The Nikon range of F lenses came about with the release of the original Nikon F in 1959. My F 28mm is the AI-S version first released in August 1981. I can work this out for two reasons. 1) The smallest aperture is marked orange on both the actual aperture scale and “Nikon’s Aperture Direct Readout” (ADR) system, which is actually just a small window! (you can see in the photo below). 2) It focus’s down to .2 of a meter. I didn’t realise that it was the close, but that is misleading as that scale is (like most lenses) measured to the focal plane not the front element of the lens – that’s right down to about 9cm! Frankly it’s almost like a macro lens!
To finish off the roll of film, and to try out the close focus I made my way out into the garden – we’d just had rain!
Frankly I’m amazed! I’d never thought about using the 28mm for close work. It’s pin sharp, gives a nice soft background but maybe not quite as diffused as a macro lens would. Handy if I wanted a close up of a flower but say keeping the background recognisable as a forest floor, rather than a completely out of focus “mush” that the 55mm “micro” may have done. Has the F 35mm just been usurped?
S.H.O.U.T. 
3 thoughts on “Nikkor F 28mm f2.8”