Acquired the first of my dad’s old Nikon lenses – for my XSi

[Barracuda]

First the picture:

Yes, that’s a Cannon XSi, mated to a Nikon 135mm 2.8 which is probably older than I am. I’ve only taken a few photos with it, quick snaps around outside the house this evening to get a feel for how the pairing go together, and so far – so good. I’ll post a few straight out of camera shots here in a moment.

Did a quick eBay search on this lens, and all of the examples I’ve seen online have a different type of checkering for the focal ring. This one is a tight diamond checkered feel, compared to the larger block style I see on all the online images. I can only guess this is an old version, it was originally paired with my dad’s Nikkormat FTn. He’s also got a 50mm 1.4 and a 300mm which I plan to slowly bring home with me.

edit: based on what I can find on Nikon serial numbers, it’s an early 70’s version, so yes, older than I am.

[Barracuda]

And a few of the shots, straight out of camera.

[orionid]

Nice!

That lens is pre-AI (1977), what you’re seeing on ebay is probably the AI version.

[ravnostic]

I’d pay to get my arse on a piece of glarse from the 70’s (old and wrinkled may he be), if I could take shots like this. hang on to them!!

[Farktographer]

Heretic! Sacrilege! How DARE you put a holy Nikon lens on a Canon mount? Your punishment is that you must now send me the lens. I’ll put it to good use 😉

Those are some purdy pictures, though. How did you transform the base to get it to fit?

[Barracuda]

$14 adapter ring is all it took to make this most unholy of unions. Works very well if I do say so myself, just the faintest amount of play between the adapter and lens, but it’s on there securely. Shooting in shady or into the sun appears to play tricks with the light meter some, need to take some more practice shots in those types of settings to get a feel for how to adjust for those conditions. Also want to take some shots with this lens and the Canon 55-250 I have to do a direct comparison.

[chupathingie]

Man, wish I coulda found a cheap adapter a few years ago when I was looking… I got raped for about $200 for one, as Novoflex was the only manufacturer I could find back then and they’re overly proud of their gear.

[Barracuda]

Since this one has no electrical or other connection to the camera beyond just securing the lens to body, it’s about as simple as can be. Hoping to get out for some better test photos this afternoon or this weekend at latest.

[chupathingie]

I don’t think an adapter exists that carries electricals between brands; all of the adapters I’ve ever found have been manual-only.

[Farktographer]

That’s where it becomes so important to use the old-fashioned lenses where you can control aperture on the lens itself. It’d suck to try this conversion now where you’d be stuck with the highest f-stop on the lens.

[orionid]

That’s where it becomes so important to use the old-fashioned lenses where you can control aperture on the lens itself. It’d suck to try this conversion now where you’d be stuck with the highest f-stop on the lens.

that happens in brand, too. try using AF-S on an old EM.

[sleeping]

That’s where it becomes so important to use the old-fashioned lenses where you can control aperture on the lens itself. It’d suck to try this conversion now where you’d be stuck with the highest f-stop on the lens.

Actually: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/724050-REG/Novoflex_EOSNIK_NT_EOS_NIK_NT_Lens_Adapter_for.html

I assume there are also cheaper chinese clones out there too. However, I don’t think the apertures are click-stopped or anything, you basically have to work by eye to get the DOF you want….

[Author]

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