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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Duclos PL Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8

As much as I love primes, I must say this lens looks very usable and practical for longer focal lengths.

Tom, can you do some tourture tests of this glass?

1. Schoot a resolution chart at wide end WFO and check for sharpness and cromatic aberrations in the corders. Corner 1:1 crop would be nice.

2. Check if it holds focus while zooming through the range.

3. How is the focusing slop/precision?

4. Are gears metal or Derlin (plastic)?

Any feedback greatly appreciated.
 
Tom Lowe said:
Got mine. Seems perfect!
Will be posting my thoughts over the coming weeks, good or bad.
Click to expand...

Nice one Tom!
Got mine last week but didn't have time to test it extensively.
Did some quick and dirty shooting with it and the first impressions were that yes, it's a stills lens! ;)

Dustin, the focus is backwards and there's some image shift when changing focus direction, which is to be expected, but the image is sharp and the de-clicked aperture ring is smooth and solid as is the Century PL mount.

The Duclos conversion is very solid overall and dealing with Matt was a pleasure. Cheers!

Taking it with me on a shoot next week, will report in more detail....
 
Pawel,

I haven't used a resolution chart but from my rough tests the lens does get a little soft when wide open at 200mm but it performs admirably through the rest of the focal range.
From what I could tell it is holding focus thoughout the zoom range.

I too am looking forward to Tom's torture test.

Cheers,

Milan
 
Thanks, Milan.

Are you able to point it on a resolution chart of some sort at WFO and post a small crop from the corner, something like I have done here?
 
Nils J. Nesse said:
The Photozone review has some MTF figures etc.
Click to expand...

"Verdict

Despite its age the Nikkor AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED is a great lens both mechanically
as well as optically (assuming you can get a good sample). The resolution is on a very
high level throughout the zoom range and neither distortions nor vignetting are big issues
(on an APS-C DSLR). CAs can be visible at times but the problem isn't overly pronounced.
It is a joy to use this lens and the relatively large aperture provides some creative potential
in the convenient package of a zoom."
 
Tom Lowe said:
Also what can I do for a lens hood?
Click to expand...

Nikon's hood for this lens is called HB-7. (Thought it came with the lens?)
Or you can buy a 77mm hood from B+W, or others. Some people like the B+W rubber hoods, they also have metal ones.
 
Tom Lowe said:
Also what can I do for a lens hood?
Click to expand...

Nikon, strangely enough, doesn't ship the lens with the lens hood.
This is not Duclos' fault.

Like Nils said, HB-7 is the Nikon original part ($40). I just got mine from Sammy's.

Pawel, flying to the UK for a shoot in the morn, if I find some time next week I'll try and post some test shots.

Cheers,

Milan
 
Two questions.

1. Can I use this 80-200 without supports?

2. Is there a good 2x extender I might be able to use on this, to make it a 400mm?
 
Tom Lowe said:
Two questions.

1. Can I use this 80-200 without supports?

2. Is there a good 2x extender I might be able to use on this, to make it a 400mm?
Click to expand...

1.No support is fine.
2. it's recommended to use 1.4 extenders. Most X2 degrade image quality and significantly cut the light.
Best is to test.
 
Jens Jakob Thorsen said:
Why not use the Canon 70-200 2,8L? it rotates in the right direction
Click to expand...

I may be mistaken... But I don't think there is an aperture control ring on the Canon 70-200mm.
Focus direction is easily overcome with a reversing gear.
Adding a manual aperture would probably add a few bucks.. ;)
 
I got the hood a while back. FYI, Adorama also makes an off-brand one.

So, can anyone recommend a 1.4X PL extender for this Duclos Nikkor 80-200? How much light and image quality will I lose? If I add a 1.4x, will I then need support for the lens? I'd like to avoid that, to keep the camera setup extremely light.

Clay I will shoot a resolution chart and some samples with this 80-200 once I get #352 MX!
 
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