Old Nikon Prime Lenses

[BobSaget]

I'm currently in the market for a used Dslr and have been considering the Pentax k7 but have started leaning towards the Nikon D90.
I've purchased a few legacy lenses from Pentax at pretty cheap prices. Is there a good availability of older Nikor primes and if so what price do they generally go for? If I purchase the D90 I'm considering the kit Nikor f 3.5 18-105 but have also noticed a Nikor 28-105 f/3.5-4.5d if. Anyone know how these compare as far as resolution, Bokeh etc?
I'm new here and hope I've posted in the correct place.

 

[coastalconn]

You might want to rethink the d90. I have one and it is a great camera, but you have to manually meter with non CPU lenses. If money is not too tight consider a d7000 as prices are slipping under $800 in the used/refurb market. Or if money is tight look for a used d300 for under $600. Both will Meter with non CPU lenses. I am on the verge of selling my d90 because I only use my d300... I bought and resold the 28-105, and in my tests it was pretty sharp... 28mm (42mm eqv.)might not be wide enough on a crop sensor depending on your uses. Oh and welcome to TPF, it is nicer than other forums

 

[BobSaget]

Coastal, thanks for the reply. Didn't realize the 28 -105 was ff, but i guess the 28 should have tipped me off. Thanks for the heads up. Any idea what kind of price should I expect to pay for the older Nikors? I would want at least a standard 50mm and also something wide like a 28mm. I'll have to check out the d300.

 

[coastalconn]

I guess it depends on your definition of old Nikon Primes? Older Nikon 50mm f1.8 "E" (MF) series are a dime a dozen, but not particularly well regarded. The newer "D" version which is AF and would work with all 3 cameras is only $135 new or about $80 used. One thing you have to realize is that coming from film, all crop sensors have a 1.5x "crop" on the field of view. So when you say 28mm wide angle, you actually need an 18mm lens. That is why the "Kit" lenses on Nikon's crops sensors start at 18mm.... So to get a "50mm" FOV, you actually need a 35mm on a crop sensor camera. So regardless whether a lens is DX or full frame, you need to multiply your focal length by 1.5x to get equivalent FOV. Which for birders like me is awesome, it makes my 500mm lens the "equivalent" FOV of a 750mm lens on FF...

I don't know anything about Pentax, but the Pentax K5 is being replaced by the K5 II, and the K5 is supposed to have very good high ISO performance, along with DR and high dxo marks, although the AF system is supposed to be iffy. But last I knew bodies were dropping under $800...

 

[Derrel]

KEH.com on the web is one place to check for prices on used Nikkors of various grades.

 

[BobSaget]

One thing you have to realize is that coming from film, all crop sensors have a 1.5x "crop" on the field of view. So when you say 28mm wide angle, you actually need an 18mm lens. That is why the "Kit" lenses on Nikon's crops sensors start at 18mm.... So to get a "50mm" FOV, you actually need a 35mm on a crop sensor camera. So regardless whether a lens is DX or full frame, you need to multiply your focal length by 1.5x to get equivalent FOV. Which for birders like me is awesome, it makes my 500mm lens the "equivalent" FOV of a 750mm lens on FF...

Don't worry, I realize the conversions. I've been using my older film lenses on my dslr with good results. Since I'm moving from a Pentax system to Nikon, I wanted to see how i would fair using their older primes. Those prices seem pretty reasonable.

Yeah, Pentax AF systems aren't the best for continuous. Fortunately, I usually use manual for my style of photography (love the 180 throw of older lenses). Capturing birds in flight with MF on the other hand, I'm sure would be rather difficult.