Nice video and information. I picked one of these up several months ago and so far am pleased. The beautiful thing about these older primes is the low element count - better B/W images by far. Cheers!
I'm glad that there's still people out there reviewing and using these types of lenses. I just received this lens earlier today and although the throw will take some getting used to - I think I'll be using this quite a bit. I also use the 135mm 2.8 and I absolutely love it! Great video ✌️✌️
I just saw the pics on your Flickr album. The bokeh of the 200mm lens is very nice indeed. I have the AI-S version and although it is bigger than other AI-S lenses, it is smaller and lighter than most modern zoom lenses.
I have it since '90. When I used on my Nikon FM. I still use it today on my D7100. It is not easy to focus, I can't zoom in and out to compose , but it is so sharp, it gives wonderfull colors. I love it so much that I often leave at home the AF-S Dx 18-200 4,5-5,6 ED VR Nikkor plastic lens👌Good review boy.
Years ago, I bought a 200mm f/3.5 Vivitar instead of the 200mm f/4 Nikkor. After a short time, I sold the Vivitar because I was not satisfied with its image quality. I replaced it with a 180mm f/2.8 Nikkor which I still use to this day. Thanks to your video, I now have an idea of what I missed.
I bought one a week ago on ebay. It is in generally nice condition, small scratches on the hood but optical and mecanical system are perfect. I paid 89 EUR for the thing. You cannot go wrong here.
Absolutely right ! Not an AI lens, But a few months ago I found a mint condition 70's vintage 200mm pre AI lens for $40.00. I have taken some great shots with it. I use it on a Nikkormat FT2 and a DF. Still have to try it on my F2. There are times I wish these reviews weren't allowed, causes the prices to go up LOL!!! Keep up the great work
I'm flattered that you think I have the ability to move market prices. I had always assumed that due to the small audience, I could speak freely and recommend the best deals without driving up prices.
I bought 1 a while back - but it was very stiff to focus (dry helicord?) - but it was very sharp. So, I did buy a second that is just fantastic. I won't say I use it often, but I do use it when I want something that fits the need. By the way, ... all too often people forget that even a prime lens has an auto-zoom feature .. it's called "your feet" .. lol.
I found one of these NIB for $100 5 or 6 years ago. The past 2 months I have been carrying it with a 50 and, 24 Nikkors. I like it for shooting from the car.
Thanks Brian for your videos! They are great and very informative. I also have this lens and think it is a great telephoto lens. I have found myself using the older AI lenses, while many are manual focus, they have amazing optics. At present, I think these lenses can be had at a bargain.
I’ve got a 180 f2.8 and a Nikon-Q 200 f4. While many rave about the 180 (which I love), don’t underestimate the 200 f4! My old Q was factory AI’d and sometime I’m sure I’ll get one of these lenses.
Yes, the 180/2.8 is the one all the Nikon enthusiasts pine for, particularly the AIS version, and prices reflect that. I've never used one so I can't say its not worth the price. But I can say you can buy a barrel of 200/4's for the price of one 180/2.8.
I paid $300 for the 180 and $70 for the 200. My 180 is an AI. I missed a 200 f4 that went for $43. All prices in Canadian dollars so you can knock 25% off those numbers.
Hi1 Brian. I am eyeing on getting this Nikon 200mm f/4 . Would like to inform you, that Pentacon also made a 200mm f/4 lens. Also a great lens & cheap ( i do have one M42 mount). Thanks for your video. Please stay safe. Have a nice weekend.!.
The reason prices on these lenses went up is cause folks like you bought these to ‘round out your collection.’ Congratulations! You have gentrified photography!
I love this lens! I found my AI-S version at a flea market in really good condition and after some haggeling payed 50€ for it. It is easy to focus, sharp as a knife, and has nice blur in the background. I have used it for portraits, wildlife, and practically everything else, too. It has never disappointed me, neither on my old analogue camera, nor on my digital. It doesn't like direct light, though, but as long as you don't shoot directly into the sun it is OK. I even paired it with a cheap 2x converter for some shots of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn, and the pictures turned out quite good, although there is a limit to pushing it that far simply because of the motion of the atmosphere itself.
I recently picked up one of these in mint condition for $100 to use on an old D600 to shoot landscapes with it. I havent shot it much on close up subjects, but when focused at infinity, I cant say I'm too impressed with it optically. F4 and 5.6 seem to have a lot of aberrations, and the subject (in this case mountains) always has a soft glow. By f8 this seems to go away. So for my uses, its essentially a f8/f11 lens. But like I said, I shoot this lens 99% of the time at infinity and can't speak for its close up performance. Colors and contrast are always good though.
