Excellent and affordable vintage 20mm lens!!
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- Опубліковано 8 жов 2021
- Today we are taking a closer look at the Nikkor UD Auto 20mm f3.5! If you like the look of ultra wide-angle lenses, but are put off by the high prices for most vintage ultra wide options, this Nikkor is one of the few affordable options out there. It is still easy to find, it is moderately priced and performs really well! And its build quality is top notch!!
Nikkor UD Auto 20mm f3.5 - ebay.us/4yFvif
Nikon F to Sony NEX helicoid adapter: ebay.us/QmdjU6
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These pre-AI Nikkor lenses were optimized for black and white film photography, hence the cooler temperature. That said, the image fidelity/micro contrast is absolutely stunning for black and white images from this era of lenses, be it on digital or film. Great review of a great lens, as always!
Thank you!! I completely agree - I absolutely love what this lens can do with black and white!
Awesome!! Stoked to see some Nikon glass on your channel!
Thank you! I love Nikkor lenses and there will be more Nikkor lens reviews in the future.
Thank you, it was an interesting and informative video.
Thank you!
Very informative thank you.
You are welcome!
I've had one for a few years now ... I use it on my Canon 5D and my collection of Nikkormats ... GREAT lens !!!!
Great to hear that you are also enjoying this excellent lens! I love it!
thanks for the vid!
Nice vidéo and interesting adapter which inclûdes macro capabilities. Thx for that !
Thank you! Yeah I love these helicoid adapters! I made a whole video on them awhile back. You can get them for different mounts!
your channel is the bomb! thanks for making concise and consistent reviews. I have purchased alot of vintage lenses for my sony a7ii so your videos are great for confident purchases. thanks again
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your comment. It’s nice to hear from people who enjoy shooting with vintage lenses. And I’m glad that the channel is helpful. Take care.
@@VintageOptiks np look forward to more
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this lens. I always look forward to your videos. Nikon made so many interesting, great and unusual lenses over the years and yet it's fairly uncommon for anyone on UA-cam to review them.
Thank you so much! Glad that you appreciate the more uncommon lenses that I review. I love finding the odd and less famous lenses that are out there. It’s true that Nikon made a ton of interesting and unusual optics, and not many of them have been reviewed. I’m excited to try as many as I can.
Great review. I was lucky enough to use Nikon F bodies and Nikkor lenses for 16 years in the military in the 1980s. Those rugged brass bodies are legendary as well as the lens selection. I found myself returning to the amazing 105mm lens often. Now I prefer the much lighter Lumix 4/3 format, much, much lighter! Regards, Jimp
Thank you! Wow, that is amazing that you used Nikon F and Nikkor lenses back in the good old days when everything was made so well! I'm slowly collecting more and more of these gorgeous Nikkors. Their bodies are undoubtedly some of the best! Take care.
Back in the 1970s, I purchased a 20mm f/3.5 Nikkor lens for $347. Had an adapter that allowed me to attach the lens to the Leica M1 body that I usually used on a microscope.
Loved the lens but eventually replaced it with a faster 24mm f/2 Nikkor and a wider 18mm f/3.5 lens.
Thank you for sharing your experience with this lens. I love hearing from people who used this gear back in its heyday. Cheers!
Nice job and sweet van. I recognize some NC shots in there. I love 20mm on FF.
Thank you! Yeah, that funky old van caught my eye. :) I also love 20mm lenses on FF! That ultra wide field of view is really nice to work with. Definitely more challenging to compose, but also really fun!!
Liked the opening shot of the tree roots. B&W of vintage cars w/ vintage uw👍. It's been my experience with vintage Nikkors that they are often excellent at close & middle distance, which is fine I rarely shoot at ♾️.
Thank you!! I really enjoy shooting vintage cars with vintage lenses! They work so well together.
Nice informative video. I have the 20mm f2.8 lens (Ai converted) and am surprised how well it works with my D750 Nikon. I also have 7 old style Nikon lenses, all metal construction and Ai converted by Nikon, they easily match if not surpass most modern digital lenses.
Thank you so much! I definitely agree with your thoughts on the construction of old vs new lenses. The craftsmanship of the old Nikkors is on another level! And not only the quality but also the aesthetics - their lenses are so beautifully designed! I haven’t seen a single modern digital lens that can compare when it comes to aesthetics.
Once again, thanks, and thanks à lot for your nice reviews !
It is always an awaited pleasure, and à source to dig back in for further appréciation about thèse lenses.
AND ! you always find out of the stream lenses few people put à highlight on.
Always à pleasure.
PLUS, I like the pictures you make to illustrate your descriptions about these lenses.
