Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/2 Non-Ai Conversion

[@HMohr]

I appreciate your attention. You seem to be a nice person. Love from Brazil.

[@Granpi]

You're welcome and love from USA!

[@invujerry]

I just did something similar with my father’s old 35mn and 50mm pre-ai lenses. Very nice and informative video. Inspiring.

[@Granpi]

Thank you I'm glad it was helpful

[@jedt3d]

Thank you so much for your in detail instruction. I'm planning to modify a few of old Non-Ai lens also. Hope I can do as well as you did.

[@davidhug4958]

Very nice demonstration. As you emphasized, the alignment of the cut by f11 is critical for meter coupling,

[@Granpi]

Yes the cut location is very important

[@BranimirTuropolski]

Thank you very much!! 👍👍

[@pakko7416]

Useful video, thank you! My two cents of advice: I would hesitate to use greasy lubricants particularly on plastics because they may degrade the plastic. In addition, the grease itself may degrade with time and become sticky. The best lubricant for your application I believe would be graphite. Sprinkle some on the surface(s) and rub it coat these surfaces and it should be good. Graphite is the best lubricant for electronic components and locks.

[@Granpi]

Thanks for the advice but I prefer Superlube over graphite.

[@hikingsteven7665]

love it i have a 105 mm 2,5 non ai can i convert it to

[@Granpi]

You can, I've done a few and its critical to start the grinding in the correct section of the aperture ring.

[@shr1975]

Have ordered a Nippon Kogaku 35mm f/2.8. Waiting for it. This video will help me in getting it to work with my cameras. Can't wait to try it out 🙂 Edit: Got my Nippon Kogaku S Auto 35mm f/2.8 today. It is one of those rare lenses in which the scalloped aperture ring goes under the aperture index tab on the camera instead of pressing against it. I also checked by pushing a piece of newspaper between the aperture index tab and the aperture ring after mounting the lens. It slides freely. So, there’s absolutely no contact. Luckily, there’s no filing needed. I just had to remove the metering fork on the aperture ring as it was pushing the aperture index tab on the camera too far with the result that it was showing as starting from f11 on my D7000. I then glued on a plastic tab on to the aperture ring right at the point from where we would normally start filing an f/2.8 lens (f/11 + 2/3). Works as it should. Anyway, thanks for your video. It was quite informative.

[@Granpi]

I didn't know that. Looks like that model is even easier to do than the 35mm f/2. Cool

[@dandruff9244]

I have the F2 ai with a factory conversion,stunning lens with bags of character

[@Granpi]

One of my favorites for close portraits

[@CoffeeNdCameras]

I have a 85mm like you have and it claimed it wasn’t altered to AI conversion but I think it was. I’m not sure though if they did it right, where is the start point on that lens? Mine is showing a little after the f8 and I feel like they didn’t go far enough.

[@Granpi]

I did mine two lines before the first #1 of f/11. Its a difficult cut cause its very close from f/1.8 to f/2. Literally even with where the rabbit ears edge end.

[@CoffeeNdCameras]

@@Granpiawesome thank you! I might have to fix it so that it’s more accurate because I feel like it’s way off when metering

[@emiliosanguesa6370]

Fantastic video with super thorough explanation! I have a Df which I use for the Pre-ai lenses but would love to be able to use my 135 QC 2.8, 85 -H 1.8 and the same 35mm-O f2 as yours along with the D700 & D3s. This video might be the one convincing me about trying it out! If it's not too much to ask it would be wonderful to see a picture of your conversion of your 85mm lens. Regarding making the difficult cut from f 1.8 to 2, do you have any advise on where to start the cut without messing it up?

[@АндрейЕвтушенко-ш8д]

Thanks! It's so good and simply to make lens. Спасибо большое Вам за информацию в перестройке линзы. Have you a nice day

[@Granpi]

пожалуйста

[@michaelanderson5560]

thank you!

[@avistop1]

Thank you. will do it in a couple of days. So I can use this lens on my Nikon d700

[@avistop1]

Also a question. starting point is at around f11 and finishing point is 60mm from f11?

[@michalaelton961]

Hi there. I have an old Komuranon 925 Zoom Lens 1:4.5 f=90-250 mm I want to convert for my standard F Mount camera. I have watched lots of vids done on 50 mm saying to commence the groove at F8... Is this the same for all lenses or does it need to be adjusted for each different lens. Thanks.

[@Granpi]

No, the groove would start at a different section of the aperture ring. A Nikon 50mm f/1.4 starts at f/8 for a f/4.5 the groove would start just before the f/22 . I would say .5 to 1mm before the f/22. This would be my best estimate based on other f/4.5 lenses but I can't be 100% sure.

[@fotoamateur1620]

Good explanation, thank you! Did you change the focusing screen on your D700 for easier manual focusing? If so, where did you get one? Thank you very much!

[@Granpi]

Manual focusing is more difficult despite having the "in focus" light confirmation. I searched for a split screen focuser but found none.

[@fotoamateur1620]

@@Granpi I didn't find one either for my D500. Thanks for your response.

[@raycharlebois122]

What determines where on the aperture ring you start the grinding and where you end it? It's different for different lenses, but why? You said the distance ground off was 60 mm, but it looks more like 30 or 35 mm. Is that measured as the crow flies or around the circumference of the aperture ring?

[@Granpi]

The critical grinding begins where the wide open setting would be which is f/2 in this case but varies depending on maximum aperture of the lens you'll be modifying. The area removed just has to go as far as the camera's aperture reading tab goes to be able to mount and remove the lens without interfering. In this case its probably around 40mm but you can go well past that and not affect the function of the lens. The main thing is where you start the cut,

[@raycharlebois122]

​​​​​​@@Granpi Thanks. I have a few lenses that need this.

[@play426662]

I'm having issues removing the aperture ring as in your video at 7min. It doesn't slide right off after I remove all the screws from the rear and also the one at the side. Any advise?

[@Granpi]

It should come off easily. Are you sure your lens is the same model of the 35mm f/2?

[@play426662]

​@@Granpi Yes it is the Nikkor-O 35mm f/2 Auto w/ a serial no. 717564. But I noticed that after you removed the lens mount and show the rear (6-7min), your lens have these 2 slotted screws sitting right next to each other. My lens does not have those two slotted screws. That is the only visual difference I noticed between the one you have and my lens. When took apart the lens mount and the side screw, I noticed that it was not tampered with prior to me unscrewing the mount. Removing the side screw suggest that I should be able to slide the aperture ring off, however it seems pretty much stuck. I don't think it's defective and I'm afraid of applying too much force which may break it.

[@play426662]

I figured it out. The Nikkor-O 35mm f/2 that I have has a retainer ring that I have to remove prior to unscrewing the aperture ring.

[@MobiusCoin]

Will this be an issue if I'm trying to use this lens with an adapter onto a modern mirrorless camera?

[@Granpi]

If its a Nikon F to Z or F to Sony mount I don't think there will be a problem but it will be all manual.

[@deniswalks]

Using Nikkor NC 28mm f/2 with FTZ-1 adapter, no problem at all. You need to specify the lens in settings and you are good to go. Aperture setting is only on the lens of course, but metering works okay.

[@colvinHusbands]

❤