Repair: New-Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 (Early Ai)

02 Jun 2019 7 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Nikon,museum,classic lenses,, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Hello, everybody! I was hungry for some Taiwanese food so I went looking but I found that most of them were ran by the mainland Chinese people and there was nothing Taiwanese about them apart from what’s written in the sign. This is unacceptable, I hope that this practice ends because it’s unfair to the peaceful Taiwanese people. If you do not know any better then you’ll get the wrong impression about the Taiwanese because the people running these shops are mainland Chinese. Speaking of being confused, we will talk about a confusing subject today in Nikkor land but this time, you will get an excellent lens whichever one you end up and unlike the example that I just gave, it is not some shoddy knock-off trying to deceive people but it is just Nikon being lazy and will show you why I said that and how you will know which version you’re looking at.

Introduction:

We are going to showcase the New-Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 lens today, a lens that is usually mistaken for its successor, the Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Ai since they’re almost identical apart from some insignificant details. This lens replaced the beloved Nikkor-S 35mm f/2.8 Auto in 1974 and it’s a total re-design from the optics to the barrel. From the old 7-element design it now sports a new 6-elements-in-6-groups design and a new barrel that’s more in-line with the New-Nikkor line of lenses. The successor to this lens (Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Ai) is essentially the same lens with an Ai-ring and a slightly-different rubber grip pattern. To the untrained eye, they look identical specially if the New-Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 sports a factory Ai-ring upgrade. The parts can mostly be interchangeable as far as I remember so I lumped the two lenses into one. Why did Nikon do this? To save money, because in just a few more years the later Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Ai was sold and that’s what I believe is what Nikon really wanted to sell as the Ai version but it probably didn’t make it in time, that’s just my theory but it’s very likely to be the case.

IMG_0612It’s a wonderful little lens that not a lot of people know about but the few who do know it for a special reason which I’ll mention several times in this article so pay attention. Some people poo-poo this lens but it’s a great little lens if you know how to use it. More

Repair: Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S

15 Feb 2016 29 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

Hello, everybody! Smart phones are getting bigger these days. It used to be opposite, I remember how phone brands were trying to make smaller and smaller phones each release. I sometimes think that it may be time for the smart phones to get smaller for portability. The downside is it will be hard to read my blog so it may be better to leave them the way they are. There’s something that we can miniaturize without losing any functionality. Wrist watches, wallets, etc. Today, I’m going to show you one of those things that gets better as it gets smaller. It’s not my favorite but I certainly like it.

Introduction:

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S has a big following because it is Nikon’s smallest 50mm lens. It was made from 1980 to 2005, it had a long production run. It’s preceded by the short-lived Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S (long-nose). If I recall, its optical formula is different and that allowed it to be more-compact. Despite being small it could perform quite well so it soon became a favorite of many photographers.

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I remember that you could still buy these brand-new some 12 years ago. Its price has remained steady since there’s always a demand for it. Despite the hype and novelty, I don’t think of it as extraordinary apart from the fact that it’s small. It’s dwarfed by the Nikon D4 which can make handling awkward as you can see in this photo.

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Fundamentals: Grease and Lubrication (2/3)

30 Dec 2015 189 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Nikon,museum,classic lenses,, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We had a lengthy commentary on screws and drivers on the previous post, the next important subject to consider is lubrication. If you’ve read any of Nikon’s repair manuals you’ll see that Nikon uses different types of grease and lubricants on different parts of their lenses and cameras. While this is the best practice in camera manufacturing, it isn’t practical for DIY repair for a lot of reasons, some of which are:

  • It is expensive to keep an inventory of various lubricants.
  • It is not cost-effective if you are just fixing your own stuff.
  • You may accidentally mix lubricants.

With the above considerations outlined, we will now start discussing about the most important lubricants in camera and lens repair.

Preparation:

Before applying fresh grease to your helicoids you’ll definitely need to clean the helicoids first and remove the old, dirty grease. This is also true for any camera and lens parts that once had lubricants applied to them.

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Just take a look, looks like the grease has not been replaced since 1965! This has to be cleaned and never leave any residue.

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Fundamentals: Screws and Drivers (1/3)

29 Dec 2015 194 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Nikon,museum,classic lenses,, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the previous article we’ve outlined most of the essential tools for repair and maintenance of classic Nikons and Nikkors. Now, we’ll be discussing the best application for these tools so that you’ll less likely to destroy your gear by stripping or snapping a screw.

Just like everything else in life, you may mess up in your first few projects and that is OK. In my case, I messed up three projects because there is just not a lot of online materials for this and any useful information out there are scattered or can be irrelevant at times. The lack of proper tools when I first started was also a big contributor to my failed projects since I thought that it would be just as simple as fixing your average kitchen appliance. The good thing is I have managed to fix the failed projects now and I’ll show you how to prevent messing up your project from my experiences.

This guide isn’t going to be organized in any order, I’ll be updating this from time-to-time as I find new ways or remember anything that I have done in a previous project. A good deal has been discussed on the previous article so please refer to that as well and I will try not to repeat anything that can be found there.

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Camera and Lens Repair Essentials (Tools)

23 Dec 2015 245 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Nikon,museum,classic lenses,, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Just like most bobbies, you’ll require certain tools to repair or maintain the equipment that you use. I love repairing broken photography equipment, it helps save the planet and I save a lot of money along the way.

I’ll outline to you all the essential tools that you need for repairing lenses so that you don’t waste your time and most importantly, money on gear. Many people will give you the wrong advice on the internet, many from ignorant or arrogant personalities. This has resulted in many people, including me to botch my repairs when I was starting up. I’m neither ignorant nor arrogant, I’m a generous person with experiences to share so you won’t end up being a camera butcher.

Most of the tools that you’ll need can be bought in regular hardware stores. However, some are specialized and can only be bought in specialty stores or online. These are good investments, buy the best that you can afford but do not go overboard and buy something that is insanely expensive but of very limited use.

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