Yesterday's Weapons Forums

Finally got the zoom lens question answered. It took buying another Nikkor to do it though.



80-200 F 4 Nikkor at right. The difference is in the optical path layout. The 1/3 of a stop difference in brightness helps a bit too. It really shades the Series 1 Vivitar 70-210 F 3.5-4.5 in optical quality. It leaves the Nikkor 80-200 F 4.5 in the dust as well.



New Nikkor zoom at bottom.
It works much better with the "A" screen in the F-2 than any other zoom I've tried.

The only way to improve on this would be to go to the Nikkor 80-200 F 2.8 E.D., which is a huge lens with a built in tripod socket. That is seriously out of my price range, even today. This last new to me lens was 70.00 otd and is very close to factory new condition with minimal signs of use. Very easy to focus with.

More on this later.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

yup - just one more .............congrats , nice one

I think there may be something wrong with me.

I gotta quit doing this. Guns, knives fishing rods and cameras and lenses. This big wheel keeps turning just like the old Ike and Tina classic...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

I had the new to me Nikkor F-4 zoom out at the creek mouth at 26 F.
It seemed to function mostly O.K. except for a slight reluctance to focus at infinity at 80mm.
I believe that is totally temperature related. The body tube on this later lens is an aluminum extrusion, and it is more sensitive to low temperature than it's brass tubed F-4.5 predecessor.
I won't be discarding any of these lenses just yet. If I remember correctly, the latest lens is fine by 40 F or so. I remember this issue from my distant photographic past.
Now to find a 300mm fixed focal length F-5.6 Nikkor...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

I like a good compass. My daily driver is a Brunton military issue. It's graduated in mils rather than degrees, but I bought protractors with both mils and degrees for that. Very easy to triangulate your position on a good map. SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

Went and did it again.





Fixed focal length 200mm f4 Nikkor.

Gonna take a bit of a clean up. Aperture wants to stick open a bit, but the blades look fine.

Can't get over the compact size and weight. If the aperture doesn't hang, it will see a lot of use. This one "snaps" into focus, and I like it a lot.

There's an old twin ring zoom I'm looking at, but it can wait until the new year, I think...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

You'll need a golf club cart to take your kit out photographing! SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

More like a 3500 GMC and 5th wheel trailer at the rate I'm going.

I actually had to do this (for a change).
The rewind release on the F2 stripped out on the last roll of film.



A very pristine F2 in chrome. It came with the 50mm pictured, and a Q series 200mm f4.



I spent a little more than I would have liked.
Based on it's condition, it should last quite a while.

There's always a story behind these things.
In this particular instance, a 16 year old kid obtained what's shown here brand new in the spring of '78.
He had joined the school photography club and did not stay with it.
Camera and lenses have about 5 weeks of light use, and then everything got put into storage.
Fast forward some 43 years and I come across this looking for a replacement for the F2.

I'll get some cleaner and clearer pics up in the next couple of days.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

Good grab! The previous owner ignored a basic concept: get good on budget gear, and you'll *really* appreciate high end kit! Plus if you lose interest right away - like this person did- you're not out nearly as much. SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

What he paid for that kit in '78 would be equal to about 2500-3000 in today's dollars.
Gad...



There's a slightly better look at the new to me F2 body.
Only marks I can find on it are on the top plate- light scratches in the chrome from possibly a s/s cable release forced against it in a gadget bag.
The original leather Nikon factory strap on it is still quite pliable.
I'll use it if I can get used to the black rubber pad on it.



I actually had a strange bit of separation anxiety over the black F2.
I got the partially shot roll of HP-5 out of it okay.
I was hunting for a nickel for the battery door when I realized how much I don't want to put it away. I'm gonna keep shooting it until it quits.
I could send it for a restoration to Sover Wong, but that is getting onto some very big bucks,
and an incredibly long wait.
What I will put away is the F3~ or get a bigger bag

Current daily carry is 2 cameras.
I am going to be in extreme trouble if I get into a dslr...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

My first Cat! Tamron 500mm f8 mirror lens.



Not much to go on right now. We are under a nor-easter low pressure cell
that I am feeling.