I deliberately pushed my 180 AI just to see how bad the CA could be. flic.kr/p/2jVFfpP It’s a shot of water drops on the trunk of my car. I did another shot at f8 and as you said, there wasn’t a hint of CA. The Nikon-Q has similarities under some circumstances. Like any lens, it has its strengths and weaknesses!
I've got a 70-200 f4 that's quite a bit larger and annoying, but I got it for not much more than fifty bones and it looks about as sharp as this prime. I'm sure there's crazy sample variation as with all zoom lenses, but it's worth a shot for the "cheap bokeh lens" along with this. Edit: I should specify that this is an ai Nikkor 70-200 f4 push pull.
Back in the day I had Nikkor 80-200mm f4.5 "beer can" lens, and I got good results out of it. And all do that lens is not so much bigger (I'd say 4-5 cm longer) than fixed 200mm I guess it's considerably heavier. 180 or 200mm in f2,8, yes, that's heavy. F4 lenses are not, period.
Very nice, just went over to flicker to see the images. I am heartened to amazingly see, in the shadows, a person actually wearing a mask on the beach, God bless them! The parasailing shots were nice, especially the one showing the beach a bit more, nice work! The lovely young lady was lovely as ever, God bless her. Thanks for the great information and thoughts and images! Love your stuff! I am curious as to your processing and scans. What resolution and method do you use for your scans? What do you do with them after you get them? Best wishes to you and yours, may God bless you and yours and keep you safe, happy, healthy, and prosperous!
@@BriansPhotoShow Thanks, I watched one of them after your response. Is there an upper or lower megapixel limit you prefer for making the copy of the negatives?-
You should review the Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AI or AI-S, I traded for the 105mm f/2.8 AIS version and it's amazing. It's also strange because I feel comfortable using a 105mm focal length and it feels normal to how I see things in life
Nice video. Love the test images! Picked up a pre ai nikkor a 200mm from Japan for £30 to go with my F and F2AS (its is being converted to AI at the moment). My copy has got some haze in the optics but should be fine (I hope).
If I happen across a nice pre-AI version for under a hundred bucks, I'll likely grab it. These things are really overlooked. Screw the hipsters, I love the images I get from this lens.
@@BriansPhotoShow agreed, they. are fantastically well made and deserved to be used. I just prefer the design of the pre ai lenses, they have some sort of “something” to them! Thank you for these videos, I really enjoy them
Found one today (Jan '21) for $100 but for that, it looks brand freaking new. I though it was a 96 AI-s until I saw the white "32". I couldn't believe the condition in that I have others from the 90s that are 8+ out of Japan that aren't as good and the serial # says the 200 is from '77 or '78. I couldn't believe it and since my current 200 is the 80-200 f2.8 AF-d, this is a lightweight.
@@BriansPhotoShow I think it was K that was AI'd by Nikon and who ever owned it apparently did use it much. I have an email into the Gray's of Westminster folks about what I should look for regarding a K on digital bodies but I can't wait for it to get here.
Bought one of these almost 20 years ago. It is my least used lens mainly because you need a lot of light to shoot hand held. If I need to carry a tripod I may as well shoot my medium format cameras. It has never disappointed me though an that is the reason I cannot force myself to sell it.
After having over 50 lenses in my lifetime ( full time working photographer for 10 years) I just bought this lens. Mint condition for £150. Pricey but probably worth it.
Excellent discussion and video. Thank you.
RS. Canada
One of the sharpest lenses I ever used. Sharp wide open, crazy sharp at 5.6. only 5 elements! My go to lens for fall color detail shots.
Nice video and information. I picked one of these up several months ago and so far am pleased. The beautiful thing about these older primes is the low element count - better B/W images by far. Cheers!
I'm glad that there's still people out there reviewing and using these types of lenses. I just received this lens earlier today and although the throw will take some getting used to - I think I'll be using this quite a bit. I also use the 135mm 2.8 and I absolutely love it! Great video ✌️✌️
I just saw the pics on your Flickr album. The bokeh of the 200mm lens is very nice indeed. I have the AI-S version and although it is bigger than other AI-S lenses, it is smaller and lighter than most modern zoom lenses.
I have it since '90. When I used on my Nikon FM. I still use it today on my D7100. It is not easy to focus, I can't zoom in and out to compose , but it is so sharp, it gives wonderfull colors. I love it so much that I often leave at home the AF-S Dx 18-200 4,5-5,6 ED VR Nikkor plastic lens👌Good review boy.
I bought one for $120 more than 3 years ago. Great focal length and fantastic bokeh at f/4
Brian..you are right. This is a good lens. I keep this lens for headshot kind of work.
Years ago, I bought a 200mm f/3.5 Vivitar instead of the 200mm f/4 Nikkor.
After a short time, I sold the Vivitar because I was not satisfied with its image quality.
I replaced it with a 180mm f/2.8 Nikkor which I still use to this day.
