Photography Downgrades I Don’t Regret.
The reason we keep buying gear is the same reason this lens took 10 years?
Nikon’s normal development cycle for new lenses?
1 designer, start to finish, yet this lens went through FOUR designers?
Nikon felt the pressure, in the 80s competition was heating up, and they were willing to pay the price for the upgrade.
So why have all my favorite photos this year come from downgrades?
Not just vintage lenses, (though there are two I like most), but deliberate downgrades to make photography fun?
I have made 4 unexpected upgrades (that each cost less than 50 buck), but for me?
The downgrade can be enough.
***
It all started with this photo.
Nikon DF + Vintage Lens 2.
A technical mess.
Highlights bloom, edges smear.
But I’ve been visiting this park with my daughter for the past 6 years?
I’ve never captured the emotion of this memory quite as clearly as on this vintage lens.
It sent me down this rabbit hole of 5 photography downgrades.
For me they’re worth it, just like today’s giveaway:
I have 2 gift packs to give away! Each Wotancraft holiday gift pack includes: lens cloth accessory pouch, lens pouch, tech pouch - all in nylon with black leather accents. Blind box camo disposable camera (1 of 4 color ways). Runs 22-27 November 2025, more details on how to enter here.
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Downgrade I: DSLRs
There’s no denying that it’s objectively worse than mirrorless.
Especially my Nikon DF with an outdated AF module even at the time of release, no face or eye tracking, no IBIS or video, heavier and bulkier too. But this obvious downgrade has two main benefits that make it worthwhile for me.
I am one of the few (I think?) who exclusively used the OVF on my X100V, and the OVFs on DSLRs are better - bigger and brighter. You don’t chew through the battery it lasts for days sometime weeks. A gently used pro DSLR costs less than entry-level mirrorless, for the money it’s the most different a shooting experience can be.
The DF is I believe the smallest full-frame DSLR, with a F-mount lens attached it’s more compact than mirrorless with an adapter. The second perk a DSLR downgrade affords me is history. Nikon’s commitment to F-mount means there are historically significant lenses I can use on the Df from every decade.
***
Like Vintage Lens 2:
Designed, and redesigned, shelved by Nikon 3 separate times, because it was an ambitious upgrade.
A complex optical design, even by today’s standards, but out of all its lens elements one gave Nikon the most trouble.
To correct for coma - light sources looking like birds, spreading their wings - they had to polish a piece of glass until it curved imperfectly.
Aspherical elements were imprecise, slow to make.
This upgrade would have to wait.
***
Cheap Upgrade I: Filter Wrenches.
I didn’t even know they were a thing?
Rubber coated steel that wraps around your stuck filters. More robust than jamming the front of the lens into a carpet or a non-stick mat as someone on reddit suggested. They come in a huge pack like this, to match pretty much every lens filter size, this cost me about 15 dollars?
I’ve since move on to brass-frame filters - the aluminum ones tend to warp more often over time - my favorites are B+W and Nisi. This combo has saved me more than once.
The reason Nikon was pressing so hard in the 80s?
Minolta beat them to the punch. In 1985 The Maxuum 7000 delivered autofocus in a consumer-friendly SLR a year before Nikon could with the F501.
Sony acquired Minolta in 2006, which sets the scene for my most controversial downgrade:
Downgrade II: Sony to Nikon.
I say this facetiously, it’s obviously NOT a downgrade - we’re down to the last handful of nitpicky details that differ between brands, but as little as a year ago this would have definitely been seen as a downgrade.
Sony led the way in mirrorless tech for the past 10 years, made a concerted effort to make their best lenses smaller. While Nikon’s mirrorless cameras and lenses were 10-20% bigger and heavier than the competition.
Why do I now use Nikon as my main system for photo?
They prioritise features that matter equally to pros and enthusiasts, low light performance, build quality, haptics, shutter sound, and a staggering number of substantial firmware updates to not just the flagship Z9, Z8, but also the Zf.
In the last year Nikon have started to make their gear smaller, 1.4 line of lenses, 24-70 2.8 mark ii. Nikon seem to be paying more attention to these little details. But the most unexpected part of this switch for me has been Z-mount. I love all the S-line primes, but also all the old lenses and adapters. There’s so many to choose, and yes you can do the same on Sony E mount, but old lenses just feel right on the Zf.
This “downgrade” has been fun.
Cheap Upgrade 2: Dummy Adapters.
Smart adapters are already so expensive, I just wanted to save some money on dumb adapters? Rather than the more “upmarket” ones (in price anyway) from Urth, I’ve moved all my dummy lens adapters to K&F concept.
But this downgrade turned out to be an upgrade.
Cheaper across the board, the lenses click into place without as much play. Whether it’s M42, M mount, F, mount, E mount - I’ve been impressed with how consistent the machining of these adapters are and they’re usually well under 50 bucks.
***
The first vintage lens I “downgraded” to this year is NOT the one that took Nikon 10 years, 4 designers, and a revolution in aspherical element engineering to make.
That one’s a wide angle, this one’s a 50mm?
The Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF-D, I picked this up for 200 bucks, sharp enough at f2, f2.8 but there’s no denying it’s a clear downgrade compared to any modern 50?
That dreamy haze though matches my memories perfectly.
These lazy afternoons with family matter more than any stress work puts on me.
There’ll always be a new deadline to meet.
Title to chase.
I’m tired of upgrades.
***
Downgrade III: Resolution.
Lower please?
I appreciate a detailed high-res image - I love the Z8’s output, but there’s so much less stress when the resolution drops.
