Nikon 50mm f1.8d...strange markings

Pistnbroke

The answer to this is probably so simple I will feel stupid.
I have seen a number of 50mm f1.8D lenses advertised with the lettering on the front of the lens painted out " because of the project they have been used on ".Any ideas ? all I can think of is a reflection in a glass window.

PB_PM

Possible, it’s also common for street photographers to blackout camera and lens markings in an attempt to be more discrete.

spraynpray

When cameras are used on TV programmes they are often rendered anonymous by all markings being blacked out. Maybe that's the reason.

mhedges

I was thinking that too.

Pistnbroke

Th guy selling on ebay had at least 6 all blacked out . Seems a bit strange to collect so many together from street photographers. I may ask him.

Pistnbroke

and the answer is ....



happy to explain
Deutch and Swedish Police speed camera rigs had d70s hard-wired with a Kenko 1.4x convertor and Nikon 50mm 1.8d lens in the systems we built now decommissioning them but all names had to be blanked out so no affiliation to a certain company was never visible.

These lenses have brought so much joy to people

PB_PM

Seems like a reasonable explanation, never would have considered that possibility. Now days there are special cameras made for that purpose, but going back to the early 2000s when the D70s would have been shipping that would have been less likely. I wonder what kind of shutter count some of those cameras would have racked up over a 10-15 year service life. Considering that the D70/D70s were rated for 50k shots, I would hope it would be less than that.

trolley

PB_PM said:

Seems like a reasonable explanation, never would have considered that possibility. Now days there are special cameras made for that purpose, but going back to the early 2000s when the D70s would have been shipping that would have been less likely. I wonder what kind of shutter count some of those cameras would have racked up over a 10-15 year service life. Considering that the D70/D70s were rated for 50k shots, I would hope it would be less than that.

If it was the Dutch police, they probably exceeded that!

PB_PM

From the explanation I’d say they were used in fix positions, like red light cameras, and freeway speed cameras, rather than mobile police units.

Pistnbroke

Lens arrived today ..like new as clearly not been handled and used in manual mode so no wear ...quite happy at the cheap price.

trolley

PB_PM said:

From the explanation I’d say they were used in fix positions, like red light cameras, and freeway speed cameras, rather than mobile police units.

They used to hide them in trees & bushes, where you couldn't see them. Nowadays, they have to be more open, so they suddenly decrease the speed limit as you approach them!