-210mm f4 E --------- 4.5 (several samples, works well on TC14A) - 70-210mm f3.5 Viv. Ser. I - 3.5-4.2 (3, some variability) - 70-210mm f4-5.6 AF ---- 3.8 (1) - 75-150mm f3.5 E ------- 5 (many samples, works well on converters, is very good wide open and throughout its focus and zoom ranges) - 80-200mm f4.5 --------- 4 (several samples, lower quality at long end than more modern Nikkor zooms in this range, but still very good) - 80-200mm f4 ----------- 4.5 (one sample) - 80-200mm f2.8 AF non-D- 5 (1) (performance under about 8' at 200mm goes down, becomes poor at min. focus at wide apertures - otherwise this lens is wonderful even wide open, performs very well on TC14C, well 14B [the length and mass help me hand hold this lens down to 1/60 at 200mm - something impossible for me with the 200mm fixed, or 70-210mm]) - 80-200mm f2.8 Tamron -- 4.8 near infinity, 3 close-focus (1) - 80-200mm f2.8 Tokina -- 4.8 near infinity, 3 mid distances, very poor at close-focus (1) - 100-300mm f5.6 -------- 5 (sev. samples, unusually low distortion [slight barrel to 135mm, then no distortion to 300mm], good wide open) - 100-500mm f5.6-8 Cosina 4.4 (one sample, very good to just over 400mm, is decent at 500mm - size and slow speed are its drawbacks) - TC14A ----------------- 4.8 (2) (short lenses only) - TC14 and TC14B -------- 4.8 (4) (long lenses only, except with tubes on front of converter for macro work) - TC14C ----------------- 5 (2) (long lenses only, this unusual converter is darn near perfect on some lenses, and out performs the excellent TC14B on all lenses they will fit, except the older 500mm f8 mirror) (The 80-200mm f2.8 with the TC14C by f4 is as good as prime lenses, and betters the excellent 100-300mm f5.6 at similar apertures) - TC200 and TC201 ------- X (4) (works very well on some lenses, adequately on some, and poorly on some - is excellent for increasing magnification in macro work when using small stops) - TC300 and TC301 ------- 3.5-4.5 (3) (results vary with particular lens designs, works best with 300mm f4.5 ED non-IF, and maybe worst with the 300mm f4.5 EDIF - both good lenses on their own) In general: Nikkor lenses are well matched in terms of color rendition, contrast, and freedom from flare (only the very oldest designs flare easily with strong backlight, and only the 35mm f2 design remains in the line); the fixed focal-length Nikkor lenses 35mm and under perform very well center-to-corner at all distances by f5.6 (some do well wide- open); the 50's perform well by f2, except the f1.2 near infinity; lenses 55mm and over perform well even wide-open (and show no linear distortion), except that non-IF lenses in the 85-180mm range without floating elements have reduced quality of performance near minimum focus distance at wide apertures; the zooms generally have remarkably good close-focus performance at focal-lengths over about 50mm, very good center-to-corner sharpness from f5.6 (some are very good wide- open), and remarkably uniform performance throughout their zoom ranges at mid to long distances. I have tried many Vivitars, Sigmas, Tokinas, etc., and the less said, the better about most of them, though there were a few decent and a few good lenses that I have tried, listed above. I have also tried some other camera manufacturers' lenses, which makes me appreciate the general high level of design and the sample-to-sample consistency of Nikkor lenses. Consider all of the above to be copyrighted material (1995 - David Ruether) which may be used freely for non-commercial purposes. PLEASE do not e-mail me for specifics on lenses! Hope this helps.