Nikon Series E 100mm f/2.8 review

The Series E lenses were a budget line produced by Nikon from 1979 to 1985 which included five prime lenses. Of those, two stand out optically, the fifty millimetre pancake and the 100mm f/2.8.
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#Nikon #SeriesE #lenses

[@ronaldsand3000]

Great to see you making video’s again All the very best

[@caldera878]

Glad to see you're posting videos again.

[@aerozg]

I love vintage lenses. A local shop has this lens listed for $120, it caught my eye but i didn't know much about it and wanted to do some research first. Thanks for the in-depth review. I will probably go an pick it up tomorrow. Nice backup lens. Besides, throwing up a vintage lens on my D750 and going out for a walk has become somewhat of a pastime for me, it's relaxing. Cheers!

[@BriansPhotoShow]

You will definitely enjoy it!

[@joscarcuenca]

I have the same model and I love it... I was surprised when I saw my firsts photos with it.

[@jdebultra]

Really is a great value. I think for black & white film, the 105 2.5 does have an advantage but not a deal breaker. Thanks for the video on this under the radar lens.

[@smkunder1]

I have this lens and the size pair’s up very well with my M43 kit. Love your review

[@TheMarkedWolf]

I bought a Nikon EM and it comes with this lens. Lightweight and great

[@Narsuitus]

Thanks for the review. I have the Nikon 100mm f/2.8 Series E but I have never used it. I bought it because it was selling for a very low price, and I thought I could use it as an expendable backup for my 85mm and 105mm Nikkor lenses.

[@roybixby6135]

Yesterdays E budget quality construction is todays premium. Both great lenses - the only advantage of the tokina is macro and autofocus....

[@scottparis6355]

I have a Series E 100mm f2.8. I believe it cost me $11 at a resale shop. I've used it weekly on a series of full-frame Nikon DSLRs, and it's more than fine for portraits. It's as sharp as it needs to be, and the 100mm focal length has become rare with modern manufacturers.

[@jvladcliff4083]

I have the Series E 135/2.8, to me it seems just fine, excellent build quality and it was when I bought it was much more affordable than the AI AI-s versions. I also have the 50/1.8 E and it is a very sharp little lens and looks very smart on any all black Nikon body.

[@techhead976]

Love the older Nikon lenses, I own a Nikon 50mm 1.8 AIS Pancake (Not E) and it’s pretty sharp on my D610.

[@Magnetron692]

Hi Brian, thank you! Back in autumn 1983 I considered buying a SLR with interchangeable lenses. My brother brought me brouchers from a local photo retail store nearby. Among them the Nikon EM with the E series lens lineup. The EM however had no manual mode, only aperture priority mode. So my choice was the Minolta XG-M. I heard many good things about this lens you reviewed here. Best wishes Ralf

[@BriansPhotoShow]

I've owned an XG-M. Delightful camera to use. I'd definitely pick it over an EM.

[@marksieving7925]

There were three Series E zoom lenses: a 36-72mm F3.5, a 75-150mm F3.5, and a 70-210mm F4. You don't hear much about the 36-72 or the 70-210, but the 75-150mm zoom has always had a very good reputation.

[@b.walter6646]

Love this on a little Fuji. It's a real sleeper!

[@desmobob900sssp]

Another informative video -- thanks. I just did a quick comparison test of my two Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 (Sonnar and Xenotar/Gauss) and my 100m f/2.8 Series E lenses, wide open and at f/5.6. The Series E lens was very similar in performance to the later 105 f/2.5 Nikkor in sharpness and color rendition. (I thought he Sonnar 105 f/2.5 was a tiny bit less sharp, a tiny bit less contrasty, and a tiny bit warmer.) Unfortunately, I didn't compare their bokeh, and that's where a very notable difference may exist...

[@612morrison]

This was and still is a great wee lens.

[@BriansPhotoShow]

Indeed it is.

[@oldfilmguy9413]

Thanks for an informative review!

[@iprosopon9868]

4 element 4 group Enostar variant. Kind of a proto Sonnar design. Great lens. Enjoy mine. I prefer 100-135 over 85s. Its a brilliantly shootable lens. C'mon. What very competent 135 lens is this cmall and this light today? I bought a modern 50 recently thats much bigger and heavier. Kinda crazy.

[@jamesspicewilliams8835]

Great vid as usual my friend. Definitely an unrated lens. I use the series on my FM2n and adapted mirrorless. Compact an stellar performance. Exceptional value.

[@BriansPhotoShow]

Indeed it is. Right you are.

[@janw.jensen2490]

I have had both lenses for many years. Don't like the pancake 50mm, but the 100mm (mine is 1820258) is a good sharp lens. In fact, very sharp.

[@BriansPhotoShow]

It is indeed. In fact, it is noticeably sharper wide open than the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 macro a/k/a The Angry Photographer Lens.

[@srfurley]

It’s a pity that they could’ve be fitted with a coupling shoe for use with pre-ai cameras such as the Nikkormats.

[@tipptoggy]

How about some sample images form each lens?

[@MrGranovski]

That is a good lens. There were 2 versions. The later metal ring version was best.

