Aspherical Boundaries

Since I made this post over a year ago, I’ve acquired a small army of Nikon manual focus lenses. I’ve bought them second hand by looking through a combination of local classifieds and eBay.

Nikon made the 28mm f/2.8 in three different optical designs:

• The 7 element model, introduced just before AI spec;
• The 8 element model, introduced with the AI-S spec, adding CRC to the older design. Still being made today;
• The 5 element model, as part of the Serie E line. Later reincarnated as the pre-D AF model.

My beaten up sample of the 7 element model is in its most common AI spec. The coating has taken quite a beating, especially to the rear element’s coating. As one would expect, however, this did not significantly impact the usability of the lens in every day use:

While this design is overshadowed by the later design’s reputation, it’s still certainly pretty good, especially stepped down a stop or two.

Tags: Nikon, vintage, wide-angle

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 23:35 and is filed under The Camera. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.