One day I read an article about old PC Nikkor.
The article is about the PC-Nikkor 28mm F4, which was released in 1961, as the world’s first DLSR’s “shift” lens. Since my favorite lens is “PC-E NIKKOR 24mm F3.5D ED”, the story of the original PC lens intrigued my curiosity so much.
If you are curious about the article, you can read it with “Google Translate”.
Nikon (Japan) : The history of Nikkor: Vol.017
There is a lens, it has a history.
I was so impressed knowing about the story of the development.
So I didn’t need this old lens particularly, but was so curious how they perform on the latest Nikon Z6. And the good news is they were so cheap in the used market.
Then I got them both the historical “PC-Nikkor 35mm F2.8“ and “PC-Nikkor 28mm F3.5“.
Are they still good? or just the lenses of the past?
PC-NIKKOR 35mm f/2.8
The first try is pc 35mm.
I found one sold at only $120 on ebay, so I just got it without hesitation.
The condition was pretty good, and the function worked perfectly.
Here are some sample pictures I shot with this old lens.
They are mounted on Z6, manual focus, all f5.6-f8.
(Sorry since it did not record EXIF)
PC-NIKKOR 35mm f/2.8 | Cityscapes hand-held samples
What do you think?
Honestly, I did not expect much before I shot by this lens.
But the image quality was so good that I had to know how an old Nikkor lens has a strong potential and can be used for today’s DSLR.
Not as a PC lens, but just using as a 35mm f2.8 prime lens was just fine since it is pretty light and small, best fit to the small mirror-less camera. Plus Z6 body VR support for handheld shooting. This small one is a great companion for the city snapper.
PC-NIKKOR 35mm f/2.8 | Daytime long exposure:sample
OK, how about using this old one for a serious long-exposure shooting?
I tested with D810 on a cloudy morning by the Yodogawa-river riverside:
Firecrest ND3.9 (13 stops), having 210 seconds long exposure.
What do you think?
There was no harsh light, and it was a very calm morning, which was a pretty gentle condition for the old lens, and also for long-exposure photography.
Seeing those captured images, I was pretty impressed with how the lens sharply captured lines and details of the architecture.
Even with the 36 mp camera D810, the small lens could produce a great result in the early morning for the daytime long exposure.
Comparison with PC-E 24mm, 45mm
Comparison with pc-e 24mm
Here is the comparison with my go-to lens, pc-e 24mm.
The angle view is different between 35mm and 24mm, but I can’t see a clear quality difference between both. Both images are crispy and sharp.
Comparison with pc-e 45mm
Here is the comparison with pc-e 45mm.
PC-NIKKOR 35mm captured so well, even compared with current PC-E lenses, 24mm and 45mm. It was sharp, really sharp. Though to get the ideal sharpness you need to stop down to around F8, but in the day time long exposure around F8 is generally used, and
seems no problem at all.
PC Nikkor 28mm F3.5
This 28mm is slightly bigger and heavier than pc nikkor 35mm. But the balance perfectly fits the Z6, and more importantly, this looks so beautiful.
I have not shot with 28mm a lot so far, so here are a few samples of pc 28mm.
I think the image quality is pretty close to the current pc-e 24mm.
PC Nikkor 28mm F3.5: Samples
Generally old lenses capture images less contrasty against strong light, compared to current well multi-coated lenses. In my opinion, this is not a “disadvantage”, this is just a “character” of the lenses.
Here are some long exposure samples.
Camera: Z6
Lens: PC Nikkor 28mm F3.5/ F8, 300 seconds
ND Filter: Firecrest 4.8 (16 stops)
Recommendation
Camera manufacturers never advertise their old lenses, since they don’t produce their main revenue. They advertise their current line-ups only.
However, you don’t need to buy new stuff always, since you have the right to choose the right gear. Don’t choose the product that they want to sell, but choose what you really need.
Sometimes your desired image can “only” be captured by the newest gears, (though this is a pretty rare case) in many cases you can get the same, or even better results by old gears.
I really felt so while I was shooting with these old lenses in the early morning by the Yodogawa-riverside.
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