Thanks again
I totally agree with everything that you have said in your above statement. I wish that I had said it first before you..!! LOL 😜😝🤣😉👍!!!
Thank you so much for your kind comment! I really appreciate it! Glad to hear that you enjoy the videos!
@@gradycarter1298 Thank you Grady!!! 😉
As always, great lens review. I have a weakness for the 20-21mm focal length. I wish I didn't have so many lenses, so I could buy more! 🤣
Thank you Juan!! I also have a weakness for 20-21mm lenses. 😁The ultra wide field of view is so much fun to play with!
I got a bunch of Nikkors, 35mm, 50mm (x3), 55mm, 135mm (x2), 200mm, 500mm reflex, 28-85mm, 80mm... Amazing lens all of them, and nikon F2, F3AF, F4, nikkormat FTN, FT3 and EL. Great videos 👍👏🤙🇦🇷
Thank you! Glad you enjoy the videos. Yes, Nikon made a ton of great lenses and cameras back in the day. I also have the F2. It’s my favorite 35mm SLR! I love that camera and it goes perfectly with all my vintage Nikon lenses. Cheers!
This is a great review! Thank you for taking the time to put this together. I use this on my Canon 5DS and 6D (IR converted). It has excellent detail with the 5DS, and IR looks great on the 6D. For me, the bokeh up close looks very good for an ultra wide, and you can make it swirl a bit in some situations like with flower bushes. I think the main negative for me would the loss of contrast when shooting up toward the sun in a forest situation. It washes out a bit. Considering the age of this lens, the pros far out weigh the cons. Cheers!
Thank you so much!! It’s great to hear your appreciation for this wonderful lens! Definitely a ton of positive qualities and that special vintage look! It’s a gem! Cheers!!
Very nice review and I've really enjoyed the photos. I wonder how the lens compares to Flektogon 20mm F4, which is similarly (I think) priced, also supposed to have weaker edges, but can focus close and it's got interesting rendering. I suppose it's unusual going for the wide angle lens not to be used for landscape or architecture photography, but you've demonstrated a great way to use its strengths. I might consider this one, thanks! Can't wait for the next video, they always motivate me to go out and shoot.
Thank you so much!! I haven't tried the Flek 20mm f4 yet. I'm sure it will have a few issues just like most ultra wide angle vintage lenses, but just like this Nikkor, if you work around the issues, you can still get some great shots. Take care and have fun shooting!!
I recently purchased a like-new Nikon 20mm f/3.5 Ai-s to use on my Nikon D7200, a crop sensor camera. The lens suffers from terrible chromatic aberration, and the corners are no where near as sharp as the center of the frame at every aperture. My other Ai-s lenses outperform it in every way. The corners are so weak, you could never use the lens for landscape, unless you intended to crop heavily. It's terrific close-up, however. I view it more as a macro lens than a typical wide angle. If corner to corner sharpness is what you are after, you would get much better results with a kit lens, or a used Tamron 17-50mm 2.8, which I used earlier.
Amazing 🤗👍
Thank you!
Nice! I did not know that glass existed, how times and relative costs have changed. In the mid '80's, I purchased the Tamron, 17mm. And have used it until recently - performs well on digital, so go buy one!
The Tamron 17mm sounds like a really nice lens. Would love to try it at some point!
Got new sub man! Great work! Do you have nikkor / nikon vintage list of "must" have lenses? ;)
Thanks so much! Besides the Nikkor UD auto 20mm f3.5 my other favorites are the Nikkor AI 105mm f2.5 and the Nikkor AIS 180mm f2.8 ED. I made videos for both of these lenses. Check them out if you have a chance. Cheers!
just picked one up for $60. I"m looking forward to taking it out.
Wow, that’s a fantastic deal! Enjoy it!
I bought one of these about twenty years ago and managed to find the lens hood for it, and also the ai conversion ring.
That’s awesome!!
A-1 quality content production. I am such a fan of your reviews and DIY projects. Very inspirational!!!
One request. Is it possible for you to do a conversion project of Yashica Electro 35 lens to E-Mount? It would be absolutely unique
Thank you so much! I appreciate it! Glad you enjoy the content of the channel.
Regarding your request - I’ve definitely thought of doing some Yashica conversions but most of their lenses are very complicated to adapt and I only want to focus on simpler projects that most people can do with a few simple tools. But if I find some easier Yashica lenses I’ll definitely make videos on them. Take care.
@@VintageOptiks Ahan... Thanks for the reply. And yes, please keep up the good work that you're doing. You're channel is of great help to us.
First, I look forward to your videos, there hasn't been one I haven't enjoyed.
I am always looking for interesting lenses to add character to my images, be they still or video.
