Manual and Electronic

Q: I enjoyed Richard Sibley's article on pancake lenses (AO 26 March), but was curious about the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P lens that featured in the piece. Despite being a manual lens, it has electronic contacts so that aperture information can be communicated with the camera. Are there any other Nikon manual-focus lenses that also have electronic contacts so they can be used with automatic exposure modes on modern DSLR camera?

A: I spoke to Gray Levett of Grays of Westminster www.graysofwestminster.co.uk , who kindly lent us the 45mm f/2.8P lens featured in the article. He told me 'Nikon had a 500mm f/4P Nikkor IF-ED optic in its manual lens range, and produced, to special order, the 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P Nikkor IF-ED which was the Godzilla of all manual-focus Nikon lenses. We had one here briefly and, if I remember it correctly, it cost £53,000. Its specification is: focal length 1200-1700mm, aperture f/.5.6-f/8, lens construction 18 elements in 13 groups (3 x EDs), weight 16kg, dimensions 237mm diameter x 880mm long (overall), filters 52mm drop-in. It was designed to cover an American baseball field, or baseball diamond as it is sometimes known.

Specialising in the Exceptional

The Vintage Department at Grays of Westminster seeks out only the very best mint or near mint examples of Nikon equipment for our customers. For example, on the right-hand page is the very rare Nikon Model H Field Microscope. This is a portable microscope based on the design of their Nikon rangefinder cameras. It enjoyed a reputation as one of the finest field microscopes, eventually being selected by NASA for a place in Skylab Missions in the early 1970s, where it was known as the “Skylab Microscope”. It employed inverted optics with an especially large prism, along with a built-in three-position objective revolving nosepiece. The range of the optics covered 4x, 10x, 40x, 100x (oil immersion) - and 10x wide-field eyepiece lens. It also offered illumination provided by daylight or a built-in incandescent lamp, powered by two self-contained penlight batteries.

If you have Nikon equipment like this that you wish to dispose of, or indeed any high-quality Nikon, then kindly contact us by telephone 020-7828 4925 or if you prefer, you can email us at info@graysofwestminster.co.uk for our highest offer.

Specialising in the Exceptional

A Nikon F-36 Motor Drive (for the Nikon F camera) + Cordless Battery Pack, Motor Drive adaptor plate, connector, Japanese instruction manual, warranty, complete in maker’s boxes NEW (ONE ONLY) £2,000.00.

Specialising in the Exceptional

The Vintage Department at Grays of Westminster seeks out only the very best mint or near mint examples of early Nikon cameras, lenses and accessories. For example, on this Advertisment is a very unusual Nikon F camera with the serial number 6500000 fitted with a 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S Auto, scalloped focusing barrelled lens. if you have Nikon equipment you wish to dispose of, then kindly contact us by telephone 020-7828 4925 of if you prefer, you can email us at info@graysofwestminster.co.uk for our highest offer.