Nikon stops making F mount lenses - How sad to see them go.

 

One of the many images I captured using my Nikon camera and lenses in New Zealand.

I have been a fan of Nikon equipment long before I even owned my first SLR.  It wasn't until around 1985 that my first Nikon, an FE2 with a 55 mm Micro Nikkor lens became a reality.  I have never looked back since that first purchase.  Since then I have owned a dozen different bodies and three times that many lenses, most of them Nikon.  All of them F mount lenses varying from AI, AI-S, AF, D, G, and E types.  The AI and AI-S lenses were before auto-focusing and had no electronics.  The AF lenses could be controlled using the camera-based focusing motor.  The AF, D, G, and E lenses are all pin-based allowing communication to occur between camera and lens.  

As you may know, mirrorless cameras have become big news in the photography world and, it seems, that the DSLRs that we have come to love are soon to go the way of the film camera.  I do not doubt that you will be able to buy them for years to come, but I expect the market to focus on the new mirrorless systems.  Nikon uses the Z system for both camera mounting plates and lens mounts, it's a bayonet system similar to the F mount but considerably larger.  The larger opening allows for new lens designs that are, according to research, better than what could be achieved in the F system.  

Having said that, I can tell you that the F series lenses I have owned have been very good.  Better is nice, but the new Z lenses are very pricey.  A new Nikon 50mm f/1.8 (G) lens can be bought on Amazon (CA) for about $250.  The same Z mount lens goes for $719.  I can buy a used Nikon f/1.8 for about $150 (D series) which would do everything I need it to do.  Is the Z lens that much better than the D or G lenses?  The answer is, "No."

The quality I get for my current equipment is good and I do not see the need to buy a pile of new lenses to fit the two Z bodies I own.  The Nikon FTZ adapter allows me to use all my F mount lenses on my Z system cameras.  I do not plan on updating them any time soon.  As well, although it might be nice to own the new Z8 or Z9 mirrorless cameras, their price is simply prohibitive ($5000 and $6000 respectively).  So I plan to stick with my Z7ii and Zfc bodies and my D500 and D7200 bodies to continue doing what I do with the equipment I currently own.  They may not be at the top of the charts for performance, but they have done a very good job for me and will continue to do so.

I do lament the fact that Nikon is no longer producing F mount lenses.  There is still a significant supply and I suspect the used market will provide me with all my needs for years to come.  I may fully embrace the Z system at some point, but that is still a long way away.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com