chemdoc Loc: West Coast

Back in the early 80's I took a weeklong nature photography course from two professionals who did a lot of wildlife photography. They used lens from Century optics (actually movie camera lenses) and loved them. At that time I bought a 650mm F/5.6 Tele-Athenar II lens with a Canon mount (the mounts were interchangeable). I switched to Nikon a couple of years ago (D750) and have three lenses, 14-24 F/2.8, 24-70 F/2.8, and 70-200 F/4. Since I don't do a lot of wildlife photography these days, I haven't invested in a longer lens. The 650 has been in it's case in the closet for the past 30 years and it occurred to me that I might just be able to use it on the 750. I recently began scanning my old slides from the 70's and 80's and came across shots taken with this lens and they are pretty sharp, so perhaps this could give me an inexpensive way to shoot a wildlife picture once in a while. It also reminded me how great Kodachrome slide film was.

I was wondering if anyone has used one of these lens or knows if adapters are available to use it on new Nikon bodies. Thanks.

Burrowing Owl, 1986, Canon AE-1, Century Tele-Athenar II 650mm F/5.6

cedymock Loc: Irmo, South Carolina

You might give this a try.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Lens-Adapters/ci/9365/N/3544148311

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

I believe you need a T2 Nikon mount.

chemdoc Loc: West Coast

Thanks. I think this is just what I need.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

It would be interesting to know what kind of mount system the lens has. Could you describe it more? Thanks.

ecurb1105

A quick Google shows Century Precision Optics is still in business, in Van Nuys, Calif. They are now owned by Schneider. Give them a call.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I'd love to see more photos taken with this lens, but please hit the "store" box so we can see them at their best and even pixel peep.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You mention that the lens has an "interchangeable mount". Chances are it's the ubiquitous "T-mount", which simple screws in place and is widely available, inexpensive and easy to find.

The "T" in T-mount stands for Tamron... but they deliberately didn't patent it, many lenses from a wide range of manufacturers used them and many made them. Still do, in fact! Super easy to find.

The original T-mount simply screws on and off. More common is a "T2", that has two or three set screws that can be loosened, allowing the mount to be rotated so that it aligns the lens better, then re-tightened to keep the lens as you've set it up.

The lens will be manual focus only.... of course. But it also will use a fully manual aperture. As you stop it down, your viewfinder will dim down too.

You'll need to use your camera in fully manual mode ("match needle" manual exposure settings), manual plus Auto ISO (if your camera has Auto ISO, which is actually a form of AE even when used with manual setting), or in aperture priority AE mode. All three of these should work. Don't use shutter priority AE or program AE, or any other exposure modes your camera might have.

EDIT: After a little quick research, it appears Century used a unique type of mounting thread... BUT they also offered adapters that allowed either T-mount or various cine lens mounting systems to be used with it. Since your lens is appears to already be set up to use with a Canon AE-1, it almost certainly already has the adapter already installed on it that will allow a T-mount to be used. So, it should be a pretty simple matter of removing the existing Canon FL/FD T-mount and replacing it with a Nikon F bayonet T-mount. Those are easily found.

chemdoc Loc: West Coast

Thanks for the very informative response. I must have the T2 mount as mine slips over the end of the lens and has three set screws. There are internal threads in the lens where an adapter could be screwed in. I found a T2 mount for Nikon cameras on Amazon which looks like the same design as my Canon, so I have ordered it and will give it a try.