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I've come into a DSC F828 from the original buyer. I can't get it to turn on with battery power although with the AC power, it does turn on. The batteries are new (within a few months), charged, but no go. The owner says it worked well until a few days ago; after a bike ride in the sun, it will not turn on. Can you recommend what I should do to get the camera to work?

I hope you also get to make a video on the 5D Classic. The first moderate sized Body with a full frame sensor. Amazing quality for such cheapness

Nice review! I also like using vintage lenses on modern cameras and dedicated a whole series of lense test to this topic. 😊 Regarding the Nikon 50mm 1.4 I came to the same results. At the moment I am testing the 50mm 1.8 pancake Japanese version, which seems to be very comparable, but in a much smaller package. Go on with this series, but I think comparing to modern lenses is not that much of a use, because they are so much much better. I would like to see comparisons with other models (predecessors, different company, 1.4 vs 1.8,‘) stuff like this. 😊

This is a very good lens, brilliant for its time. It is sadly not the best Nikkor manual lens. That accolade belongs to Nikkor that the Japanese kept for themselves, and that is all that I am prepared to say.

More bright vintage lenses! I have some from my dad I use on my a7IV but they are a bit too dim.

Make no mistake Gordon, you definitely are dreamy. Loved this video!

Love this lens so much on my Nikon F3!

It is a lovely lens. I use it on my trusty Nikon FM. Usually with Ultramax

Yes that was the first DSLR I bought after starting to learn photography. $999 in the USA. I still have mine with the sticky black rubber. Any tips to get rid of that?

Nikon made some of the most beautiful lenses back in the day! Love their use of color. Would be fun to see your take/review of the Pentax 645 150mm f3.5. I have it on GFX (51mp) and its so good! Sharp even at 3.5.

I actually had a Canon FD 50mm 1.8 for quite some time but EF adapters weren't really a thing with that as they either had additional glass inside reducing the image quality or didn't give the possibility to focus to infinity. Plus focusing wasn't really that easy with a modern optical viewfinder. But recently I both crashed my EF 50mm and upgraded to a R6 Mark II. And the first thing I did was getting a FD to RF adapter, which now works just fine and IBIS and focus peaking are great and make using this lens pretty easy. It also feels very nice having been built in 1982 according to the serial number. For now that's just my 50mm I'm using until I get to upgrade to something more modern again, which might take a while, looking at recent prices... I'm pretty happy with that lens for the moment. Guess it's time to use more vintage lenses with the R6 Mark II. :D

I’ve been hunting for deals on Nikkor AIS lenses for a couple years. That 50/1.4 looks great and might have to be filed in the back of my mind as well. So far my most prized find has been the 400/3.5 AI ED. It’s a tank but so so beautiful for wildlife on my gh6.

Nice review, 90% of my photography with my A7II is done with vintage lenses. I've got a Tamron 28-75 zoom, great lens, but where is the fun, and challenging part in that ? I went the Konica route, and the 57mm f1,4 and the 24mm f2,8 are my favourites. Tip, when comparing to modern lenses, do a comparison on flares, they can be both creative source and a hindrance.

this is also an history lesson! I think that nowadays we can get a similar experience, including the relatively small size and metal dense feeling, with the Chinese manual focus lenses, three of my favourites are the Kaman 21mm 1.8, the meike 35mm 1.4 and the ttartisan 50mm 1.2., have you considered reviewing some of these lenses ?

Thanks for the great video. This and the 105mm f/2.5 Nikkor are my favourite vintage Nikon lenses. And I agree re the feel of the focus ring, it just oozes analogue quality.

For a second I thought you were reviewing a Nikon Z lens. Come on Nikon, show Gordon some Z love!

Hi Gordon, great video as always! If I may suggest, how about the Nikkor 105mm f2.5 vs the 105mm f2D? Both great lenses, would like to hear your thoughts on them. In fact, why not have a old vs new theme every now and then? That sort of content resonates with me as a vintage lens collector.

