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Nikon TC-301
Nikon ----mm f/----- AI-s. enlarge. I get my goodies at Ritz, Amazon and Adorama. It helps me keep adding to this site when you get yours through these links, too. You may be able to find these used at Adorama. July 2008 More Nikon Reviews
Introduction top Intro Specifications Performance Recommendations Compatibility History Production Pricing Ideal Uses: Not for: I wouldn't bother with this on a DX camera. I'd use any DX lens, like the 18-55mm kit lens, instead. As a manual focus lens, I wouldn't use it for sports, kids or action since it's too hard to track focus by hand. Optics: * * * * * Ergonomics: * * * * * (manual-focus) Usefulness: * * * * * Availability: * * * * * Overall: * * * * * For s
Compatibility back to intro back to top The manual-focus -----mm f/-------- AI-s works great with most Nikon cameras, film and digital. It works flawlessly with every manual focus Nikon ever made, from the F of 1959 through the FM3a and today's FM-10. On the D3, D700, D300, D200, D2 and F6, use the "Non-CPU Lens Data" menu option to set ----mm and f/--------- to get full matrix metering, EXIF data and finder read-out of set aperture. It works great in aperture-preferred as well as manual modes on these cameras. The meters of cheaper digital (D80 and below) and cheaper film cameras (N80 and below) will not couple (or work at all) with this lens, so you'll be on your own guessing exposure using the rear LCD or an external meter. It works perfectly every professional film camera (F, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6), and adds Matrix metering on the FA, F4 and F6. See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details on your camera. Read down the "AI, AI-s" column for this lens.
History back to intro back to top AI-s. Close Range Correction (CRC) system 1974-1977: Nikon 1980: 1981 September: Nikon f Production back to intro back to top Nikon made about ------- of these -----. Pricing back to intro back to top
* At full NYC discount. Very few people bought their lenses this inexpensively back then.
Specifications with commentary top Intro Specifications Performance Recommendations Optics: ---- elements in --------- groups. Nikon calls the floating element system "CRC," for close-range correction. This means this lens optimizes its design for perfect performance as you focus at any distance. It's multicoated, which Nikon calls Nikon Integrated Coating. Close Focus: ------ feet (----------m). Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:-------. Hard Infinity Focus Stop? ------------. This is great for astronomy; just turn to the stop and you have fixed laboratory-perfect focus all night. Depth-of-Field Scale: ----------. Infra-Red Focus Index: ---------, red dot near depth-of-field scale. Diaphragm: --------- straight blades. Stops down to f/--------------. Aperture Ring: -----------. full-stop clicks. Filter Thread: ----------mm, -------------. Rotates with ----- but not with -------. Size: Nikon specifies -------------mm extension from flange (-------------mm overall) by ------------------mm diameter. Weights (measured) Lens alone: -------------- oz. (-----------g). With contemporary caps (no hood): ------------ oz. (------------g). With hood (no caps): ----------- oz. (--------------g). With contemporary caps and hood: -------------- oz. (-----------g). Hood alone (with painted markings): --------------- oz. (--------------g). Nikon specifies ----- oz. (-----------g). BF-2 cap Hood: HN- ---------------- metal screw-in, included. Case: optional CL- -----------, or pouch #---------. Teleconverters: TC-200/201 and TC-14A. Nikon warns of potential "uneven exposure" at high shutter speeds or apertures smaller than f/11, but after reading these warnings for over 25 years I still have no idea what they're talking about. Packaging: Gold-foil box,
Performance top Intro Specifications Performance Recommendations Overall Focus Bokeh Color Coma Distortion Falloff Filters Ghosts Hood Color Fringes Mechanics Sharpness Sunstars Zooming
Overall back to Performance back to top The ------------mm f/---------AI-s is 300/2.8: OK, some blue fringing at f/2.8/T5.6, better by f/4/T8, gone at f/5.6/T11.
