Kuzano

Zeiss used to "Float their glass............" on a Barge so the bubbles in the glass would rise out of the lens glass more readily.

Does anyone know why they did this (see previous)

Does anyone know this is why their lenses were superior to the competition, or was it?

Do they still do this to make superior lenses.......

Stephen Gandy explains this in his classic sections on his web site "CameraQuest".

Does any body care?

Such tidbits are as unique as which camera uses what parts of differing language. Otherwise one might just as well be out shooting images, or spending endless hours Post Processing. No good is being done here.

asjohnston3 Loc: Irving, TX

I have a Nikon D7100 that I use with a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-D lens. It is incredibly sharp and cost about 90 bucks on e-bay. See a review here... http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5018daf.htm

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

...one of the first lenses I purchased, my 50mm f/1.4 AF-D...still amazing on any of my bodies...

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Amen to that! Carter has steered me in the right direction more than once and kept me from making an expensive mistake - both financially and photographically speaking.

Natgrani Loc: Texas Gulf Coast

The poster is a beginner. If you don't understand, move on. It's very intimidating to ask a question and get a response such as yours. There are so many knowledgeable people on this site that go out of their way to help newbies. Don't spoil it for the ones that are trying to learn.

therwol Loc: USA

In a word, no. The D lenses were from another generation of lenses, and some are still in production. An incomplete list would include the 50mm f/1.4, 35mm f/2, 24mm f/2.8. These are fine lenses, especially the 50mm which I feel holds its own against the newer lenses. The advantages of these lenses include cost, smaller size and less weight. The downside is that they will not autofocus on all of the newer Nikon bodies, since the entry level cameras lack a focusing motor in the bodies. (D610, 750, 7xxx and 500 do have the motors in the bodies.) There is nothing wrong with these lenses, but the full frame 24 and 35mm lenses are considered significantly better than their D counterparts. (I only own the D lenses, but I read a lot of test reports.) And then you get into the zooms. They have progressed over time, and the G lenses also test better than the older D equivalents, which you'd have to buy used. You'd save a bundle if you did, but I think that under scrutiny, you'd find the G lenses to be better.

therwol Loc: USA

D lenses. Second generation Nikon autofocus lenses. They require a motor in the body of the camera for autofocus. They have an aperture ring in case you want to use them on older Nikon bodies that require the ring to change the aperture. They lack vibration reduction (VR, also called image stabilization.). Some of them would still be considered fine lenses. They are smaller and generally lighter than the newer lenses, though I did read a comment by someone that the 80-200 F/2/8 AF-D is the heaviest lens he's ever used because it's essentially made completely of metal.) Some of the D lenses are still being produced.

G lenses and variants. Newer. Often better optically. They have a focusing motor in the lens. The zooms often have VR. There is a 105mm macro that has VR. They are larger, bulkier and more expensive than the D equivalents.

In order to determine if a D lens is worth buying for critical work, you need to do some research and read everything said about the lens you want to consider.

Yorkster Loc: North Yorkshire UK

From an IQ (image quality) point of view my Nikkor 1.4D 50mm produces a superb picture. I think it has a slight "filmic" quality to it whilst my more modern G lens, whilst no less sharp, gives a more clinical production. To say one is better than the other would depend on what "better" means to you. What matters is how I feel about the image. All lenses have their limits and defining those limits based on my own use and expectations will define the better lens for the current situation.

Buy a D lens, so long as your camera supports it, and give it a try. If it's not what you want you can sell it on with little or no financial loss as long as you don't pay over the top for it.

All the best

therwol Loc: USA

I agree on this one particular lens. 50mm f/1.4 AF-D. Click on the link at the bottom. I don't claim that there is anything special about most of the pictures. They're just casual vacation pictures. I didn't intend to show anything about the lenses used. I was demonstrating how to share large picture files all at once by putting some taken with my Nikon D810 in a folder on my Google Drive. If you have a Google account, you can download them. If not, you can view them.

291,294,296,307,317,347,762 and 894 were taken with my 50mm f/1.4 D. The rest of the pictures were taken with a discontinued 28-105 AF-D, not quite as sharp, but not obvious unless you scrutinize the pictures.

Do a little pixel peeping. See how sharp the weather vane is in 294, and this is at the edge of the picture (a bit underexposed).

Zoom in on the sheep in 296, and if you look up higher toward the left, you can see that there is a tractor in the distance, totally invisible until you look for it.

Zoom in on the buildings and RVs in 894.


https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-iHbb3qexVHTWNfdjJoQ2s4bzA?usp=sharing