Nikon’s Ai and Ais series of lenses from the late 1970s and early 1980’s are a beautiful combination of simple, manual mechanical build quality and beautiful vintage glass. Nikon’s reputation as a great camera company was built in part on the quality of these lenses and the incredibly beautiful images they produced.
When autofocus lenses were introduced, these mechanical focus lenses were soon replaced and largely forgotten for these digital wonders that made focusing so much easier and promised that every image would be in perfect focus. While it is certainly possible to still take photos out of focus, there is no questions that it is much easier to photograph a fast-moving subject with an autofocus lens.
Barrie Marina taken with a 35 year old manual focus 50mm Nikon lens.
Despite the improvements of these newer lenses, some of the best built and sharpest lenses Nikon ever made are some of these metal-bodied manual focus lenses. The Nikon 85mm f1.4 Ais is considered by many to be the most precise, optically superior, and well built 85mm lenses ever made by anyone, and a mint condition one can sell for over $1,000 on eBay.
I have no intention of selling off my newest high quality autofocus lenses. They are amazing lenses that are convenient and produce incredibly sharp images. I do keep my eyes open for good deals on mint condition Ais lenses and won’t hesitate to use them under the right circumstances.