Manual Telephoto - zoom or prime?



I thought I’d take a moment to go over two general range telephoto lenses.  First defining “general telephoto” as a 300mm, mainly because 400 gets you into the “pro-domain” or “super-tele” and they’re really expensive.  Manual focus lenses are generally more affordable, and the two I have here are both Nikon lenses.  The Nikkor 100-300 f5.6 AI-s and the Nikkor 300mm f4.5 ED-IF AI-s.  All sample photos were taken with the Nikon F3 on Kodak Portra 400.



 

 

Both lenses are roughly the same size and weight, the 5.6 has a 62mm filter thread, and the 4.5 has a 72.  The zoom lens covers 100-300mm and has a close focus on the 100mm.  The 300 ED lens has Nikons secret sauce glass for sharpness.  This lens has a close focus of 8 feet, which isn’t very close.  The prime also has a tripod collar, which the zoom didn’t, and with a teleconverter this is an issue.  I’ve shot at least a roll on both lenses with and without a 2x teleconverter, and noticed hands down, that at 300mm the prime ED lens is sharper.  A lot of people note light falloff with this lens but I have seen none.  Both lenses stop down to f32 and they both have 9 aperture blades.  They’re easy to focus and are very robust.  At 300mm, the zoom image quality degrades significantly and a 2x converter makes it look twice as bad.  I’ll post some samples.

 
300

100

2x 

300

 
300

This first batch of images is from the zoom-Nikkor lens.  Some of the images are very sharp, and others are not.  The blur in the out of focus areas is very smooth, and the color rendering is also very good.   There is little to no aberration of any kind, and no ghosting or flares.  The only thing is that all throughout, the focus is soft.



  
2x 



2x taken on Color Plus 200


2x wide open, HP5


Now we get into the ED lens.  It’s obvious very quickly that this lens is way sharper, and way more suited for focusing longer distance.  The internal focus system is also incredibly smooth, and that makes this lens very easy to handle.  Another bonus is the built in lenshood which cuts down on flare in direct sunlight.  All of these shots were taken handheld, many of them wide open.  In the harsh highlights there’s some purple fringing, but everywhere else it’s completely free of any sort of image degradation.  On top of it, it’s still amazingly sharp with the TC-200 2x teleconverter.  This lens is often considered the best manual focus 300mm lens available, and it’s significantly sharper than its 6,000USD modern counterpart. 

I’d like to let the images speak for themselves on this one, hope you enjoyed. 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

the Cyberdeck

Image
I can't be the only one to find myself lost in the internet rabbit holes in an age such as ours.  Sometimes it's an uninspiring frustration, and other times you find yourself on the path to discovering something truly cool.  A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a group of unique creators making what they called "cyberdecks."  The concept was a dystopian-esque or retro-futuristic portable computer, in part inspired by the cyberpunk movement, Blade Runner, and Fallout, though there are plenty of other sci-fi extravaganzas that employ similar devices.  The cool thing about cyberdecks is that they work, and there is no right way to create one.  There come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some in the traditional clamshell style, and others that their own entirely new concept. I had toyed around with the idea of creating a small portable computer, and decided I would give it a shot.  I've always been a fan of the aesthetic of old computers, so I decided to try and build on
Read more

The “Charming?” Yet awful Typecast Typewriter (updated)

Image
A couple of years ago, the Michaels craft store began to sell a machine made by “We Are Memory Keepers.”  It is the Typecast Typewriter, and it costs about $170. Let me cut to the chase: this machine is awful.  The construction is flimsy and cheap, the action is stiff, and the alignment is the worst ever.  So if you wanna buy it, click below!!! https://www.michaels.com/we-r-memory-keepers-typecast-typewriter-mint/10507749.html I am not alone in my views, as many other enthusiasts share my stance.  This machine gives the typewriter a bad reputation among many people, especially craft people, who enjoy bearing the name “key chopper” for cutting the keys off of machines a hundred years old just to make a piece of jewelry.  When they are done, the rest of the machine is thrown away.  I really truly despise the lack of respect given to these historical artifacts, and the Typecast only seems to mock them, by perpetuating the inaccurate stereotype of the inconvenient, bl
Read more

A Comprehensive History of the Royal Model P

Image
nothing like medium format film and typewriters  A number of years ago, I was perusing the Internet and looking at old typewriters.  I had been writing fiction for a while and was enjoying it a lot, and wanted to look into typewriters as I had seen one a couple days ago at a local antique shop.  I stumbled across a blog titled "Machines of Loving Grace," and saw two Royal Model Ps.  One in duotone red, and the other in duotone green.  I remembered from that moment on I knew I had to get my hands on one of them.  I'll skip all the lame details, because that isn't what I want to spend time talking about.  I want to discuss the history of the machine, and it's impact on the typewriter industry as a whole.  There are too few articles on the Internet, too few resources on typewriters, and I among many others wish to expand the available amount of knowledge.  So I'll present to you, a project a long time in the making, to the best of my poor grammatic
Read more