Protonar Auto Wide 35mm F2.8 — Nikon F Mount

A Protonar Auto Wide 35mm f/2.8 in Nikon F mount, from the era when dozens of Japanese factories built lenses for importers to badge as they pleased. 35mm is the most useful single focal length there is — wide enough for a room or a street scene, natural enough that faces don't stretch — and f/2.8 is quick enough to work indoors. Recently serviced and cleaned, with genuinely clear glass.

The useful detail is in the indexing: this lens is AI-coupled and also carries the older meter-coupling prong. That combination is the best one to own. It meters at full aperture on AI-era bodies — FM, FM2n, FE, F3 and later — mounts safely on modern Nikon DSLRs, and the prong means it also couples to the Photomic finders on an F or F2. One lens, metered correctly across fifty years of Nikon bodies.

Specifications

• Focal length: 35mm
• Maximum aperture: f/2.8
• Mount: Nikon F — AI-coupled, with the meter-coupling prong fitted
• Metering: Full-aperture on AI bodies; prong coupling on F / F2 Photomic finders
• Focus: Manual
• Format: 35mm full-frame coverage

Condition

• Cosmetic: Serviced and cleaned recently. The lens is clean and free of fungus, haze or scratches.
• Functional: Working well, with smooth focus and aperture rings.

Included

• Protonar Auto Wide 35mm f/2.8 lens
• Lens cap

An inexpensive, serviced 35mm that will meter on essentially any Nikon you point it at. Protonar left little documentation behind, so the spec list sticks to what the lens itself tells us — but the glass is clean and the rings are smooth, which is what decides how a lens shoots.