Hello, everybody! Have you heard the “Great Leap Forward“? It’s the biggest socio-economic experiment ever done in the history of mankind. It is tragic because during the years between 1958–1962 the Chinese Communist Party killed an estimated 55,000,000 people through famine, chaos, violence, and execution. It was all done for the sake of catching up with the rest of the world, including Russia which is now a power that can project her influence globally. A centralized economy fails dramatically, and this one did just that at its end which somehow lead the disastrous “Cultural Revolution” a couple of years later. Did they get to create such wonderful products in an attempt to industrialize at such rate? I don’t think so because every consumer goods they’ve ever made are crap, and I am old enough to remember how bad they are. Today, I will show you a lens that reminded me of that insane era of human history. However, this lens did better in terms of advancing the impression of consumers about the “CCP” or “Cheap Chinese Products” because its much better in terms of construction and the quality ain’t that bad either. It’s a step in the right way.
Introduction:
The TT Artisan 50mm f/2 has been available for a few years now and it has quite a following because of its excellent performance relative to its affordable price. I don’t know what TT meant, is it “Total Trash” or is it a “Tiny Treasure“? I don’t care, but this one’s definitely better than the 7Artisans that we’ve just took apart. It is a much better lens in terms of production but it still sucks compared to Japanese lenses. I am not sure if this lens was made and designed in-house by the brand at all or was it made by that big Chinese optical company that’s tied to their military which supplies the very lenses that many other companies rebrand to sell elsewhere. It does show signs of common manufacturing techniques and parts so I assume that some of the parts did came from that place at the very least.
The barrel is completely made of metal, which makes it unnecessarily heavy. I said that because there are a lot of things inside that shouldn’t be made that thick. The focusing ring is closer to the camera and the aperture ring is closer to the tip. They have made it like this because it’s cheaper to make. All the numbers are shallowly etched with laser compared to the engraved ones we’re used to seeing from vintage lenses. The aperture ring is so narrow for no reason which makes it feel cheap.
Hello, everybody! Chinese food is very oily, that’s why I try to avoid it as much as possible. Hot pots, fried foods, stir-fry, and even some steamed foods require a lot of oil in the process somewhere. You will have to choose which ones to eat because there’s still some healthy options such as steamed dim-sum. Food in mainland communist China and in some cases India as well are of questionable sources. That is why spice, oils, and other additives are used to mask the quality of the food. This isn’t to say that everything there is going to give you cancer, I’m just pointing out that some bad people will do anything to fool people even if it means endangering the health of many innocent lives. Today, I will show you something disgusting. It is just as oily as a Chinese food that I talked about, and just like the practice of masking food safety, it also has a nefarious way to give an impression that this product is of higher quality. Read along with me.
Introduction:
The 7Artisans 35mm f/1.4 II was probably announced around 6 years ago during the pandemic that came from mainland China. I have no idea when it was sold but I have been seeing it for a long time. I do not know what are the exact differences between the first version and this one except that the older one has a different design with more glass and aperture blades. What I know is many APS-C shooters with Sony and Fujifilm got one of these because they’re cheap and decent. I’ve also heard of people complaining about poor quality control and other similar concerns that we’re all so familiar with when it comes to “Made in China” products. The support is poor overseas so it will all will depend on who you got it from if there are any warranties at all. These come in different mounts but we’re only talking about the Nikon version in this article.
The exterior is completely made of metal. It feels heavier than it should and in an excessive way, too. The impression it will give people who don’t understand things is that they’re getting a premium product. It’s quite nice when it comes to the fit and finish as the exterior is concerned, and that’s all there is to it. We’ll also learn why this thing is so heavy and why the aperture ring does it have any detent clicks.
Hello, everybody! Do you know about the story of “Long Long Man“? It is a love story about a woman who is torn between his lover and a third-wheel in their relationship, a love triangle like no other with a twist at the end. It is an amazing story that can be considered a modern classic, it’s something that we should all watch at least once in our lifetimes. Watching that very short movie will help you appreciate what you are about to read in this article today. It’s also about something long, but unlike “Long Long Man“, it does not end in tragedy but there’s a little bit of a plot twist with this lens’ barrel construction.
Introduction:
The Nikkor 400mm f/5.6 ED-IF Ai-S is a masterpiece. It was made from 1982 up until 2002, a long 20-year run which is kind of unusual for a lens of this kind in my opinion. On the other hand, it’s understandable because it’s considered to be an exemplary performer. The Nikkor 400mm f/5.6 ED-IF Ai that came before is optically similar to this one except that the tripod collar is narrower. At least that’s the most obvious of all external distinction between both lenses. There may be some differences internally but I can’t confirm. This lens has a huge following amongst bird shooters and train spotters because of its weight and stellar optical performance. Very few lenses of this type could match it in terms of popularity, these are always in demand. For that very reason, it’s not easy to find a cheap one but I got really lucky and I’ll tell you why.