Excellent! You prompted me to dig out my old 50mm 1.4 S-C with a serial number 152xxxx. That puts in the 1973 to 75 era but I had it converted to AI. And yes, the lens mounting flange has been machined out to reveal bare metal but with enough metal left to create the indexing tabs. And there’s no fancy rubberized rings - the focus and aperture rings are machined metal with knurling on them. Ditto on a 105mm 2.5 P-C with serial 536xxx from the same era. Thanks!

Awesome review, you may want to review the Tokina 90 aka Bokina against the Lumix 100.

Very knowledgeable and informative video, a trip down memory lane. I still have mine, #51XXXXX, bought new in 1981. Keep up the good work !

Hope this was as much fun for you to make as it was for us to watch. I've had a Pentax K1000 for forever and recently scored a Minolta SRT 101 and have gotten several lenses to go with it. It's been fun shopping and looking for deals and polishing my eBay skills.

Congratulations on achieving one of your heart's desires! And congratulations on being in your teens in 1981, some of us are not so fortunate ;-) FWIW, this seems like a great video formula for presenting vintage lenses to my eyes. Cheers!

A great review of a great lens - thanks Gordon! I have the AI version, which came with my current FM (my first was my first proper camera, back in the 1990s) but the lens sees regular use on an F and F2 (where the rabbit ears merrily engage with the older Photomic finders) and my beloved F4, whose autofocus system still provides focus confirmation (and matrix metering) with the older manual focus lens. And yes, the feel of an old manual focus Nikkor is the gold standard. Just the right amount of resistance and control 😊 Would love for you to review more older Nikkors. The feel of the late 60s/early 70s Nikkor-Autos with their deep fluted metal focus collars is amazing. Would be great to get your take on the ‘legendary’ 105/f2.5 too.

Great video, Gordon. Mounted on the Nikon Zf or Z6iii, you can get the brilliant eye tracking in manual focus. Game changer. My Niikor 105mm F2.5 AIS got a new lease of life.

Hope you check out the 55mm Micro Nikkor line, they still manage to challenge sensors today

Oh this makes me so nostalgic for these wonderful manual Nikkor lenses...sigh... I used to have 24, 35, 50, 55micro, 85, & 180mm Nikkors, the sad words being 'used to'...sob😢

I got a 1,4 4 days ago and a 5D. I put it on auto and shot jpegs. Looking at the pictures on the laptop they were wonderful, so I went to see if Frost had a review of it. He showed all its flaws that I had not noticed and I went back to the laptop to have a look at what setting the camera on auto had chosen. And as I was looking at it I realised that there are 3 different variables the camera has to deal with on auto. Iso, f stop and shutter speed. And I saw what choices the camera had made and I don't think I can compete with the cameras intelligens. None of the pictures was too dark or too bright like X-T1 is struggling with on auto. They were perfect. Why is that? Is it because it is juggling with 3 variables and accuracy is easier to archive when its not locked on aperture or shutter speed? I have no clue, but one thing is for sure I cant compete with the choices of the camera so I leave it on auto and none of what Christoffer was talking about seam to be happening in my photos. Its my 28th camera and I am glad I got it so late cos now I can appreciate it for what it is. A fantastic camera with an incredible lens.

I like this lens with half-format DSLR: crop factor is 1.5x, so 75mm telephoto with aperture wide open - phantastic for portraits, and low budget, too;-)) @philosimot

Great video Gordon! Thanks for the Nikon vintage lens 101 course you threw in as well which would be really helpful for a lot of people. Regarding how to test it, there is only one proper way, it is to test it on a F2 Titan! You knew you have to pick one up on your next Japan trip😂 and thanks for the shout out ❤

My favorite Nikkors has to be the Nikkor 28mm f2.8 AIS (its about 10x better then the f2 and it focuses so close) and the 180mm f2.8 ED AIS. But pretty much they are all good.