[@blackbelt4488]

Great video, could you post a link to the 28mm E lens review? Thanks

[@matteovrizzi]

do you think the Tokina is optimised for smaller apertures being a macro lens? on the other hand the series E is designed as a portrait lens and probably optimised for shooting around f/4

[@BriansPhotoShow]

Yes, that thought occurred to me. It's certainly possible. All I know for certain right now is that at infinity, the Series E is noticeably sharper than the Tokina wide open.

[@roybixby6135]

Micro / Macro lenses need to use all apertures up to wide open. The Tokina is a great lens but there has been a lot of variation in its build quality. Maybe this is its problem..

[@Garacha222]

In comparing tokina to series e, did you compare with lens focus all the way to infinity, and that was the scope of the test? I have some lenses that overshoot infinity, where I actually need to back off the focus a bit from the extreme. It would be a good comparison to have closer objects than the extreme distant ones and there can be the variable of fine tuning the focus on the camera. I know some nikon digitals have this ability. And some of those cameras can remember the adjustment each time you put the same lens on the camera.

[@BriansPhotoShow]

The Tokina does indeed focus past infinity, so I used autofocus mode for the Tokina.

[@roybixby6135]

A good lens should focus past infinity so that you can shoot near IR and UV photography...

[@georgehuman7253]

Thanks for another great video Brian :) Is this lens mountable on modern F mount cameras like D7200 without converter? And why does it not have bunny ears?

[@BriansPhotoShow]

The Series E lenses are the only manual-focus Nikon F-mount lenses which were not equipped with a metering prong ("bunny ears"). It was a no-frills budget lens and that was a frill they left out. It will mount just fine on your D7200. Whether the meter is programmed to work with a "non-CPU" lens is another issue, and I don't know the answer to that.

[@legionchef]

Hi, it will work on your d7200. You have to program the lens into the non-cpu menu. It will the meter on aperture or manual modes only

[@Dudeitsbrian]

I use my pre-ai lenses on my d3500 no problem. And for the metering, I don’t use that. It’s a digital camera, no biggie, I just take a couple of shots to get in the range and go from there. Only thing to watch out for is pre-ai on a dslr that has an AI feeler. Only incompatibility.

[@punkrachmaninoff]

Picking up a series e 50/1.8... Curious how it will compare to my Pentax M 50/1.7?

[@merlinmarquardt]

I have this lens and use it on my Nikkormat FT3. It seems sharp. The lens is in good cosmetic condition, but the focus ring is a little “rough” with slight noise and slight resistance in some spots in the “normal” orientation. I assume this may be a matter of wear and/or lubrication? Any way to remedy this without disassembly? Thanks for another great review.

[@BriansPhotoShow]

I think you'd probably have to take it apart to fix it. Probably not worth the trouble.

[@merlinmarquardt]

Brian's Photo Show Thanks. Agree.

[@33antonius]

I have most of the e prime lenses. Also the 100 mm. It is indeed very lightweight and the image quality is good enough. However I recently bought a 135 f 3.5 ai for about 70 euros and the image quality from this lens is better. The 100 mm lacks a bit in contrast compared to the 135 mm f 3.5. The 28 mm e series is better than the 28 mm f3.5 which I also own. The 50 mm 1.8 e series is sharp but again lacks contrast compared to my 50 mm f2.0. The 35 mm e series f 2.5 on the other hand shows even better contrast than the 28 mm.

[@ilmatanela1816]

Well said. I have two copies of the 135 3.5 and I simply love them. Compact, amazing build quality, built in lens hood, sharp, contrasty and beautiful bokeh wide open. A no brainer.

[@randallstewart1224]

I suppose it depends on which of the several versions of the 28mm 3.5 Nikkor you examine. In its original form from around 1960, it was not considered very good. It went through a couple of upgrades and was entirely redesigned in 1972, being sold for another 10+ years thereafter. That last version is superb in every way. I've shot tripod mounted landscapes with mine, with most people thinking the prints in 16x20 inch size were shot with a medium format package. On the other hand, the Series E 28mm is the worst Series lens, and it is universally considered the worst 28mm lens Nikon ever produced (if they produced it). There are many reviews (and a YT video) detailing its poor performance.

[@HarveyWallbanger-ho2cq]

The EM was total crap but the lens was great!

[@Narsuitus]

I found the Nikon EM very useful. When I bought mine, I was shooting two Nikon F2 SLRs for a newspaper and needed a motor drive. At the time, I could not afford a motor drive for my F2 bodies but an EM body with a motor winder was within my budget.

[@Texan747]

As a guy that was around when the Nikon Series E lenses were introduced this guy does not know what he is talking about! He assumes that since they are lighter they must be deficient to the Nikorr Leneses. They are very sharp! They have worked very well for forty years. It sounds like this guy never used a Series lens and just makes his comment on physical appearance only. What a waist of time listening to this guy!

[@andrelousada]

Can'r find the 28mm video... :(

[@BriansPhotoShow]

I don't have a separate video on the 28mm, but I discuss the issue in my "Don't Pay a Premium for AIS over AI Nikkor" video

[@andrelousada]

@@BriansPhotoShow I remember that video! Gonna watch it again!