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This is the 3rd & the last part of the series of tests I have been running with the 1970s Nikkormat EL & the Nikkor 43 – 86mm lens. The camera, though over 40 years old, has been rarely used & so far has proved to be excellent in metering, speed & easy of use.

• Nikkormat EL with Vivitar 55 – 135mm
• Nikkormat EL with Nikkor 135mm

The Nikkor 43 – 86mm was in production from 1963 to 1976. It has been discontinued since. The range you may have noticed is quite unconventional & hence the interest in owning & using it.

People have reported mixed feedback on this Nikkor 43 – 86mm f/3.5 over the years. In the simple spot tests I did, I was watching more for the issues that made this lens so questionable for use.

I shot 5 rolls of Kodak 400BWCN consumer grade film & developed them for 5 bucks at the local CVS stores (they scanned them for me too). These images are not touched up or digitally manipulated in any way.

For the complete set – Click Here for the PhotoDuniya Flickr page.

• the focus was soft – quite soft for street photography but will work great for impressionistic pictures
• the camera metered perfectly under all conditions of natural light
• the camera & the Nikkor 43 – 86mm lens combination was quite heavy – close to 1.5 kg
• did not observe any distortion (as many photographers have commented earlier)
• did not observe any flares under normal shooting conditions (though I did not take any picture right into the sun!)

Overall, I do not think I will be using this lens as frequently for street photography as the 18 – 35mm f/2.8. But it will work nice for me especially in creating natural impressions. I would rather use the fantastic 135mm on the Nikkormat EL for grand portraits & street photography.

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