105mm f/2.5 Non-AI Nikkor, Take Three
January 29, 2025
Tags: Camera Gear, Photography, Adapted Lenses, Film Photography

In March 1959, according to this company history, Nippon Kogaku made a press announcement for their new single-lens reflex camera, the Nikon F. Later that month, the company introduced the camera at the annual Philadelphia Show, a convention hosted by the Photo Marketing Association. Exports to the United States began in May 1959. Two months later, Nippon Kogaku introduced the Nikon F to readers of Modern Photography in that publication’s July 1959 issue.

The advertisement noted that lenses with a range of focal lengths were available for the new SLR. On one end of the focal length range was a 21mm f/4, an extreme wide-angle lens that was a bit of an oddity. Today, it’s more a collectible than it is a practical lens. On the other end of the range was a 1000mm f/6.3 catadioptric super-telephoto lens that, again, was and still is rather unusual.
In between these two oddballs were four lenses: a 50mm f/2 normal lens, a 35mm f/2.8 wide angle, a 105mm f/2.5 short telephoto, and a 135mm f/3.5 telephoto lens. All four featured fully automatic diaphragms that closed down to the selected aperture and opened back up after an exposure was made.
Over these past few years, I’ve been accumulating examples of each of these lenses. When I was shooting with my Canon EOS M50 on a regular basis, I acquired a 35mm f/2.8 Nikkor for use as a normal lens on that cropped-sensor camera. My Questar-modified Nikon F came with a 50mm f/2 lens. And after settling in with the Nikon F system, I picked up a 135mm f/3.5 telephoto that I’ve come to enjoy using more and more.
What I was missing from the initial quartet of bread-and-butter lenses that appeared with the introduction of the Nikon F in 1959 was a 105mm f/2.5 lens. I was missing that lens... until just recently.
Off and on last year, I had searched eBay for a decent example of the early iteration of that lens, a Sonnar-type design with five elements in three groups. (Casual Photophile has more information on this and later versions.) Most of what I saw was in rough shape and/or priced too high. On a few occasions, I came across ones in unusually good condition for a reasonable price. But I failed to act fast. They ended up selling in a matter of hours if not minutes. I quickly came to appreciate what Nikon aficionado Peter Braczko wrote: the early version of the 105mm f/2.5 Nikkor was legendary. I clearly was not the only person looking for one.
This past fall, I actually did pull the trigger on not one but two instances of this lens. But both turned out to have fatal flaws of one kind or another. Last September, I wrote about buying one that, as I later discovered, had a missing set screw. After returning that one, I found another very early specimen that looked great. But it arrived in a box that had gotten crushed in transit. Upon closer examination of the lens, the blow proved so severe that the front lens cap had been jammed into the filter threads and was impossible for me to remove without the aid of a tool. Rather than attempt that removal, I returned the lens. For those two attempts, thank goodness I limited my purchase activity to sellers who offered returns.
A few months ago, another first-rate example appeared for sale. This time, however, I didn’t let my sense of hesitation get the better of me. Just to be sure, I corresponded with the seller, who kindly fielded my inquiry for more information. After he offered his reassurance that this was indeed a cut above the other worn and well-loved instances of the 105mm f/2.5 that I often saw listed for sale, I took the leap.


In a nutshell, the 105mm f/2.5 Nikkor is a very interesting lens. It is incredibly sharp even when shot wide open on a modern digital camera. At full aperture, edges do have a bit of softness to them, and there is some vignetting. But those characteristics are of the good kind, characteristics that gives photographs nice character.
Especially in recent months, I’ve been drawn more and more to short telephoto focal lengths for street photography. I love the way that telephoto lenses compress near and far. Moreover, they allow me to zero in on subjects of interest without having too much distracting periphery to have to crop out later.
And the 105/2.5’s compact size makes well suited to have on my Nikon F or adapted to my Canon EOS R8 for those walkaround photo sessions I enjoy doing. In contrast, my big and chunky 85mm f/1.8 Nikkor is just a bit too heavy for comfortable use on a regular basis. My 135mm f/3.5 is a little too long and frames subjects a bit too tightly, although I do find myself gravitating towards it more often than not lately.
Since having had my new-to-me 105mm f/2.5 Nikkor on hand, I’ve put a few rolls of film through my Nikon F. I’ve been very pleased with what this lens enables me to do.




In recent months, I’ve been cooling off on acquiring new gear. The lenses that I’ve accumulated suit my own way of doing photography quite well, and there’s little need to get anything more. I’ve been focusing on making use of what I already own rather than buy things that don’t significantly add a lot to what I’m able to do. Although a part of me rationalized that the Nikkor lenses I already had more or less covered what a 105mm f/2.5 could offer, I nonetheless made an exception when I decided to buy one. I’m glad I did: it has very quickly become one of my favorite lenses.