Thanks to your video, I now have an idea of what I missed.
I loved this lens before it got stolen along with my laptop bag. Razor sharp and the colours are amazing. Great review!
I bought one a week ago on ebay. It is in generally nice condition, small scratches on the hood but optical and mecanical system are perfect. I paid 89 EUR for the thing. You cannot go wrong here.
Absolutely right !
Not an AI lens, But a few months ago I found a mint condition 70's vintage 200mm pre AI lens for $40.00. I have taken some great shots with it. I use it on a Nikkormat FT2 and a DF. Still have to try it on my F2. There are times I wish these reviews weren't allowed, causes the prices to go up LOL!!! Keep up the great work
I'm flattered that you think I have the ability to move market prices. I had always assumed that due to the small audience, I could speak freely and recommend the best deals without driving up prices.
Your audience is much bigger than you think!
I bought 1 a while back - but it was very stiff to focus (dry helicord?) - but it was very sharp. So, I did buy a second that is just fantastic. I won't say I use it often, but I do use it when I want something that fits the need. By the way, ... all too often people forget that even a prime lens has an auto-zoom feature .. it's called "your feet" .. lol.
Pity makers cant make a lens like that any more - small and a 52mm filter thread...
Amen to that, brother
I found one of these NIB for $100 5 or 6 years ago. The past 2 months I have been carrying it with a 50 and, 24 Nikkors. I like it for shooting from the car.
NIB for a hundred bucks is a damn fine deal. Well done!
Nice purchase!
Thanks Brian for your videos! They are great and very informative. I also have this lens and think it is a great telephoto lens. I have found myself using the older AI lenses, while many are manual focus, they have amazing optics. At present, I think these lenses can be had at a bargain.
I’ve got a 180 f2.8 and a Nikon-Q 200 f4. While many rave about the 180 (which I love), don’t underestimate the 200 f4! My old Q was factory AI’d and sometime I’m sure I’ll get one of these lenses.
Yes, the 180/2.8 is the one all the Nikon enthusiasts pine for, particularly the AIS version, and prices reflect that. I've never used one so I can't say its not worth the price. But I can say you can buy a barrel of 200/4's for the price of one 180/2.8.
I paid $300 for the 180 and $70 for the 200. My 180 is an AI. I missed a 200 f4 that went for $43. All prices in Canadian dollars so you can knock 25% off those numbers.
just bought one of these 😎 good point on the depth of field subject! cheers
Hi1 Brian. I am eyeing on getting this Nikon 200mm f/4 . Would like to inform you, that Pentacon also made a 200mm f/4 lens. Also a great lens & cheap ( i do have one M42 mount). Thanks for your video. Please stay safe. Have a nice weekend.!.
The reason prices on these lenses went up is cause folks like you bought these to ‘round out your collection.’ Congratulations! You have gentrified photography!
I love this lens! I found my AI-S version at a flea market in really good condition and after some haggeling payed 50€ for it. It is easy to focus, sharp as a knife, and has nice blur in the background. I have used it for portraits, wildlife, and practically everything else, too. It has never disappointed me, neither on my old analogue camera, nor on my digital. It doesn't like direct light, though, but as long as you don't shoot directly into the sun it is OK. I even paired it with a cheap 2x converter for some shots of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn, and the pictures turned out quite good, although there is a limit to pushing it that far simply because of the motion of the atmosphere itself.
Yes, I believe these lenses are more versatile than people give them credit for.
Great video.
got pre ai one by mistake. use it now for my Nikkormat ft2 and its great!
Then it's not a mistake. Enjoy your lens!
I use one of these on my Nikon D500 where it behaves as a 300mm lens due to the crop-factor. The AI version can be bought for about £90 / $123.
Great review
This 200mm and the medium zooms are all very cheap and render great images
Still own this one, but haven’t used it for years. It’s in mint condition.
Just picked one up. Bought the ais hoping to get a more recently made lens than the ai model.
As far as I know the AI and AIS versions are optically identical.
I recently picked up one of these in mint condition for $100 to use on an old D600 to shoot landscapes with it. I havent shot it much on close up subjects, but when focused at infinity, I cant say I'm too impressed with it optically. F4 and 5.6 seem to have a lot of aberrations, and the subject (in this case mountains) always has a soft glow. By f8 this seems to go away. So for my uses, its essentially a f8/f11 lens. But like I said, I shoot this lens 99% of the time at infinity and can't speak for its close up performance. Colors and contrast are always good though.
In terms of sharpness, peak performance around f/8 or f/11 sounds right to me. It's certainly sharp enough wide open for portrait work.
I deliberately pushed my 180 AI just to see how bad the CA could be. flic.kr/p/2jVFfpP It’s a shot of water drops on the trunk of my car. I did another shot at f8 and as you said, there wasn’t a hint of CA. The Nikon-Q has similarities under some circumstances. Like any lens, it has its strengths and weaknesses!