Had a big beef liver supper with the Mrs. and am plenty sleepy now.
I'll head out in the a.m. to get one of those big hurricane blowers and some optical wipes. Lens is a bit dirty, but not bad for a specimen pushing the 35 year old mark...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

500mm - that might get you some good moon shots. A fun toy for sure! SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

every time you say its the last ...............

but each time it gets better in my mind - i would love to revisit the past , i would want all my old darkroom equipment back tho , and my darkroom in my old house in iowa back in 76 , i had an 8 foot sink and room to project the enlarger on a wall , so many things we take for granted when we are young , there is no place here [in a much bigger house] to set up even a small darkroom , i have my reloading equipment in one of the bathrooms we dont use , "life changes"

Just a brief and quick review of some of the lenses discussed here, and the newest to me F-2 body.

The Tamron 500mm f8 cat lens has very shallow depth of field at long distances.
Zone of focus is less than an inch at 120 feet.
It is a very tricky lens to use, and definitely requires a tripod.
A focus magnifier for the F-3 body that it is best suited to would be a welcome advantage.
That being said, when the stars align, and I'm nice and steady, the areas of the image that are properly in focus are razor sharp.
The lens is marked as a macro unit. I find it a bit hard to use as a macro at it's closest focusing distance of 9.2 feet. Again, this situation would likely improve through the use of a tripod.
It would be worth it for me to practice using this lens in it's intended manner.

Nikkor Q 200mm f4.
What a sleeper! I honestly cannot find fault with this lens.
It's poor internet reputation is hugely undeserved.
It has to be one of the sharpest lenses I've ever used in my life.
It's 8 foot minimum focus distance is no great handicap, and I rarely use it there.
Not much use for razor sharp pics of people's noses.
I can't find much difference in the medium resolution prints from f4 to f11.
Everything works as it should, and the slightly warm color rendition is actually quite appealing.

Nikkor 85mm f1.8 (K)
Very nice lens. Ever so slightly soft wide open. Razor sharp by f4. This lens seems to like f5.6 the best. Not much of a landscape lens wide open- it has slight barrel distortion at the edges at f1.8.
It is gone by f4.
The well documented original intent of this lens was portraiture. The ladies quite like the soft skin tones it produces wide open.
I do not use it as much as I thought I would. I seem to use the 135mm f 3.5 "Q" a lot more.
For a legacy lens, I'm not quite sure that the high prices these commanded when they were new can be justified. It does beat any zoom at the 85mm mark - even the nikkors.

Speaking of which- I have all these zooms here, and yet do almost all of my photos with the prime set of 28, 50, 135, and 200.

The new to me F-2 body is great. I have been using the stepless shutter speeds on it quite a bit, and everything comes out properly exposed. I can find no fault with this body at all. I would like to find another "B" focusing screen, just so's I have the same screen in both cameras. The "K" that came with it is entirely usable. My eyes dislike it's microprism collar a lot.

I will try and do some copy work later this week from the matte prints that came back from the lab....

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

I did the majority of my photography with a Zuiko 85mm and a Zuiko 135/f5.6 on my daily driver OM-1.

Your remark of focus on the nose brought back a memory. School photographers in the 50s often used a "kisser button". As in have the subject adjust position until comfortable with the button just touching the nose.

I now realize the camera had a fixed focus at that distance. I'd like to see one just to look the lens over. SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

We had similar here with the school photo's.
What ever it was had a huge 35mm bulk back on it.
Photog used a brass chain and washer for measuring focal distance.
Most of these guys used a touch of the eyebrows for focus point.
All used the "M" type bulbs off of 2 units- one the main key, and the other side fill.
Josten's did our school pix. They were a big national outfit at the time.

A similar system was once used for D/L photo's here.
My first photo D/L they used a nylon flat bar hinged to a wall for focus point.
It was simply swung out of the way for the actual photo.
By my second D/L photo, they were already using A/F equipment.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

every one is the 'last' one , but ...........you always find one more

Got another Tamron 500- this one in much better shape than my first.



Original case...



Very minty lens with all it's factory included accessories.



Filter set- 3 color for B&W, and one neutral density filter for when you need to slow the camera down a bit.



There it is showing it's tripod collar.

Now to figure out a way to run a test with it, without fogging the glass in the cold...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

_________________
"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

Are those letter filters? I used a "G" for fog back in the day.W

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!