Modern autofocus lenses are a fantastic tool which I would not be without, they allow us to work faster and get a higher hit rate in a shorter period of time, I have and use all of the usual high end lenses on a regular basis. The Nikon F2.8 24mm / 70 and the F2.8 70mm / 200mm are my bread and butter lenses, just like most other working photographers. However there is a whole universe of older non-autofocus lenses out there which offer a huge range of creative possibilities, if you put the time into learning how to use them properly.

I am always looking for ways to try and improve my photography and one of the things that I have been trying to do recently is to slow down and focus more on composition. My strategy to do this has been to start experimenting with older Nikon manual focus lenses. What led me in this direction originally was that I wanted to find a way to be able to carry a smaller Full Frame DSLR with me most of the time and so I wanted a pancake type 50mm lens to fit onto a D750, this combination seemed my best choice as the sized of the D750 with such a lens is very roughly comparable to an APSC camera like a Fujifilm T3 type rig. I wanted to stay with a Nikon camera as I have a big investment in Nikon kit so it seems the most logical approach.

This is when I found that there are no autofocus pancake type lenses for Nikon DSLR cameras. But I did find that there were older non autofocus pancake type lenses in Nikon F-mount that would work with a D750. So I bought a pristine, new looking Nikon 50mm F1.8 Series E lens, which is half the size of a modern 50mm F1.8 G lens. Size wise this fitted the bill perfectly. I just then had to deal with having to use manual focus. 

I have to say now that I am really pleased with the results that the 50mm F1.8 Series E lens produces, in fact for such an old lens the results are pretty spectacular. They definitely are different from the results that I get from an autofocus 50mm G lens. The images coming off gf the AI-S lens definitely to my eye look much closer to what a film camera would produce,

Some things I have found using the 50mm F1,8 Series E lens,

• Image quality from this lens is really fantastic. used in the right way the images are more than acceptable.
• The older lenses can be picked up very cheaply, which makes them a steal.
• They are not so easy to use for fast moving subjects. Obviously because of having to manually focus.
• They force you to slow down and think more about composition.
• The image results have a film quality about them which I really like.
• They are really FUN to use.
• Because of the size they are smaller and lighter to carry.

There are a lot of much older non-autofocus lenses out there which still give superb image quality and which by-and-large are ignored by a large number of modern photographers. I have recently been experimenting with older Nikon AI-S lenses and have been finding that because they are a great way to slow down and really focus more on composition and bas photographic technique. All of which are no bad things. The other thing I have found is that they really are a lot of fun, they force you to be much more involved in the image taking process and the effect of this is that you tent to take more considered photos.

manual focus only using an AI-S manual focus lens on a modern DSLR forces you to slow down and think much more about composition and optimising