I've got a 70-200 f4 that's quite a bit larger and annoying, but I got it for not much more than fifty bones and it looks about as sharp as this prime. I'm sure there's crazy sample variation as with all zoom lenses, but it's worth a shot for the "cheap bokeh lens" along with this.
Edit: I should specify that this is an ai Nikkor 70-200 f4 push pull.
If I recall correctly, I believe Ken Wheeler a/k/a the Angry Photographer spoke rather highly of the 70-210 f/4. I've never owned one.
Back in the day I had Nikkor 80-200mm f4.5 "beer can" lens, and I got good results out of it. And all do that lens is not so much bigger (I'd say 4-5 cm longer) than fixed 200mm I guess it's considerably heavier. 180 or 200mm in f2,8, yes, that's heavy. F4 lenses are not, period.
Is this bright enough for astro photography?? And what about the weight?
Nice review 👍
Very nice, just went over to flicker to see the images. I am heartened to amazingly see, in the shadows, a person actually wearing a mask on the beach, God bless them! The parasailing shots were nice, especially the one showing the beach a bit more, nice work! The lovely young lady was lovely as ever, God bless her. Thanks for the great information and thoughts and images! Love your stuff! I am curious as to your processing and scans. What resolution and method do you use for your scans? What do you do with them after you get them? Best wishes to you and yours, may God bless you and yours and keep you safe, happy, healthy, and prosperous!
I use a Nikon ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter. I made a few videos about it.
@@BriansPhotoShow Thanks, I watched one of them after your response. Is there an upper or lower megapixel limit you prefer for making the copy of the negatives?-
@@johnjon1823 12 megapixels is plenty for web display and most prints. Anything over 24 megapixels is overkill.
You should review the Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AI or AI-S, I traded for the 105mm f/2.8 AIS version and it's amazing. It's also strange because I feel comfortable using a 105mm focal length and it feels normal to how I see things in life
I don't have that lens. I just don't do enough macro work to justify it.
Nice video. Love the test images! Picked up a pre ai nikkor a 200mm from Japan for £30 to go with my F and F2AS (its is being converted to AI at the moment). My copy has got some haze in the optics but should be fine (I hope).
If I happen across a nice pre-AI version for under a hundred bucks, I'll likely grab it. These things are really overlooked. Screw the hipsters, I love the images I get from this lens.
@@BriansPhotoShow agreed, they. are fantastically well made and deserved to be used. I just prefer the design of the pre ai lenses, they have some sort of “something” to them! Thank you for these videos, I really enjoy them
And also there are old 200mm f3.5 lenses, like the Canon FL, with a nice old look
Yes, indeed. One of my favorites is the Konica Hexanon 200mm f/3.5.
Hi Sir.. can I use 200mm f4 lens with nikon d5100..pls advise
The lens will physically mount on the camera but I don't think the exposure meter will operate
Would you recommend it over Jupiter-21m 200mm f4? Both have similar price. I couldn't decide which one to buy.
I've never used a Jupiter 21. I wish I could be more helpful.
Found one today (Jan '21) for $100 but for that, it looks brand freaking new. I though it was a 96 AI-s until I saw the white "32". I couldn't believe the condition in that I have others from the 90s that are 8+ out of Japan that aren't as good and the serial # says the 200 is from '77 or '78. I couldn't believe it and since my current 200 is the 80-200 f2.8 AF-d, this is a lightweight.
I wouldn't hesitate to pay a hundred bucks for a mint AI version. I don't like the shorter focus throw of the AIS lenses, particularly on telephotos.
@@BriansPhotoShow I think it was K that was AI'd by Nikon and who ever owned it apparently did use it much. I have an email into the Gray's of Westminster folks about what I should look for regarding a K on digital bodies but I can't wait for it to get here.
Radioactive too
Love mine
Bought one of these almost 20 years ago. It is my least used lens mainly because you need a lot of light to shoot hand held. If I need to carry a tripod I may as well shoot my medium format cameras.
It has never disappointed me though an that is the reason I cannot force myself to sell it.
Yes, that's true. It's mostly an outdoor daylight lens.
I have a Vivitar Series 1, 70-210mm that works great on my Nikon F (Ftn photomic prism head). Would like to get a hold of the Nikon 200mm.
After having over 50 lenses in my lifetime ( full time working photographer for 10 years) I just bought this lens. Mint condition for £150. Pricey but probably worth it.
No test shots? Not even a slug crawling up the wall.
Quite sick of RUclips presenters obsessed with blurring backgrounds
200mm is pretty long and flat for portraits! Not really sensible to ruin the rendering of the main subject in order to achieve a pleasant background.