Two Frames with the Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 Portrait Lens

I have always been curious about the legendary Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 manual focus portrait lens. So when one became available at a decent price last year, I snapped it up. I’m just now getting around to trying it out.

Nikon made the first 105/2.5 as a pre-AI F-mount lens in 1959 and if you were a Nikon film shooter in the 60s, 70s and 80s, this was THE mid-range telephoto/portrait lens to own. The 105/2.5 is the lens that Steve McCurry used to shoot his famous Afghan Girl shot in the mid 1980s for National Geographic.

Nikon made three versions of this lens; the pre-AI, AI and AIS. Typical of the manual focus Nikkors of this era, the 105/2.5 is well made and an absolute joy to use. Mounted to a Nikon F2 or even a Nikon FM, the lens balances well on the camera. I’m not a portrait photographer and definitely not a Steve McCurry, but seeing how I’ve had so much fun with Nikon’s 85mm f/2 AIS lens, I thought it would be fun to try this lens in a number of different ways.

Our dogs, Orvie and Rosie, always make willing portrait subjects…especially when there a treats as a reward for a good pose. I used my Nikon F2 and the Minolta IV-F meter set to measure incident light. I shot Kodak Tri-X at the box speed.

I just shot these in my backyard and really could’ve selected better backgrounds, but my results were inspiring. And that’s what a new piece of gear is supposed to do…inspire you. Next up will be a photo walk downtown to see the world in 105mm.

I am also learning to love shooting my Nikon F2 with the plain DE-1 meter-less finder. For years I have carried F2 bodies with the various metered heads and the stripped down F2 feels so much different…in a good way.