A very kind and patient reader recently sent me both lenses, and I’ve spent time shooting them over the last couple of months. While both Nikkors are interesting, collectible, and well-performing lenses, the one which really impressed me has been the newer of the two, the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P. Though I no longer own an FM3a, I was able to use the 45mm on another interesting classic camera, the Nikon N2000. I also paired it via adapter to my Nikon Z series mirror-less digital, to delightful and surprising results.

The Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P has immediately joined my list of must-have favorite classic lenses.

Specifications of the Nikon Nikkor 45mm f/2.8 P

• Lens Mount: Nikon F Mount (AI-S and CPU contacts)
• Focal Length: 45mm full frame (approx. 67.5mm APSC)
• Aperture: Maximum aperture of f/2.8; Minimum aperture of f/22; 7 rounded blades
• Focus: Manual focus only; Minimum focus distance 45 centimeters (17 inches)
• Dimensions (Diameter x Height): 4.5 x 0.7 inches (114 x 18 mm)
• Weight: 4.2 oz (119 grams)

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Brief History of the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P

In the early 2000s, Nikon embarked on an unexpected task: to create their last, great manual focus 35mm film SLR camera. Yoshiyuki Nakano served as development leader and Masaaki Tsukamoto lead mechanical design of the camera that would be called FM3a.

I’ve written in great detail about the FM3a in my review, but I’ll here quickly reiterate the importance of this amazing camera.

By 2001, auto-focus was the established norm and digital photography was being adopted en masse by pros and amateurs alike. That Nikon decided to develop and release one last truly high-quality manual focus 35mm film camera was special indeed. And it was during the development of this special camera that Nikon designers started to wonder if it would also be possible to make a new standard manual focus lens to match with the FM3a.

The FM3a, though it was the most advanced, reliable, and capable manual focus 35mm film SLR that Nikon had ever made, was also extremely compact and lightweight. Nikon knew that the accompanying lens must also be compact and light.

In the 1990s, Nikon optical designer Kouichi Ohshita had developed a super compact and lightweight lens for the Nikon Pronea S. To its designer’s chagrin, this lens never made it to production. However, given his expertise in designing such high performance compact lenses, Kouichi Ohshita was entrusted to design the optics for the proposed lens that would accompany the FM3a.

It was decided that the lens should be a 45mm lens, as an homage to the older GN Auto Nikkor 45mm f/2.8. Like that lens, the new lens would employ a similar optical design of four elements in three groups. This design would feature the classic Tessar formula: one convex element at the front, one concave element in the center, and a concave-convex doublet at the rear.

Tessar lenses have two weaknesses – great spherical aberration, and having an image plane that’s not as flat as Gauss lenses. Kouichi Ohshita developed two formulae in preliminary design and testing, one which prioritized flattening the image plane (which reduced contrast at maximum aperture), and another which prioritized sharpness at all apertures by reducing spherical aberration and coma. Ultimately, the latter was used, as it was believed that a standard lens should be consistent at all apertures.

Nikon had recently developed a new high-refractive-index glass, and this was used for the second convex element. The radius of curvature of the doublet was also increased, which flattened the image plane and corrected spherical aberration and coma.

Once the optical formula was decided upon, it was determined that the lens should be compact, sophisticated, versatile, and of exceptional quality. The barrel was made of metal, and a custom metal screw-in lens hood was designed (internally, Nikon designers called this the “barnacle hood”). A very close minimum focus distance of 45 cm (17 inches) was achieved, and the lens was fitted with CPU contacts so that EXIF data could be recorded when the lens was used with digital cameras.

Nikon FM3a Review - A Nearly Perfect SLR

I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect camera. Beyond the quirks of design that cause even the best of cameras to annoy, there’s personal preference to account. Some people like large cameras, some people small. Some shooters prefer SLRs, others are wrong. But despite this, there does exist a camera that’s closer to perfect than any I’ve used. It’s the Nikon FM3a. Before your eyes complete that roll and before your cursor drifts to the next site in your browser’s reading list (fannypackaficionado.com can wait a few more minutes), let me tell you why I’ve made such a […]

Using the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P Today

The obvious first impression of the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8 is that its designers achieved their goals.

The lens is supremely small and incredibly well-built. The gorgeous geometric knurling of its all-metal focusing ring is magnificent, and the focus dampening is simply luxurious. The aperture ring clicks beautifully into its detents, and the engraving and paintwork are all top shelf.

