[SOldBear]

I already used up this year's lens budget. But yesterday I couldn't resist.

I "borrowed" next year's budget to buy a gorgeous Nikkor*ED 180mm 1:2.8. It is about as long as my Takumar 200mm 1:4.0, but much fatter and heavier. The filter thread diameter is 72mm (vs the Takumar's 58mm). Here it is, with the Vivitar (T4 mount) 300mm 1:5.5 on the left and the Super Takumar 200mm 1:4.0 on the right:




Quick test photos, JPEG files directly from K10D, no post processing (except for resizing by flickr.com):


F/2.8, 1/3200 sec, ISO 200, +1EV:




F/4.0, 1/800 sec, ISO 200, +0.7EV:




F/5.6, 1/600 sec, ISO 200, +0.7EV




If this trend continues, I think I'll have to found a "Nikkor Lens Club."

[hinman]

I am always naive to mount of other lens. What sort of mount is the Nikor lens that can be used in Pentax? Please educate us to share your joy.

Update with naive question: how can a Nikor* ED lens be made mountable in Pentax? And can you use Av mode as in M42 lens?

Thanks,
Hin

[gokenin]

can you use that on a pentax and if so what type of adaptor? please say no since I think I have LBA under control right now

edit:himan beat me to it LOL

[Andi Lo]

IIRC the Nikon lenses can be mounted upside down to Pentax. No click but just enough for it to hold it in place. I tried this with their fast fifty yesterday and it works fine I'm not as familiar with the Nikon mounts... I just know that there are those they call AIS and pre-AIS F mounts.. I assume that this is one of the pre AIS. I did find that as I close down aperture the dial becomes stiffer though. I wonder if I did something wrong.... hmm. I certainly hope I didnt break my friend's lens.

Much more isnteresting to me is... how much did you get it for? seems like a good lens =)

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Last edited by Andi Lo; 04-14-2009 at 02:54 PM.

[hinman]

IIRC the Nikon lenses can be mounted upside down to Pentax. No click but just enough for it to hold it in place. I tried this with their fast fifty yesterday and it works fine I'm not as familiar with the Nikon mounts... I just know that there are those they call AIS and pre-AIS F mounts.. I assume that this is one of the pre AIS.

Much more isnteresting to me is... how much did you get it for? seems like a good lens =)

Andi,

Are you referring to reverse mount Nikon lens on Pentax body?

The pre-AIS mount is probably called F mount, which is similar to Pentax K mount. I assume that the Pentax K and Nikon F mount are similar bayonet mount that can be adapted in some way. Just wild guessing.

Thanks,
Hin

[SOldBear]

Disclaimer: Use Nikkor lenses (or any lens for that matter) at your own risk. My advise and opinion are worth exactly what you pay for them

how can a Nikor* ED lens be made mountable in Pentax?

I have not tried any AF Nikkor lenses (they cost more than MF Nikkor lenses, and AF doesn't work on Pentax DSLR any way) but in my experience, Nikkor lenses mount directly onto Pentax DSLR bodies, no modifications needed. Just orient the lens so that the prong is at 10 o'clock position, push the lens on to the body, and rotate the lens just like you would a PK lens.

The Nikkor lens will not rotate all the way, and will not lock to the body. But the friction is good enough if you are careful.

I prefer the ancient non-AI lenses because (1) they are generally less expensive, and (2) they seem to attach better to Pentax DSLR body.

I think Nikkor AF lenses can be attached to Pentax DSLR too. Just beware of Nikkor-G lenses. Like Pentax DA lenses, they don't have aperture ring.

Now, do not attempt to mount a Nikkor lens onto a Pentax film camera body. The film camera has a coupling lever to tell the body the setting of the lens's aperture ring so that the body can perform full-aperture metering. This lever gets in the way. Forcing the lens onto a film body can bend this lever. DSLRs don't have such lever (that's why you have to use the green button to do a stop-down metering). This applies also to lens accessories that have such lever (e.g. teleconverters, extension tubes). I want to test this lens with a 2X TC, but will need to remove the lever on the TC first.

And can you use Av mode as in M42 lens?

Yes, that's exactly what I'm using. In fact, I prefer Nikkor lenses to M42 lenses because there is no adapter needed.

About this particular Nikkor 180mm 1:2.8: I've been looking for a fast 200mm lens for quite some time (already have a Takumar 200mm 1:4.0 and a Vivitar 200mm 1:3.5), but can't find anything that costs less than $800. When I found this Nikkor, I just couldn't resist.

[SOldBear]

Much more isnteresting to me is... how much did you get it for? seems like a good lens =)

$100.

It is indeed an excellent lens.

[Andi Lo]

Andi,
Are you referring to reverse mount Nikon lens on Pentax body?

I'm not sure if you mean "reverse mount" as an adapter, but what I mean is I just put the 50mm / 1.8 upside down on my K100D and it snaps in place just fine.

I'm aware that both AIS and pre-AIS versions are still the F mount, sorry for being ambiguous =)

*edit* Soldbear explained this much better than i could have above.

[SOldBear]

I assume that this is one of the pre AIS.

Nope. This lens has Ai-S mount.

Nikkor 180mm lenses with ED element was introduced in 1980. By then Nikon already had Ai-S mount.

[hinman]

Nope. This is has Ai-S mount.

Nikkor 180mm lenses with ED element was introduced in 1980. By then Nikon already had Ai-S mount.