It is long, huge and black. The build quality is exceptional, fit for professional use. It is also very heavy so a tripod collar is supplied with the lens. Unfortunately, mind did not come with it so I was able to buy it for a very cheap price. There are three rings that you manipulate with – the aperture ring, a focusing ring and another ring that allows you to sort of constraint the range of the focusing ring, we’ll talk about it later. Its barrel never extends nor retracts as you focus because it’s an IF (internal focusing) design, this is helpful if you mount it on a tripod and doing precision work since the balance of the lens doesn’t change.
Hello, everybody! I just bought a DNA testing kit, you know, the one that’s hip with the kids these days. I bought it because I wanted to know what are my health risks because I’m not young anymore. I did not get one because I want to avoid accidentally banging my relatives like what some people actually think and do for themselves. I’m also curious to know if I have relatives around the world, maybe I will find an uncle living nearby that I have never ever heard of, isn’t that exciting? Speaking of finding secret relatives and genealogy, I would like to share with you a “secret relative” of the Nikkor 135/3.5 family. It is not well known so it might as well be an urban legend for some people but we will know everything about it here in this article.
Introduction:
This adapter for Nikkor-Q•C 13.5cm f/3.5 will enable you to use the front barrel of the lens and mount it to any camera that uses the Nikon F-mount. It was made for a short time to coincide with the release of the legendary Nikon F. Not a lot of people knew about it and it’s only ever mentioned in the catalogs. It isn’t really a proper “lens” so to speak because it was ever only sold as a separate item as far as I know.
It is much shorter compared to its rangefinder cousins. It’s because the F-mount requires a longer flange distance in order to stay clear of the flapping mirror. While the construction is all-metal, the adapter feels somewhat “cheap” because the bayonet mount is part of the lower barrel. While it keeps things simple, it gives the impression of cheapness like what I have just mentioned.
Hello, everybody! Have you ever been duped into thinking that something might be fake? You pass it and regret later after finding out that it’s probably the best bargain you could ever find. It has happened a lot with some of my friends who collect expensive watches. It has happened to me several times before, but I am more lucky than stupid so I am usually blessed with good deals. Today, I will show you one such lucky find, a real find of a lifetime. In all my years hunting for rare items I have ever only seen and touched 2 of these. Please read the whole article to know why this is so special.
Introduction:
The Nikkor-Q.C 13.5cm f/3.5 featured in this article is a special one, it is one of the very few existing lenses that Nikon made that came with an Exakta-mount. Only a few people have knowledge of its existence and even fewer people have ever seen one in person. I am extremely lucky to own such a rare oddity. Nobody knew exactly how many of these were made, we can only date them by their serial numbers. My example is probably from 1954.
Compared to the usual ones that came with a rangefinder mount, this one is quite short. It has to be since the Exakta is an SLR, complete with a flapping mirror. You may easily assume that this was modified using a talented specialist shop at first glance but the quality is so consistent that it can only come from Nikon. I almost dismissed it when I first saw this, singing it’s a fake.
Hello, everybody! I’ve got this crush on Kobayashi Akiko (小林明子) when she was younger, her face was beautiful and she is certainly very graceful specially when singing her hit “恋に落ちて” or “Fall in Love” in English. It’s a song about being in love from an innocent woman’s perspective. I see het at that point in her life as the epitome of femininity, beauty and a lot of other things that I associate a perfect woman to be. She’s now a certified “auntie”, not someone I would fancy for now but I still respect her. It seems that she as aged as gracefully as her hit which has been covered numerous times and by different singers in various languages. Today, I will show you something that’s equally graceful and it has aged well, too.
Introduction:
The Nikkor-Q•C 13.5cm f/3.5 had a long run, with production running from 1951–1962. The one we have in this article was made in the final patches so it’s close to the last one produced. The reason why we are interested in this version is the different style of its barrel. It now looks more modern and some parts are now made of aluminum alloy instead of the heavy brass that we are all used to seeing. This change came about around the latter half of the 1950s, but exact dates are unknown. Of all the known versions, this is the least desirable so it’s also the cheapest one you can get.
The barrel looks much sleeker and the black paint makes it look smart. Nothing much has changed when I use it except for feeling a bit lighter in my hands. It’s very beautiful with all those colorful markings. I must also say that the black paint helps contrast the colors much better. The previous version is also black but I don’t recall that having multicolored markings, they are just white numbers. This one makes it a lot easier to read everything and it also comes in both standard and metric.
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Richard Haw's Classic Nikon Repair and Review 