400/3.5: Sometimes iffy focus (f/7.1) Focus back to Performance back to top Manual focus is ----------------. Focus is as smooth as silk, perfectly damped with no play. The D3, D700, F4, F6 and most professional AF cameras have three very precise electronic manual focus indicators. Lesser digital cameras, like the D300 and down, usually have just one "OK" focus dot, which is not as precise as two arrows and a dot.
Bokeh back to Performance back to top Bokeh is the character of out of focus areas, not simply how far out of focus they are.
Color Rendition back to Performance back to top The color rendition of this
Coma back to Performance back to top Coma is weird smeared blobs that appear around bright points of light in the corners. They happen with fast and wide lenses at large apertures. Coma goes away as stopped down, and tends not to be seen in slower and tele lenses. Coma is an artifact of spherical aberration. Distortion back to performance back to top The ----mm f/------- has - eliminated by plugging these figures into Photoshop CS2's lens distortion filter. These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.
© 2008 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
© 2008 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
Falloff (darkened corners) back to performance back to top Falloff on FX is ------ It won't be an issue at all on DX (see crop factor). I've exaggerated this by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background.
Filters, Use with back to Performance back to top There is no problem with vignetting, even with combinations of thick filters.
Ghosts back to Performance back to top Hood back to Performance back to top The hood is ------ included.
Lateral Color Fringes back to Performance back to top There are ------------ lateral color fringes on the D300 or D3, which would correct them if the lens had any.
Mechanics back to Performance back to top Like all Nikkor manual focus AI-s lenses, the Nikon ---------mm f/------------- AI-s is built to the highest mechanical standards of any lens ever made. Barrel Exterior: Anodized and enameled aluminum. Filter Threads: Anodized aluminum. Hood: Threaded anodized aluminum, extra-thick. Focus Ring: Metal, rubber covered. Focus Helicoids: Feels like brass: smooth and silky with no play or need for damping grease. Depth-of-Field Scale: Engraved into barrel and filled with different colors of paint. Internals: Metal. Aperture Ring: Cast aluminum, anodized and enameled. Engraved markings filled with different colors of paint coded to the depth-of-field scale. Mount: Dull-chromed brass. Markings: Engraved into the metal and filled with paint. Identity and Serial Number: On front of lens inside filter ring, engraved into the metal and filled with paint. Ass-Gasket (dust seal at mount): No. Noises When Shaken: Mild clicking from the diaphragm blades and actuation system. Made in: Japan. Sharpness back to Performance back to top Warning 1: Image sharpness depends more on you than your lens. Warning 2: Lens sharpness doesn't mean much to good photographers. With those caveats, the ---------mm f/----------- AI-s is At f/1.4: The ------mm f/- AI-s is At f/2: Contrast is At f/2.8: The At f/4: The At f/5.6: The At f/8: The At f/11: The At f/16: Diffraction limits performance. At f/22: Diffraction limits performance. At f/32: Diffraction limits performance.
Sunstars back to Performance back to top With its straight ------- -bladed diaphragm, the ----makes magnificent great Nikon-standard ------ -pointed sunstars on bright points of light.
Zooming back to Performance back to top
Compared to other Nikon --------mm lenses back to Performance back to top I compared it directly to the
Recommendations top Intro Specifications Performance Recommendations The -------mm f/-------- AI-s is is a manual-focus only lens.
The most practical Deployment I'd leave either a 72mm Nikon Clear (NC - UV) filter, or a 72mm Hoya Super HMC UV on the lens at all times. I would leave the hood at home. If I was going to use this as part of a larger pro system, I'd attach a 72->77mm step-up-ring to convert this to today's pro standard of 77mm, and use a 77mm Nikon UV or Hoya UV filter for protection. This is what I really do; I just put on a step-up ring when I get a lens like this and treat it as if it's a 77mm filter thread len as long as I have it. I'd pitch the flat Nikon cap that came with this lens new, and get a new "pinch" type cap in 72mm (or 77mm), too. I'm not kidding: the new fatter caps are much easier to use in the field. If I was working in nasty, dirty areas, I'd forget the cap, and use an uncoated 72mm Tiffen UV filter instead (or in 77mm). Uncoated filters are much easier to clean, but more prone to ghosting.
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Ken |
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