PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing Item for Sale
Nikon ED 400mm f2.8 adapted to K-mount
Asking Price
1,350.00 AUD
Item Location
Perth, Western Australia (Australia)
Item Description
Nikon ED 400mm f2.8 for sale.
This lens has been adapted to Pentax K-mount. It is a big lens!
I bought this off Gumtree last year with the intention of adapting, and machined up the parts required. The adapting was successful, but I have had very little use for the lens since, owing that I bought a Pentax A*300mm f2.8 and 1.4 teleconverter shortly afterward, which are an easier ( and lighter ) combo to use. So I shot a moonrise and moonset along with a few other bits and pieces, but the lens has ultimately just sat in storage. Now I'm moving countries soon, and while I'll be keeping and shipping the A*300, I can't justify keeping this one as well ( as much as I will probably regret selling it later on ).
The lens is in reasonable condition for its age, with the usual scuffs and scrapes. The aperture works well, and before I modified it I borrowed my mate's Nikon D750, and it worked well enough on that body. Fully manual focusing required.
Comes with the front cover, front hood which locks into place via a screw. The tripod foot also rotates well and locks up nicely. The focusing is smooth enough ( bordering on being loose ) and the manual focus limiter also works, but can be a bit annoying when loose. The filter drawer clicks nicely into place, and it also comes with a spare drawer.
The lens box is a bit scruffy externally, but in good condition internally. Comes with an Arca-Swiss plate, but it has to be removed for the lens to sit in the box.
The modification process was straight-forward, however the two tabs on the end of the lens required filing down to clear the camera body. I taped up the lens as best I could before filing as I wasn't sure how to remove the aperture ring, so I cannot guarantee that no filings made it into the lens. The K-mount bayonet was a gift from a local repairer, so it is not really ideal, but does the job. The original screws were used, and the original Nikon bayonet mount is included, so it can be adapted back to F-mount again without issue, and should work fine despite the tabs being filed down. My K-1 locks nicely onto the lens. The first close-up photo of the bayonet shows the original Nikon bayonet installed. The second close-up shows the Pentax bayonet.
The glass is clear to my eye, and it takes good photos, just with the performance you'd expect from a lens from the 80's?? ( I think it's that vintage, anyway; it may be a later model ). I.e., not up to what modern lenses can do, but when it is stopped down it improves rapidly. I wouldn't consider it to be biting sharp, but still very good.
Still, probably the cheapest 400mm f2.8 you could find for Pentax!
However, it is prone to excessive flare when shooting with strong light sources. I shot a moonrise over the city and was getting extreme rainbow flares from the street lights, and I suspect that the aluminium spacer that I used is the cause due to internal reflections. I did not get around to flocking the internal surface, but I did notice that when I used the Pentax 1.4 converter with it the flare disappeared. The converter extends into the lens past the spacer and would make the shiny spacer surfaces negligible.
Postage is for Australia only! I did a quick calculation with Auspost, and it's going to be around $40 as a base estimate, but adding on insurance and signature will add more. The lens + carry case is a smidge over 10kg, and I would ship it in a 500 x 300 x 300mm box, for reference if you want to look around for another carrier.
If the buyer is in Perth, they are welcome to pick it up locally. Paypal is preferrable. Local pick-up may prefer bank deposit, and we could probably work something out.
The tripod and K-1 body shown in some photos are NOT included.
Sorry for the mobile phone photos, I'm in a bit of a hurry while sorting out my belongings and getting everything packed up. Any questions, just ask!
Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
No
Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling
Item Condition (Key)
Used
Fair
Shipping Destinations
Australia Only
Shipping Charge
40.00
Shipping Services
Auspost
Accepted Payment Types
PayPal
Return Policy & Additional Details
Returns are accepted if the condition of the lens does not match the description given. If photo evidence is provided of the reason for return, I will pay return postage.
Please send me a
private message if interested in the item!
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