How do you think this would fare using a focal reducer on a crop sensor vs using the helicoid adapter?
Thank you! Glad to hear that you are enjoying the content of the channel.
Regarding focal reducer vs a helicoid adapter - they will give you 2 different results. The focal reducer, as the name implies, reduces the focal length of whichever lens you use with it. People with cropped sensors (such as APSC or M4/3) often used them in order to eliminate the crop factor of the smaller sensor. But the issue with focal reducers is that they have glass elements which can cause some unwanted aberrations. The helicoid adapter on the other hand, is just a tube without any glass elements. It only helps to shorten the minimum focusing distance of your lens, which is very useful if you like close up photography.
Just ordered one mint from Japan and got lucky and found the org hood also be here in a fewdays- on a sony A7Riii infrared
Sounds awesome! Enjoy!
👍🙏Thank you!
You are welcome! 🙏
Like pretty much all vintage Nikkors, collectors' glass - especially with regard to build quality. If manufacturers made their lenses like this today (a) they would cost too much, and (b) they wouldn't sell as many because unlike modern electronic lenses, they are free from built-in obsolescence. Thank you for this review.
I get what you're saying but I have vintage lenses built far less durably (with less precision) than my new sigmas that are actually built like tanks. I think lenses have gone towards being lighter more than anything, plastics are not always cheaper and many people wrongly assume lenses are plastic when they are made from lighter, exotic metals like magnesium etc. Who wants to lug around big, heavy lenses? Also, if you're considering cost, lenses are unimaginably expensive to build today when you consider the machines needed to build them, the array of rare elements to make them (more than 100 in the glass alone), the complex components inside, the expectation for weather sealing, for consistency and the r&d cost in figuring out the maths for the lens design. All this and they're still paying lots of labour as the lenses still need to be hand assembled.
I agree! The build quality of these vintage Nikkor's is outstanding! It's unfortunate that new lenses, even though still very expensive, are not even halfway as good when it comes to build quality. But thankfully we have these old beauties to enjoy!!
@@WeeWillyWeiner I agree the top modern lenses are very good. Weather sealed, very sharp. Sony GM, Sigma Art, and than consider video lenses like Fujinon with ultra smooth focus, zoom, parfocal.
I had the 20mm f3.5 ais, very compact. It shared the same characteristic: it was a bit less sharp in the FX corners on my D700 at infinity, you had to close down to f8 /f11. Close up it was always sharp also in the corners, some minor chromatic aberrations, bokeh had less outlining compared to this UD version. It performed great against sunlight, nice sunstars. Mounted at my full spectrum D200, it delivered great IR images without ghosting, also nice sharp. I sold it when I bought a d800, it could hold up until 24 Mpix but not on 36M camera. How does the Nikkor UD compare to the Konica you tested last week, it seems to be better in the corners.
Thank you for sharing your experience with the 20mm f3.5 AIS. Sounds like a great little lens! It seems that all these vintage ultra wide angle lenses behave quite similarly and reach peak sharpness at f8 or f11. It was the same with the Konica I recently reviewed. Regarding your question how it differs from the Nikkor UD - the Konica has warmer colors and better control of lateral chromatic aberration. It is also sharper across the frame when focused to infinity. Both lenses have the same issue with distortion, which is very common with vintage ultra wide lenses. Cheers!
@@VintageOptiks Thank you, 20mm 3.5 AIS behaves quite well concerning distortion, relative to the vintage 20 mm lenses.
Good to know! Cheers!
Loved this video. As a "car guy" it really showcased the capabilities/possibilities of this lens for me. Is the helicoid adapter mandatory when using this lens on an APS-C camera? Any thoughts about it's use with a Fuji X-Trans sensor?
Thank you so much!! It’s nice to hear that you also appreciate classic cars! I’m a big fan. Regarding the helicoid adapter - it’s definitely not mandatory. You can use any simple cheap adapter that fits your camera. I personally love these helicoid adapters because they allow me to focus closer than what the lens was designed for. I’ve only tried this lens on Sony so I can’t say how it will be with a Fuji sensor. Take care.
@@VintageOptiks Very cool! I have a classic car that 's been in our family since about 1982. My father restored it. The original owner from new was one of my teachers and a HS football coach of mine. The car is a 1969 AMC Javelin SST, 290 4 speed. Thanks again for the info!!
Wow, that’s amazing!! The 1969 AMC Javelin is one gorgeous looking car! The cars from the late 60’s and early 70’s had incredible design. They are like works of art!!
Excellent review 🔥. Have you tried the nikkor 20mm f / 4? I have found both negative and positive reviews for that lens.
