Cheap Nikon FA Lenses for Fun and Learning
The Nikon FA can be a fun camera to use with the right lens for the type of photography you want to do.
I hope this doesn’t surprise you, but the best selling F-mount film lenses were the cheapest. They are the easiest to find today in good usable condition.
The “best” lenses to me are the ones that make you want to take your camera out and shoot. Yeah, vaporizing backgrounds with a giant tube fill with glass is fun. However, it’s not something I’d want to do on a daily basis.
You can not go wrong with any 50mm lens. Different versions were sold as a “kit lens” option with the FA. If you have one, make sure you’ve shot and developed a roll of film before considering buying another lens.
The exception would be if you have a mirrorless camera and a Nikon F-mount adapter for your system.
More information further down, but if you are limited on time, here is the list:
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- Kit Lens - Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E
- Wide Angle Lens - Nikon Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 Ai
- Portrait Lens - Nikon 100mm f/2.8 Series E
- Zoom Lens - Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5
- Macro Lens - Vivitar 90mm f/2.8
Standard Primes
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Series E
- Cheap.
- Light.
- Fun.
- Easy to resell.
- 52mm filter threads.
My go to recommendation for a 50mm is the 50mm f1.8 Series E lens. This is solely due to how well they handle abuse and neglect.
The focus throw is really short. It feels natural to support the focus ring with a finger. If the focus helicoid grease has dried up, it’s not a big blow to the performance.
It’s a “good enough” lens. The real strength is that it is small and light. You can leave it on your FA, so it’s always ready to go.
If you ever find yourself stuck in indecision, this lens is the answer. Go out there and shoot some rolls and enjoy the experience.
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Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
- **Way better at melting backgrounds.**
- Heavy.
- Not really that much faster.
- Yeah, the lens coatings are better, but you're reading my website which means I doubt you'll be able to identify a situation where that would be an issue.
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It bothers me so much that everyone is going to buy this lens instead of the 50mm f1.8 Series E, which is a much better lens in my opinion.
The increased size and weight isn’t worth it for a 2/3-stop advantage over the f1.8 Series E, or any of the Nikkor f1.8’s.
The lenses is useful for focusing in low-light, and not for producing good photos wide open. It’s difficult to consistently nail focus with thin depths of field. With the expense of film, you might want to leave that to digital.
Voigtländer Nokton 58mm f/1.4 SL II AI-S
- Buttery smooth focus ring.
- Remarkable optics.
- Has a Meter Coupling Prong.
- CPU Contacts.
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So much better than the Nikon Nikkor 50mm f1.2 or 55mm f1.2. The Voigtländer Nokton 58mm f1.4 is a notable experience. This is a lens I think about and would like to own again.
It has one of the best focusing rings I have ever used. Incredibly smooth with an impeccable build quality. The inclusion of meter coupling prongs and CPU contacts on the second version, make it possible to be used on a huge variety of film and digital cameras.
I didn’t care for the size and weight. It was a bit too heavy for an SLR. Using it on a DSLR felt better because of the larger grip.
Alternatives
- Nikon 35mm f/2.5 Series E
- Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
- Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/2
Wide Angle Lenses
Nikon Nikkor 24mm f/2.8
- Wide.
- Can be purchased.
- Relatively inexpensive.
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It’s the widest lens you’ll be able to reasonably find/afford.
Third-party lenses are going to have noticeable amounts of barrel distortion. It gives a toned down fisheye effect, which can be an interesting aesthetic.
If you want something wider, AF and AF-D lenses are going to be cheaper.
Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Series E
- Can fit in a pocket.
- Perfect 2 lens kit with the 50mm.
- Easy to find.
- Cheap.
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The Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Series E lens is a less expensive alternative. It is attractive to use on the FA because of the affordable price and ease at which the lens can be found.
Alternatives
- Nikon 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye
- Nikon Nikkor 15mm f/3.5
- Nikon Nikkon 18mm f/3.5
- Nikon Nikkon 24mm f/2
- Nikon Nikkon 13mm f/5.6
- Nikon Nikkon 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye
- Nikon Nikkon 20mm f/2.8
Portrait & Telephoto Lens
Nikon 100mm f/2.8 Series E Lens
- 85mm substitute.
- Good value.
