Nikon long tele-lenses
Nikon Corporation surprised many photographers with lenses many photographers never thought it was able to produce. With lenses with fixed focal lengths from 300 up to 1200 mm. in various maximum apertures every photographer can master any situation. Some lenses are produced in low quantities and became very rare. Nikon must have known this, but wanted to show the world its abilities.
No comment is needed in reviewing these lenses. All of them are masterpieces of optical engineering and can be used full open without any reservations. One stop from wide open an image may become a bit sharper and DOF increases, but these lenses are made for shooting at full aperture. As their weights vary from 1.100 gram (4.5/300mm.ED) up to a 6.300 gram (AF-I 2.8/400 mm.) at least one monopod or tripod is necessary. Some modern lenses are equipped with a vibration reduction system, which may be helpful but handhold photography with most lenses is a tough job given their weight. Using longer lenses on a digital reflex camera may multiply focal length but the risk of blurred images because of vibration, too.
Reviews are nice to write, but to produce visual proofs of the quality of a lens is more convincing. Below you´ll see a shot of a chimney at a distance of approx. 50 meters. The picture was taken with the ´stovepipe´ Nikkor-AIS 5.6/600 mm. mounted on a Nikon D1X (ISO-125), both on one Gitzo tripod. The camera was set on the ´anti-mirror shock mode´ and the self timer of 10 sec. was used. The lens was set at full open aperture.
The same picture was taken with a similar lens made by another Japanese lens maker. From two sections of the entire image enlargements have been made, so you can see a ´close-up´ of both pictures. Judge by yourself.
at the right is the close-up of the image made with the Nikkor.
again, at the right side the Nikkor result.
2 - 2.8 - 4 - 4.5/300 mm.
In this range Nikon produced a series of wonderful lenses. The oldest is the manual Nikkor-P 4.5/300 mm., which was introduced in 1964. In 1977 it adapted the AI and in 1981 the AIS-system. An almost identical version was presented in 1975, featuring an ED-element. This Nikkor-ED adapted the AI-system in 1977 as well. About one year later this Nikkor-ED was fitted with the IF (internal focusing) feature, followed by an AIS-version in 1982. This version is the best of the whole range. It is razor sharp and - weighting in at 1 kilo - handholdable.
manual focus Nikkor 4.5/300 mm.
A bit faster is the AF-Nikkor 4/300 mm. IF-ED - introduced in 1988. This amazing lens was succeeded in 2000 by a similar lens with built-in autofocus motor (Silent Wave Motor), the AF-S Nikkor D 4/300 mm IF-ED.
Again one stop faster was the Nikkor 2.8/300mm., of which several prototypes were presented in the 1970´s. One of those rare prototypes you'll see below.
Rare Nikkor-H 2.8/300 mm. (prototype) mounted on a very rare motorized Nikon F High Speed with special High Speed Viewfinder
In 1977 the first version - Nikkor-AI 2.8/300 mm IF-ED - was introduced, followed in 1982 by the AIS and in 1985 by a new redesigned IF-ED-version. A few years later the AF-version was put on the market. This very popular lens underwent various upgrades in the 1990´s. The last and still available version is the AF-S VR-Nikkor 2.8/300 mm IF-ED G. All these letters are telling us that this lens has a Silent Wave Motor, ED-elements, Internal Focusing, Vibration Reduction and no aperture ring, as it has become a G-Lens.
AF-D Nikkor 2.8/300 mm. D II ED (available in black & white)
Maybe the most impressive 300mm. lens, and certainly the heaviest - is the super fast Nikkor 2/300 mm. IF-ED! This 7 kilo barrel filled with 11 elements (some in ED glass) in 8 groups is sharp from edge to edge at full open aperture. It was produced from 1981 till 1990 in a relatively low quantity, because of its huge price.
2.8 - 3.5 - 4.5 - 5.6/400 mm.
Nikkor-Q 4.5/400 mm.
