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Found on eBay: Cheap EL-Nikkor 80mm alternative


Timber

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http://www.ebay.co.u...m//282355530051

 

if anyone interested, this one is a cheap (and in my experience better) alternative for the EL-Nikkor 80mm f5.6 (old metal version). I have the Deluxe version (both 75mm and 50mm) which is a fabulous little lens, it has 10+ aperture blades which means round shape aperture all the time (nice smooth bokeh), I am not sure about the standard version. Compared to the EL-Nikkor 80mm f5.6 it's not just more than a full stop faster but both lens on f5.6 with the same exposure, the Autocrat gave me a bit more brighter photo (both 15" and ISO200, lightsource is a UV (Black) bulb, filterstack used is U360+BG40). The good thing that the flange distance is quite long so Nikon users no need to worry about infinite, you have enough space to put a helicoid behind. Drawback is that there is no filter thread, so a little gluing is required. It comes fraction of the 80mm EL-Nikkor price, so might be a good catch for someone.

PS.: I also compared it to the EL-Nikkor 75mm f4.0 (old) and the Autocrat is winning, hands down.

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Most of these re-branded low-tier enlarging lenses are triplets in their optical construction. As a result,

- they may pass more UV comparing to El-Nikkor.

- they are not as good as El-Nikkor in terms of color correction, focus shift, field flatness and sharpness at wider apertures.

 

There are pros and cons, so it depends on the application and personal requirements, which lens to choose.

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Most of these re-branded low-tier enlarging lenses are triplets in their optical construction. As a result,

- they may pass more UV comparing to El-Nikkor.

- they are not as good as El-Nikkor in terms of color correction, focus shift, field flatness and sharpness at wider apertures.

 

There are pros and cons, so it depends on the application and personal requirements, which lens to choose.

Well I am quite happy with my Autocrat... I have not compared it for focus shift or color correction but for sharpness I was really happy with it. I also saw this lens branded as Kestrel, with same look and the same round shaped aperture blades for smooth bokeh. And I think for the price of this Autocrat you can't really go wrong :)

I believe this 75mm lens is roughly the same as the 50mm f3.5 lenses going around in many names (I have Autocrat, Jessop, Phago version... almost all the same quality and its the same as the DO Industries one).

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  • 2 weeks later...
My Autocrat came today! It appears to be 5 blades, not 10. So apparently the Deluxe version may be better. We will see how it performs!
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  • 2 weeks later...
Most likely the Deluxe tag means better finish, it has a very nice chrome finish on the outside and the nice circular aperture in the inside.
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Andy Perrin
Yeah, I have to say, I wasn't ultimately very impressed by how it did compared to the EL-Nikkor, although as I've discovered, different copies of the SAME lens can have markedly different performance.
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I am sad to hear you're disappointed. The 2 Dixons I have are my favourite UV lenses, but keep in mind I have 360nm filterstack and not 330nm, like the one you used, so I can only share my experience on that wavelength.
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Andy Perrin
Yeah, it might just be a bad copy, also. Sounds like I should have looked for a Deluxe, too. Oh well, at $15 I am not upset!
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