Nikon (Nikkor) 25-50mm f/4 AIS Manual
Focus Wide angle to Standard Zoom. Mint-. Tested. See Test Images.
This is a
near pristine example of one of the finest manual focus, general purpose
telephoto zoom ever made by Nikon. It covers the very popular 25-50mm focal
lengths and has a constant f/4 aperture. It's as good as a prime lens from a
sharpness perspective and it combines high edge sharpness with low distortion.
See Hi res
images taken with this lens on Youtube
https://youtu.be/Y1Ey4ggklJU
Key Features
ü Super sharp at all focal lengths and
apertures.
ü Low distortion
ü f/4 fast lens constant aperture.
ü Relatively light and compact.
ü Close focus to 2ft.
This last,
and best, AIS model: lens number 209277, was number 8,268 of a total run of
just 16,897 of the 25-50mm f/4 AIS Zoom lens manufactured by Nikon Japan
between November 1981 and March 1985. We can, therefore, be fairly certain that
this lens was made at some point in July 1983.
This lens is
an ideal wide to standard range telephoto. It is light and compact, which makes
it ideal for travel. It's better made than many of today's Nikon zooms as it's
only made from glass and metal. All you miss is autofocus.
This lens is
super sharp as you can see from the pictures I have attached and the link to
the Youtube Hi Res images. See below.
Lens compatibility
Use on Digital Cameras
On the D810, D800,D800E, D750,D700, D610, D600,D500,
D300s,D300, D200,D7200, D7100,D7000 series cameras, it can give full matrix
metering and aperture-preferred auto (A) and manual (M) modes, and encodes the
shooting aperture and focal length in the EXIF.
This lens works on the lesser cameras like the D80, D70 and
D40, but without any metering - you'll have to use an external meter or guess
using the LCD.
Use on Film Cameras
This Iens is ideal for manual focus cameras like the FA, FE,
FM and F2AS.
The F100 and most film cameras offer centre-weighted
metering with this lens, while the F4, F6 and FA are unique among film cameras
in offering matrix metering with it.
For further reading on the subject, please visit Ken Rockwell's most instructive website on the subject.
Overall Lens
Condition: Mint-
Mechanical /
Cosmetic: Mint
This is a pristine
lens. It is unmarked and looks almost new. The zoom ring action is nice and
smooth and nicely damped. The focus action is light and smooth no play in the
action. The painted lettering is bright and completely intact. The bayonet
mount is in perfect condition. The aperture blades move freely and are oil free.
Optical: Near
Mint
There is a
tiny piece of fluff and some dust particles in the lens, although a lot less
than one would expect in a lens of this age. Apart from that, the optics are flawless.
This lens generates brilliantly sharp, bright and contrasty images straight out
of the camera. There is no balsam separation, haze, mould or fungus. the front
and rear elements are pristine.
Image
quality
Image
quality is excellent. The images taken with this lens show edge to edge
sharpness at most apertures and focal lengths. This lens is about as good as a
Nikkor prime in my view.
The lens
tests attached were shot on a Sony A7RII 42.4MP Mirrorless camera. It works
perfectly on my D7200, but I wanted to demonstrate the full-frame capability of
this lens.
The Ebay
Upload Images
The test
images were taken in Birmingham, UK on November 12th 2022. The first image of
the northbound tunnel entrance to the Queensway Underpass was shot wide open at
f/4 at the 25mm focal length. The next image is a 100% centre crop of the first
image. The next image is of the same scene, but this time it's a corner crop at
f/8. This lens is insanely sharp right across the frame everywhere. In my
opinion, it's as good as a Nikon prime. The next image is another f/4 image at
focal length 25mm and the next (also at f/4) facing the other way at 35mm. Both are superb
and I've cropped both images at 100% These images show the low distortion and
great perspective that this lens produces.
The Youtube
Images
https://youtu.be/Y1Ey4ggklJU
I've taken a
series of f/4 to f/22 exposures of the northbound tunnel entrance to the
Queensway Underpass in Birmingham, UK at 25mm, 35mm, and 50mm. I've cropped the
images centre and edge at various apertures. The quality is outstanding. It's
edge to edge (and corner) sharp at all apertures and focal lengths. Take a look
at the 35mm sequence. On the f/4 100% centre crop, the only thing that tells us
that the lens is wide open is the bluish white tinge to the car headlight
typical of a Nikkor lens being deployed at maximum aperture. Note that the f/8
100% crop shows the typical 14 point Sunstars that this lens generates when
shooting point light sources stopped down.
I've also
taken some other images in and around the area. The 100% crops are equivalent
to about an 8ft x 5ft full size image if you are looking at the image 10cm wide
on your screen.
What's in
the box?
Lens, front
and rear Nikon lens caps.