@13:00 really is a night and day. Your insights into the subject and creative choices are spot-on. I think balanced-lighting people portraits are the most forgiving of 'vintage' glass flaws; other subjects or scenarios tend to have much sharper highlight contrast areas (inviting wild color-fringing) or would IMHO be better served with more sharpness on the subject. It is of course also a matter of skill and smart choices behind the camera; I love the test shots of the lifeguard stand or old pier when stopped down, and the disco-ball lamp at night where the magenta fringe and corner distortion contribute to the atmosphere. As you say in your conclusion, the magic of cheap, manual fast 50s being so easily adaptable is that you have both the creative control to use extremely shallow DoF and also the more involved controls forcing you to actively decide when to use it.

this is what the new retro z mount lenses for the ZF should have looked like

Picked up one of these that had been match to a Canon 5DC. Omg it’s a marriage made in heaven!

True story. I once found this lens at a thrift store for $10 CAD. It was a very good day. Later sold it for about $200. That was a bette day. Only reason I sold is I have the Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS. I love these Nikkors ane have 24 to 180mm now.

How would you compare this Nikon to some of the new manual lenses from companies like TTArtisans or 7Artisans? From my understanding these new lenses are basically using optical designs from the 70’s & 80’s, right?

I started with a Sony MAVICA FD97, then the Sony F707, followed by the Sony F717 and finally moved to Canon, with the Canon 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 5D Mk2, 5DMk3, 5D Mk4, EOS R, R5, and now the R3.

I love my Nikkor 50mm ƒ/1.4 on my Nikon F3 and adapted to my digital cameras!

Funny you should post this video today. I just ordered one of these this morning to put on my spotless F3!

More, please !!!! Any vintage lens reviews in your style would be a win from my perspective!

I've got a Digital Rebel a couple months ago basically for free (sold the lenses). The camera takes really nice photos in daylight (if you know what you're doing), even compared to the latest and greatest cameras. Use the pop up flash in dark environments to take point and shoot film camera like photos. The camera also works with the recent Canon EL-100 flash. Instead of using EF-S or EF lenses, you can also use M42 and even K-mount lenses by using an adapter while shooting in manual mode. Be aware though that focusing then is a hit and miss. If you lighten up the shadows in Photoshop Elements then you can see the limitation of the RAW files (=sensor) and the dynamic range is not great. That having said, if you can find a nice one for a few tenners or less: don't hesitate!

A great review! I'd prefer you to continue testing old lenses on modern bodies, that's where most viewers will be using them and the lower resolution of colour film or period-correct digital bodies means results will only be better on period correct bodies

What a fun video to watch, Gordon! I myself use a Nikkor 50mm 1.4 and a 24mm 2.8 on my Samsung NX1000 APS-C camera. More episodes on the use of vintage lenses on digital camera's would be awesome 😄.

Better is Worse. These old lenses really produce a different feel. It's hard to describe but so satisfying.

My first proper camera was Nikon d300 and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Great idea! And excellent review 😊

I'd love a review of the classic Tamron 90mm F2.5 SP adaptall lens. Back in my retail days, this was the industry standard in macro's, and Im using one as a portrait lens on my Nikon DF. It really is impressing me how sharp it is, and renders colour beautifully too. A thorough review would be amazing.

Brilliant video Gordon, As a Pentaxian, I been engaged in vintage lens on digital cameras for a long time, Some of the best images are from 1970-80 Pentax lens, the bokeh is so buttery. The coating on lens also give some images a very attractive look. There are so many vintage lens out there. I even use a 8mm film camera lens on one camera, can not match what modern lens can do for unique looks. I stopped buying cameras and turned to buying lens. What a difference it makes. Thanks for sharing!

I have old Pentax-a 50mm f2.8 Macro, such a fun lens to have in bag. Compared to modern 50s its small, MF works beautifully and its quite inexpensive lens to procure for anyone who wants to start with Macro.

I fancied the AI-S 50mm f/1.4 before settling on the AI 55mm f/1.2 as it provides better background separation while still being budget friendly enough. Both are good “gateway lenses” into the vintage world.

Nice! I used to own a pre ai version that was modified to be used with a nikon f to eos adapter enjoyed it a lot! I ended up trading it for some other photo gear. Keep up the good work!