1984 20/2.8 Nikkor AI: First Impressions

I recently picked up a 20/2.8 Nikkor AI from Adorama for just $255 shipped - an exceptional buy with curiously higher prime lens prices appearing just prior to the Nikon D3 body release. This optic, along with the 35/2 Nikkor AI, is getting pretty scarce. Go try to find either one of 'em - it's pretty hard.

My sample 20/2.8 is a circa-1984 model - the rubber focusing ring slicked over after years of use, and the classic black Japanese laquer still very shiny. Except for a small filter ring ding up front, it's in good shape for a well used lens. The aperture blades look like new, it focuses fine and the mount is clean and unbuggered. An E- grade lens sample to the letter.

With just a smidge of heft due to its complicated glass components, the 20/2.8 adds little weight to my D40 body. The AI construct requires I operate the aperture ring manually - unnecessary with AI-S designs. At 30mm's of actual view, focusing is accomplished with the electronic rangefinder and requires constant chimping to ascertain sharp images. The 62mm filter size is commonplace but I'm fitting dedicated circular polarizers to my primes for greater readiness in the field - they're cheap enough these days to do it.

The 20/2.8 AI rates right up there with the better AI/AI-S designs and offers a pretty view at infinity and up close. I've discovered a tripod is just as necessary with wide angles as a tele when scenics and architecture are the subject. Flash quickens the shooting process but manual focusing begs for attention and deliberation. Hyperfocal calculations are worth working out for shooting in close quarters and taking compulsive image grabs.

All in all, this optic takes me back to yesteryear's methods of shooting - it'll be fun mastering this focal length and seeing how 'wide' I can apply its vision.

PS: I managed to repurchase my 35/2 Nikkor AI from the fellow I sold it to. He never used it, so agreed to let me have it back for what I sold it for - $168 shipped. They start at $200 on eBay and go up from there, folks. And they will only get harder to find...