- Comparatively inexpensive.
- Widely available.
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The small size, light weight, and low cost made this the most popular portrait lens. Everyone doesn’t love the Series E lenses, but you’re going to have a hard time finding someone to say something bad about them.
It’s not a workhorse, unless you need a portrait lens for a few shots here and there. I wouldn’t consider it a pocket lens, but it shouldn’t be difficult to fit into most bags.
There are more of them than there are collectors, so prices haven’t gotten out of hand.
Nikon Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 Lens
- 85mm alternative.
- "Classic" portraiture rendering.
- Easy to find.
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I’d choose one of these over the 100mm Series E. The more likely I am to have a tripod, lighting, light modifiers, etc, the less important size and weight is.
This lens achieves a “vintage” look because it only has 4 lens elements.
It’s not going to be corner-to-corner razor sharp. However, it doesn’t need significant digital lens corrections and post processing to render a beautiful image.
Make sure the focus ring turns smoothly. There’s no point in buying a lens you don’t want to use.
Only the last 2 of the 6 versions of the lens are compatible with the Nikon FA. Compatible versions will be listed as Ai-S or Ai.
Alternatives
| Nikkor 85mm f/2 | Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 |
| Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 | Nikkor 135mm f/2 |
| Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 | Nikon 135mm f/2.8 Series E |
| Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 | Nikkor 200mm f/2 ED |
| Nikkor 300mm f/2 IF-ED | Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 |
| Nikkor 300mm f/4.5 | Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 IF-ED |
| Nikkor 500mm f/4 IF-ED P | Mirror Nikkor 500mm f/8 |
| Nikkor 600mm f/4 IF-ED | Nikkor 800mm f/5.6 IF-ED |
Nikon FA Zoom Lenses
It’s not just the manual zooms, autofocus film zooms also weren’t good. There are a handful of lenses that are generally considered to be usable.
Zooms have more moving parts. More can and does go wrong. There is more grease and lubrication that dries out or breaks down.
They are also slow, which makes them bad choices for shooting indoors without a flash. I’d suggest using ISO 400 film or faster.
Not just the best value, but image quality too, are going to be Vivitar Series 1 lenses. These were made by third-party manufacturers. Vivitar imported and marketed them in the US. They perform better than the comparable Nikkor zooms.
Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5
- Covers a popular focal range.
- Excellent for portrait or wildlife photography.
- A rare time when a third-party lens is the best.
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Alternative Zoom Lenses
The only lens I would recommend searching for is the Vivitar Series 1 VMC 35-85mm f/2.8 (Also found on KEH). Be warned, it can be difficult to find.
Nikon Macro Lenses
Komine manufactured the two mentioned macro lenses in Japan. The lenses were sold under assorted brand names. Quantaray, Spiratone, Rokunar, Elicar, and Panagor are brands that also sold the lenses.
There is a Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review and a Vivitar 55mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review.
For capturing images at life-size magnification, the 90mm lens will be the superior choice since it has a larger working distance.
The 55mm macro lens is great for table-top and close-up photography.
Vivitar 90mm f/2.8
- My favorite vintage macro lens.
- Available in lots of different lens mounts.
- Outstanding value.
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Vivitar 55mm f/2.8 Macro Lens
- My second favorite vintage macro lens.
- An outstanding choice for close-up photography.
- Can reach 1:1 magnification without needing an extension tube.
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Alternative Macro Lenses
- Nikon Micro Nikkor 55mm f/3.5
- Lester A Dine 105mm f/2.8
- Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8
What Lens Mount Does the Nikon FA Use?
The Nikon FA uses the Nikon F-mount. There are different versions of the mount. Not all of them are compatible.
You want manual focus lenses that are listed as either Ai or Ai-S. Look for the meter coupling ridge on those lenses. That mechanical connection enables the camera to meter correctly.
For an explanation of lens differences, see Nikon F-mount lens and camera compatibility.
Non Ai vs Ai & Ai-S Lenses
A Meter Coupling Prong was used on early Nikon cameras. The Nikon FA uses a Meter Coupling Ridge.
Some lenses contain both styles of meter coupling as they were made around the time Nikon transitioned to The Ai lens design.
Non-Ai lenses will cause damage to your FA if you attempt to put one on the camera.