I have been slowly acquiring mint or near mint Nikon Ai-s lenses from Japan and today I own six of them ranging between 28mm and 180mm.
While today’s modern auto-focus lenses certainly have their advantages, there is something about older manual focus legacy lenses that make them attractive to use. Whether that's the feel of the precision engineered, metal focus barrels or the fact that you feel more involved in the photography process when you focus manually, there is no denying their appeal.
One of the problems with today’s modern cameras with their smart processors, sensors and autofocus motors is they shield photographers from what really happens when you snap an image and keep us from having to learn and understand many of the basics. Don’t get me wrong, I embrace new technology as much as the next person, but I’m concerned that it could diminish the experience and even result in poorer quality photographs.
Using older manual focus lenses does not necessarily mean lower quality images. In fact, Nikons Ai-s lenses from the late 70’s and early 80’s are simply phenomenal in terms of their superior build quality and optical performance, and deliver fantastic results. Nikon’s 85mm f1.4 Ai-s lens remains the best 85mm lens ever built by anyone, and a favorite of many portrait photographers.
So given that many of today’s modern lenses are also super-sharp, focus automatically and produce amazing images, why bother with these old lenses? For me, it changes the way I take pictures. It has forced me to compose my images differently. Focusing manually makes me slow down. Rather than clicking away indiscriminately, I find myself thinking much more about how I approach a photographic situation.
I will never get rid of my modern auto-focus lenses and will continue to use them in most situations. However, manual focusing and using vintage lenses has transformed me and my photography and I will continue to use them when I can.