Also in the 400mm- focal length range Nikon produced an amazingly large amount of lens versions. The first one was the Nikkor-Q 4.5/400 mm. It was in fact the (last) member of the Nikon ´Super Telephotos´ lens system, in which on one focusing unit - CU-1 (later AU-1) - four (initially three) separate front-element units can be screwed in, enabling the camera body to remain attached to the CU-1 while changing the focal length. The first front-elements were the 5.6/600mm, 8/800 mm and the 11/1200 mm. - introduced in 1964 - followed by the 4.5/400 mm. in 1966. This series of optical masterpieces were produced until 1978. They all can be used at wide open aperture, giving razor sharp images. They are a bit heavy (1.9 - 3.5 kilo) and long (46 - 93 cm.), but excellent optics, even at nowadays standards. In 1973 the Nikkor 5.6/400 mm. was introduced. This rather underrated lens is a excellent performer, especially the IF-ED version which was presented in 1978. Most photographers - however - wanted faster telelenses, so Nikon introduced in 1976 the very nice and sharp Nikkor 3.5/400 mm IF-ED. In 1985 a (half F/stop) faster Nikkor 2.8/400 mm IF-ED came on the market. As stated half a stop faster but twice as heavy (5.2 kilo), but - again - razor sharp. The autofocus version with built-in silent wave motor was introduced in 1998. This very popular lens (among sports photographers) was upgraded in 2001. Optically no changes but by using a magnesium alloy weight was reduced by one kilo. Needless to say that these lenses are the best on the market.
4/500 mm.
This lens was born - in 1988 - as a Nikkor 4/500 mm IF-ED P. That ´P´ indicates that the lens has a CPU incorporated, which integrates in the matrix metering system of the contemporary cameras like the Nikon F4, F-801 (alias N-8008) and F-90 (alias N-90). The AF-I Nikkor D 4/500 mm. IF-ED - introduced in 1993 - is an amazing successor, quickly followed by the version with the built-in silent wave motor, making it a very fast lens - in aperture and in its tracking speed. The last version can be ordered in black or in white.
4 - 5.6/600 mm.
In this focal length Nikon offers ´only´ two versions, but what a marvelous lenses they are! The first one - the ´stovepipe´ pictured below - is a bit difficult to work with, because of its weight (2.7 kilo) and length of close to one meter! Look at the pictures above, they say more than words!
one of Nikon´s beautiful ´stovepipes´: Nikkor-AIS 5.6/600 mm ED + extra HE-4 hood + CT-603 trunk
In August 1992 a one f-stop faster version (AF-S Nikkor 4/600 mm.D ED-IF II) featuring autofocus and built-in motor was introduced. This version is razor sharp as well, is quite heavy (5.6 kilo), but an incredibly performer.
5.6 - 8/800 mm.
Here Nikon shows what is possible in the optical world. Many manufacturers were producing lenses with focal lengths up to 2000 mm., but none of them gained respect with its optical quality. Nikon has shown its engineering performance by launching lenses like the one pictured below. Maybe not usable for all-day photography but if you need to ´catch´ an animal or object far away this is the tool with an enormous resolving power, resulting in a razor sharp image. Lenses with focal lengths of 800 mm and more are expensive, heavy and rare. The first version, 8/800 mm. as part of the CU-1 (later AU-1) system, comes close to 5 kilo and 1 meter in length. It can only be used with a very strong support, like two tripods or a large bag with rice on the roof of a car. The 5.6/800 mm. which was introduced in 1986 is one of the sharpest but least known telephoto lenses. Of the 8 elements the second, third and eighth element are ED-glass. Because of the fast f/stop 5.6 in most autofocus cameras the autofocus indicator in the viewfinder is able to assist the photographer. Most AF-systems in Nikon SLR cameras work with manual or autofocus lenses with a maximum aperture of f/5.6 only.
11/1200 mm.
This amazing lens is much underrated, maybe because of its size and ´slow´ aperture. The very first version belongs to the group to be mounted on the AU-1 focusing unit. The second version (see above) was introduced in 1978 as Nikkor 11/1200 mm IF-ED. It has five individual elements of which the first two are of ED-glass. All elements are grouped in front, the rest is a long tube. The minimum focusing distance is 14 meters, but in wildlife photography a Nikon PK-11A macro ring can decrease this minimum distance without losing light or sharpness. A very rare lens, so if you find one, buy it.