Thanks so much!! I haven't tried the 20mm f4 yet, but I've also heard mixed things about it.
I have the 20mm f4. I’ve found it to be very good though a bit soft and stretched at the edges. I managed to get it at a reasonable price so I’m not complaining. It’s a lovely small lens to attach to a full frame camera, and, like all Nikkor lenses of that time, beautifully built and a joy to use
Good to know. Thank you for your input.
How dose this lens compare to CZ flexigon and sigma 35 art? I want to change for different lens for video projects. For example head talk or music videos.
damn when I knew about this lens before, I would considerate it but I have CZ fletigon. I am good for wide lenses .
do you have the f4 zebra or a later (newer) model?
@@seoulrydr I have the newer version. How dose newer compare to older? I mostly use wide for event photos and videos. I am more interested to make videos.
@@anamorphicalan I've never used the newer version, but from what I understand, the optical coatings are better for flare reduction.
😻😻
The music is from Mazinger Z? 😅?
Something with the left corners of this one.
Seems the back lens has been serviced & was not exactly realigned. Could be.
Better than Canon FD 20mm?
I wouldn’t say that is better than the FD 20mm f2.8, but it’s definitely cheaper and also a very capable lens once stopped down a few stops. It’s simply a good alternative for those looking for an affordable ultra wide-angle vintage lens.
This is a lens from 1967 onward. How are you using it with a "cropped sensor". Thank you.
Yes indeed. I mentioned that the lens was released in 1967 in the beginning of the video. I'm using this lens on a Sony a7III, which has an option to switch between full frame sensor and cropped (APSC) sensor. So sometimes I switch to APSC whenever I need a little bit of a crop. I find it to be a very useful feature, because I can't always get closer to my subjects.
@@VintageOptiks Thank you for the quick reply!! How do you attach that 50 year old lens to your Sony? What adapter do you use? Also realistically and honestly how would you rate the image quality of this older lens against the image quality of the best modern Nikon 20mm lens of today?? Many thanks.
@@540chevhell9 I attach this lens with the help of an adapter. In this case I use a helicoid adapter. I have a link in the description of the video for the adapter I use for my Sony a7III (it will work on any Sony E mount camera). Regarding how this lens compares to a modern 20mm Nikon lens - I simply don't know, because I only use vintage lenses. If you are looking for a perfect image from a 20mm lens, then definitely go with a modern lens, but if you want a vintage look in your images, then this Nikkor will suit you well. At the end if the day it comes down to what look you want to have in your photographs.
@@VintageOptiks Thank you very much for your reply on both points. Much appreciated. Great channel.
@@540chevhell9 You are welcome! Glad to hear that you enjoy the channel.
affordable is for me $50 max. That's not the case here ;-)
I wish that there are ultra wide angle lenses that can be bought for $50, but unfortunately that's not the case. :)
@@VintageOptiks :-))
Try yard sales of people with money, often they don’t care about old stuff. Also thrift shops. Forget eBay and market place, very few real deals there.
Oddly enough, this lens sucks on my A7RIV.....
Sorry you didn’t like it. I personally really enjoyed shooting with it.
@@VintageOptiks After watching your video, I will try the lens again ! Thanks !
this lens defenitely sucks on my A7R4. Cannot get a clean, sharp focus....
@@pascal6707 It's probably a bad copy of a lens. At least the center should be pretty sharp, or wherever you focus, due to field curvature on Sony sensors something will always be out of focus (at least around infinity). My personal experience matches what I've seen in this review. RIV is a bit cruel with most vintage lenses though, but at least the center should be sharp enough stopped down to 5.6 or so.
@@pascal6707 You must have a faulty copy of this lens. Or maybe someone tried to service it and didn't put it back correctly.
I bought it new in 1972 for 1198 DM (Germany); now you can get it for about 300 EUR. @philosimot
I’m not surprised that it cost that . A lot of the ultra wide-angle lenses were very expensive back in those days Do you still have the one you bought in 72?
No, I had it for some years until the 4/18 appeared. Today with consideration of digital half format I prefer the 3.5/17 Tokina in relation to the 2.8/24 Nikkor, then 2.8/35 Nikkor, Micro-Nikkor-P 3.5/55, 1.8/85 Nikkor-H.C, and some telephoto zoom lenses (3.5-4.5/35-105, 3.5/75-150 E, 4.5/80-200). In those old days, from 1971-2001 (or some years more), photography was part of my advertising profession, and I got experience with all mechanical semipro and pro Nikons and dozens of Nikkor lenses. Now I am content with one Nikon F2S, a Nikkormat EL and an EL2 plus F801s and D300, and I would never spend lots of money on a mirrorless camera.@@VintageOptiks