@SOldBear, Thanks for all the education. It is a great lens to have for 180mm f/2.8, especially when you don't need an adapter and it still works in Av mode. You can pretty much sell your Takumar 200mm f/4.0 to make some room. How does that Soligor 300mm f/5.0 in T4 mount perform for you? Do you manage to find the Tx->K mount adapter. I find tele-M42 lens in closing aperture blades an issue to use in the field due to difficulty in focusing with less light in stop-down. I can focus in f/4.5 and f/5.6 in my Photosniper 300mm f/4.5 but not easily at f/8.0 or smaller. But I think your 180mm will do just fine for you.

@SOldBear, you have dust spot on your last photo with sky. It comes with having too many lens change.

@Andy, sorry that I mis-understand your reply, now I get what you and SOldBear have said in the thread.

Thanks,
Hin

[SOldBear]

You can pretty much sell your Takumar 200mm f/4.0 to make some room.

I think so, Hin. Another good thing about the Nikkor lens is that its min. focus distance is 1.8m, much less than the Takumar's 2.5m (even taking into consideration the difference in focal lengths)

How does that Soligor 300mm f/5.0 in T4 mount perform for you? Do you manage to find the Tx->K mount adapter.

The Vivitar 300mm f/5.5 (not 5.0) is working fine. I think I'll keep it, at least for a while. It comes with a T4-non-AI Nikon adapter. The lens is made by Tokina (in fact, all my TX- and T4 lenses are Tokina-made). The lens is soft at 5.6 but getting much better 1 stop down, and even better at f/11.

I also have a Vivitar 400mm 1:5.6 in TX mount. It came with a TX-M42 adapter. I'm not sure if I want to keep this one. It is kind of heavy, but does not have a tripod mount.

I just bought a Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 in TX mount with a TX-PK adapter. I didn't want another 28mm lens (already having 3) but I need the TX adapter. The TX adapter itself does not fully work with the T4 Vivitar 300mm lens but after a little surgery yesterday, the adapter now works correctly with either TX- or T4-mount

SOldBear, you have dust spot on your last photo with sky. It comes with having too many lens change.

Yup. Thanks. This is my second K10D body. I have not had a chance to clean it yet.

[Just1MoreDave]

I just bought a Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 in TX mount with a TX-PK adapter. I didn't want another 28mm lens (already having 3) but I need the TX adapter. The TX adapter itself does not fully work with the T4 Vivitar 300mm lens but after a little surgery yesterday, the adapter now works correctly with either TX- or T4-mount

Can you tell me this secret surgery? I have been using my Vivitar 300/5.5 with the T4->M42 adapter, but I have the TX->K also.

[SOldBear]

Can you tell me this secret surgery? I have been using my Vivitar 300/5.5 with the T4->M42 adapter, but I have the TX->K also.

Hey Dave,

Unfortunately, I can't take and post photos now. But let me try to explain....

There is no such thing as T4->PK adapter. Why not? Because T4 mount does not have a way to communicate the setting of the aperture ring to the camera body. This prevents T4 lenses from having full-aperture metering, which is required by PK mount.

TX added this capability. It has an additional pin on the adapter. This pin is captured in a prong of the TX mount. The prong moves with the lens's aperture ring. Inside the adapter, the pin is connected to a lever. This lever is the coupling that tells the body the setting of the aperture ring.

If you look straight at a Pentax film camera's lens mount, there is a lever at 1:30 o'clock position, moving between 1:30 and 4 o'clock, telling the camera the aperture setting of the lens. Pentax DSLRs do not have this lever thus can not do full-aperture metering with manual lenses; you need the green button for a close-down metering.

The problem of adding the pin to the TX adapter is that there is no place for the pin to go in a T4 mount. You end up either (1) using the T4 lens at full aperture (the pin makes the aperture ring getting stuck) or (2) not being able to set the aperture ring at max aperture (the pin blocks this position inside the adapter).

Now that you know why TX adapter doesn't work in a T4 mount, the solution is simple: remove that pin.

This is what I did on my TX->PK adapter: undo the 4 screws that hold the 2 halves of the adapter shell together, then dump out whatever mechanism between the two halves of the shell out into a ziplock bag, stick a note in the zip lock back indicating that the contents are from a TX->PK adapter, put two parts of the shell together, install the 4 screws.

That's it.

Note that this surgery will make the TX lens not metered correctly with a film body. The body always thinks the lens is set at max aperture (or min aperture, I don't remember).

Give it a try and post back if you have any problem.

Good luck.

[jsherman999]

I have the AF ED IF version of the 180 2.8, and I also have the MF 105 2.5 AI-S. It never occurred to me that the 105 could be mounted on my K20D without and adapter... I'll have to do a bit of research on that, and then maybe give that a try.

The 105 is supposed to be one of the be-all end-all MF Nikkors for portraits, but I've gotten better output from both my M 100 2.8 and 105 tak. maybe the 105 Nikkor will do better on the K20D.

(nice pics BTW)


.

[Jewelltrail]

Sold Bear--those are nice pics! And they look familiar (similar to the ones you sent)--thanks again. I have been contemplating doing this myself, for some time. I think you have just pushed me over the edge. In this thread here https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/47472-pentax-w-nikon-glass.html I mention the Nikon adapter to use Nikkor glass. But, later in the thread, there is discussion and information on how to do the very thing you did here---look for the link to Carpenter's post @ DPReview.

The Pentax glass is awesome, but so is a lot of the Nikkor glass. This opens up a whole new can of intoxicant to LBAers. Thanks for helping to blaze the trail--I'm right on your heels.