The Vintage Lens That Turned Me to Manual: Nikkor 105mm f2.5 Ai (A Non-Technical Review)
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Nikkor 105mm f2.5 Ai
One of the key drivers behind me becoming a more manual photographer was the Nikkor 105mm f2.5 Ai. A superb vintage lens that had been hiding away, along with a few other vintage NIkkors, in my dad's gear closet for probably 20+ years. My grandparents had bought a bunch of Nikon equipment for my dad back in the 70s, so I love that they have a bit of history behind them as well.
As mentioned in my previous post about my journey into photography, I really stumbled upon this lens simply because I was in need of something to shoot portraiture and didn't want to drop close to $1000 on the highly regarded XF 56mm f1.2. In this case, given my dad had a copy, it was priced just right at $0, but is definitely still worth much more than that. As it happens, the Nikkor 105mm is fairly famous in its own right, having been the lens that shot the famed "Afghan Girl" cover for National Geographic in the 80s.
Anyways, I'm not a very technical photographer (there are plenty of other people, such as Ken Rockwell, who can help you there), so below I'm really just overviewing my experience with the lens and sharing a few photos (lightly post-processed in LR).
DISLIKES
Heavy
Long and a bit unwieldy once you introduce a lens adapter into the mix
Can be difficult to nail focus given the pretty narrow depth of field
LIKES
Built like a tank, all metal construction
Manual aperture & silky smooth, precise focus ring (works great with focus peaking on my X-T2)
3D-like rendering (very rounded feel, particularly with people)
Low-saturated, yet almost pastel like colors
Bottom line
The Nikkor 105mm f2.5 Ai is a sharp, classic lens with beautiful color and 3D-like rendering. It’s a bit heavy, and the field of view can be too narrow on my APS-C sensor, but it takes some of my very favorite pics!
To help with the field of view issue, I ended up replacing my original dumb lens adapter with a Zhongyi Lens Turbo II focal reducer, which essentially results in the lens having the same field of view that it would on traditional 35mm film. It also provides a stop or two of extra light, which makes this already fasts lens even speedier!
All in all, this lens is pretty special to me. It’s a perfect portrait lens that many great photographers have used over the years to capture amazing images. Plus, my copy was my dad’s, which obviously gives it a pretty compelling sentimental value. I don’t use it as often as I’d like simply because it’s a bit long with the adapter on it to fit neatly in my camera bag.
Similar Lenses I’ve tried
I don’t really have any other lenses at this focal length or field of view that I’ve tried (whether or not I factor in the focal reducer’s impact). That said, the ones I’ve used that I would probably consider alternatives would be the Nikkor 135mm f2.8 Ai, the Jupiter 37a 135mm f3.5, and the Pentax-M SMC 135mm f3.5. The Nikkor 135mm is huge and heavy, but also takes similarly amazing pictures to the 105mm. Probably a bit long for me most of the time though. The Jupiter is sometimes a bit trickier for me to nail focus on, and the build quality is iffier, but I love the character-heavy images it takes that I only seem to be able to get with vintage Soviet glass. The Pentax has beautiful, punchy color and contrast, and is much smaller, but I sometimes miss the extra speed. Although it is a great price right now!
In this particular case, I’d have to say that the 105mm is my most used of the bunch and would be my recommendation from a value standpoint. But I really love all 4 of these!
What do you think? Have you used any of these lenses? Any other recommendations you’d throw in the mix? Comment below!
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