When fitted to a camera, the lens nearly disappears, creating a truly wonderful shooting experience in which taking a picture with a full-featured SLR is like using a compact camera. The zone-focusing scale makes it possible to set and forget our aperture, after which we need only point and shoot. Of course, for those interested in complete control, we have the usual aperture and focus rings, which control beautifully.

Some users with big hands might find the lens too small. My hands are average size, and I found the lens a joy to use.

When mounted to Nikon’s new mirror-less Z series cameras (or to other brands’ cameras, like the Sony A series) the camera loses some of its compactness by virtue of its requiring an adapter. That said, mounting this pancake to a mirror-less camera via adapter will be smaller than mounting almost any other classic manual focus lens to the same camera with the same adapter.

Image Quality

For me, the biggest surprise about this nearly 25-year-old lens has been that it performs like a lens designed yesterday. Though using it feels as though we’re using a classic lens from the 1970s, it makes images that are thoroughly modern.

Sharpness is exceptional. Contrast is strong, even at maximum aperture. Distortion is nearly non-existent. When close-focusing, the lens loses none of its capability.

When shooting wide open there is a slight loss of sharpness at the edges of the frame. Similarly there is minor light falloff at the corners of the image at maximum aperture, and contrast drops off similarly at this setting.

However, to be clear, these optical problems are so slight that they will never interfere with our final image. I’ve shot many of the sample photos in this review at wide open aperture. For the perfectionists, stop the lens down to f/4 and all of these problems virtually disappear.

When close focusing it’s possible to achieve some level of bokeh and subject isolation. However, the bokeh is in no way the star of the show. Subjects may be isolated nicely, but there’s no real way to achieve a totally blurred background. That’s not the purpose of this lens. Its purpose is to capture sharp, vital images.

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P Compared to Other Nikkors

The Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 pancake lens shares a lot of the qualities of the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P, and in some ways it’s a better lens. It has a faster aperture, produces nicer bokeh, and is less expensive to buy today. However, the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P is much smaller, feels as though it’s better built, and (in my experience) makes nicer photos.

Compared with the older GN Auto Nikkor 45mm f/2.8, upon which the newer lens is based, the original GN lens does have some minor advantage. The GN lens uses nine aperture blades and produces rounder, cleaner bokeh (most noticeable in highlight bokeh). It also has a more retro imaging character (i.e., it has worse image quality). Where the more modern Nikkor beats the older GN, however, is that the newer lens has a closer close-focusing distance, is significantly smaller and lighter, and offers AI and AIS compatibility and CPU contacts, where the older lens does not.

The big question is this: should we buy this somewhat uncommon and expensive lens?

The answer depends on what sort of camera we’re using.

For users who want a lens that can be used on a Nikon film camera and also adapted to mirror-less, this is a great choice. For users who only plan to shoot digitally, and specifically with a Nikon Z series camera, the choice isn’t so clear.

I recently reviewed the Z mount Nikkor 40mm, a thoroughly modern lens which shares many of the same design touch points as the older Nikkor. The new 40mm Z series lens is an auto-focus lens, it’s super compact, it makes images that are simply untouchable in their quality, and it’s even available as a limited edition which proudly features the old-style Nikkor lens barrel design. It’s my favorite standard lens in the system. For ease of use and performance on a mirror-less Nikon Z series camera, it’s better than the old 45mm and makes the old Nikkor redundant.

However, we can’t mount the Z mount 40mm lens onto a Nikon FM3a. For users seeking an ultra-compact 40-50mm Nikkor lens which can be used with a mirror-less digital camera and with a Nikon film camera, the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P is a great choice.

Final Thoughts

I knew that I’d like this lens before I ever used it. But it has still managed to surprise me. Most of those good feelings come from just how beautifully it performs, optically. Though the Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P looks, feels, and carries itself as if it were an ancient optic, a classic legacy lens from the heyday of 35mm film, it makes photos that are as impressive and sharp and punchy as a modern Nikkor, and its versatility (that of being able to mount to both Nikon film and digital cameras) is a big selling point, too.

Fitting the 45mm to my Nikon N2000, my Nikon Z5, and my on-loan Nikon Zf has been a truly wonderful experience. I never expected it, but this lens helped me make images that I’ll adore for the rest of my life. That’s something that very few lenses can do.

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[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

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