Using old non-Ai lenses.

Fountain Pen Nib
Shot with Nikon D80 and 55mm f3.5 Micro non-Ai lens
on adapter made from extension tubes

There are some great lenses out there for dirt cheap. I mean REALLY cheap. If they were made before 1977, they had slightly different mounts and aperture controls. Newer bodies are unable to mount these lenses without damaging the lens and/or body. That includes my Nikon D80.



There are several shops out there that will upgrade your non-Ai lens to Ai for around $35, assuming the parts can be found.

The lenses I wanted were to be used in macro photography. Manually stopping down isn't a big deal, nor is lack of autofocus. So older lenses can be used without much impact on the process.

I already had extension tubes to use with my D80. And the tubes don't care if the lens is an Ai or non-Ai mount. So those old lenses can be used on the tubes!

I picked up two lenses, a 55mm f3.5 Micro, and a 200 f4 telephoto.

55mm f3.5 Micro Nikkor P with PK-3 27.5mm 1:1 Extension Tube
I got this off eBay for $46 including shipping. Came with the funky rear cap / case. This lens is like new. No scratches, scuffs, or damage. Pristine. (The lens, not the case.)

Nikon Nikkor-Q 200mm f4

This lens is nowhere near pristine on the outside, but optically and mechanically it's perfect. Nice features like a built-in hood and the aperture goes down to f32. For macro use, this will give me some outstanding working distance.

 

Both of these lenses take outstanding macro photos when on the extension tubes. The two mounts together with no tubes in between work out to just a small amount of extension.

The photo at the top of this page was taken with the extension "adapter" and the 55mm Micro lens. 

I may decide to send the 200mm off for modification, but I think the 55 I'll leave in its pristine state.