Nikkor 28mm f3.5 Ai: A Fantastic Vintage Wide-angle Lens Just Showed Up on my Doorstep
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One of the things I’ve loved about getting into vintage lenses is that lots of people you know (friends, family, etc.) probably have some tucked away in a closet somewhere. I’ve very freely offered to help put these suckers back into good use, and every now and then someone will take me up on that suggestion!
So, what showed up on my doorstep this week?
Nikkor 28mm f3.5 Ai Lens
This past week, a family friend—who has already graciously sent me a few other vintage lenses—mailed me a 70s-era Nikkor 28mm f3.5 Ai. He had mentioned the day before that he was sending something my way, and it was a great feeling driving up to the house seeing the package out by the front door holding some unknown bit of gear to play with!
If you’re looking for a more technical review, Ken Rockwell has a great write-up of this lens here. But for my part, I’ll share what my initial experience has been and some pics I’ve taken thus far.
DISLIKES
To be expected with f3.5 aperture, but it’s not the best if you’re going to be working in low light.
Critical focus can be a bit tough to nail when further away from your subject (could be user error)
LIKES (very similar to my experience with the 105mm)
Built like a tank, all metal construction
Manual aperture
Silky smooth precise focus ring (works great with focus peaking on my X-T2). Possibly the smoothest focus ring I’ve ever used
3D-like rendering
Very sharp, even wide open
Low-saturated, yet almost pastel like colors
Love it for black and white!
Small, lightweight even with adapter
Some Test Images
Bottom line
The Nikkor 28mm f3.5 Ai lens is a sharp, lightweight, small lens with lots of vintage character. I love it! I’ve been incredibly impressed with most of the vintage Nikkor lenses I’ve tried, particularly this lens, the 50mm 1.8, the 105mm 2.5, and the 135mm 2.8.
There’s something about the 28mm focal length on APS-C that I find appealing. Not too wide, but not as narrow as a 35mm (which right now is what I shoot most of the time). I’ve actually been trying to find a 28mm I like for quite some time but have struggled up till now.
Similar Lenses I’ve tried
After reading loads of positive reviews a while back I bought both a Pentax SMC 28mm f3.5 for M42 mount and a Konica Hexanon AR 28mm f3.5. Both of these performed fine and were beautifully built (particularly the Pentax), but left me a bit underwhelmed optically relative to the hype (the Konica particularly so). And it may have just been my copies or the adapters I was using, but I had a lot of trouble getting them to focus to infinity. I’ve heard that the K-mount version of the Pentax is superior, but it’s a bit pricey these days!
Based on where these lenses are priced today, I would argue for the Nikon, hands-down.
What do you think? Have you used any of these lenses? Any other recommendations you’d throw in the mix? Comment below!
This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.