The 16 megapixels from the Nikon DF, 24 megapixels of the ZF, way less stress on my hard drive, quicker to transfer, less time spent in post. I know you can get less noise on high-res sensors, there’s more detail to denoise from when exporting to an equivalent image size, but having way more space than you need on cards and drives is incredibly freeing.
Especially when I’m shooting for me, it feels a bit silly to store enormous files when it’s just random shadows and commuters. There is something about the ZF’s 24 megapixels sensor, paired with Nikon’s S-line glass, that seems crisper and more detailed than you’d expect.
Older DSLRs with CCD sensors, or even the 16 megapixel DF sensor, will be more forgiving towards the flaws of older lenses.
***
The flaws were what Vintage Lens 2’s second, third design teams tried to address.
Prototype after prototype, the engineers willed this fast wide angle prime into existence.
But at the last minute?
Nikon’s quality assurance nixed it.
Other than letting in more light, these 1.4 prototypes couldn’t beat its older f2 sibling in performance.
This upgrade would have to wait.
***
Cheap Upgrade 3: Right Angle USB-C
I like these ones from Kondor Blue.
Easy to find in a drawer because of that color, they do cost about 20 dollars, which more than I normally spend on on cables.
They are braided for flexibility, USB-C Gen 3.2, you can use them both for charging and data transfer and it’s been worth it to me because my cameras have so many different storage media. It’s been a lot easier to plug and play via USB-C to transfer data. It saves space in my camera bag, I use the same cable to charge my phone from a battery bank, and the right angle version makes it a little more compact, harder to accidentally bump.
Downgrade 4: Quit Adobe?
I’m not there yet?
I’ve tried Capture One (too expensive), Luminar Neo (too many in your face AI tools for my taste), and the one I’ve been most comfortable with is DXO’s Filmpack.
I like how “light” it feels, not trying to be everything to everyone. Quick adjustments, full Fujifilm film sim support, dozens of film presets for other cameras. Combined with the denoising in PureRAW, this software is only a downgrade compared to Adobe in terms of price.
All these photos were a one touch edit using the Kodak Porta 400 preset in DXO Filmpack 8. There’s a Black Friday sale that runs until 2 December 2025, 15% off for new users, extra 5% off with code “BOKEHTHERAPY”.
Why haven’t I switched over fully?
I’ve started editing on my iPad, and I haven’t found a better iPad to desktop editing workflow than Adobe Lightroom. Currently there’s no iPad support that I’m aware of on DXO, I’m hoping that changes in the future
Cheap Upgrade 4: Camera Pouches
Lots of brands make them, the nylon ones from Wotancraft are just under 50 bucks, or you can enter the draw in today’s giveaway?
I have 2 Wotancraft holiday gift packs to give away:
1 lens cloth accessory pouch
1 lens pouch
1 large tech pouch
1 blindbox camo disposable camera
These special holiday gift version of pouches come with black leather accents on top of the usual nylon fabric, and YKK zippers.
The giveaway runs from 22-27 November 2025. Find out how to enter here.
Downgrade 5: Auto to Manual Focus.
Photography’s beautiful when I’m not in a rush.
I’m thankful my job doesn’t rely on hit rate or tracking speed. Manual focus is relaxing, but that old school feel doesn’t have to give old school results, the performance of modern manual lenses like the Voigtlander 28mm f2 APO I borrowed from Mainline photo is amazing.
Courtesy of Mainline Photo.
So much performance you can pack into a tiny lens once you remove autofocus motors, and very few brands make a fast 28 these days. A Z mount version has just been announced, this review unit is in Leica M-mount, and even as someone who loves the optical viewfinder experience it’s hard to deny the Zf’s manual focus implementation.
You can use the green box focus confirmation like a Leica rangefinder patch and not punch in at all, or on the latest Zf firmware you can turn off focus peaking until you zoom magnify for an unobstructed view until when it matters most.
I’d hold out for the Z-mount version unless you’re also a Leica M shooter, otherwise you need a chipped M to Z adapter - TTArtisan, Techart, for these tools to work.
Nikon ZF + Voigtlander 28mm f2 APO. All shots at f2
Shooting wide open into broad daylight this is the best performing 28mm I’ve used, but longtime readers will know…
I prefer my 28s fast and flawed at night.
***
Nikon wasn’t trying to make this fast lens flawed.
It had to beat its slower f2 sibling in performance, and it took a quantum leap.
Remember that one aspherical element, designed to correct coma?
The industry moved away from polishing, into grinding glass elements.
An optical revolution in engineering.
They could finally mass produce that tricky aspherical element to match or beat its f2 sibling.
So Vintage Lens 2 - the 28mm f1.4 AF-D was born.
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Not for long, only 7000 copies were made, it’s way too expensive for a vintage lens, but I prefer it over the bigger and heavier 28 1.4 E.
Does that decade long development cycle show in the performance?
Its lens barrel is metal, it has an internal floating element design so it doesn’t change size as it focuses, single point autofocus and recompose works fine on my DF. It is a screw-drive lens though, so the autofocus won’t work on any mirrorless camera, I’m still trying to track down that monster adapter - it’s not for sale on their official website.
It does look sharper than the AIS 28mm f2 I used to own, nowhere near as sharp as the Voigtlander 28mm APO.
Despite that revolutionary aspherical element, you can still see coma, the Voigtlander is way better corrected, but a 28 can include too much in frame.
***
Street work benefits from a touch of mystery?
At 1.4 there’s that dreamy haze, not useful for a dose of reality.
But for me this year?
The best upgrades have been downgrades.
None of the work I’ve done.
Insane, high-pressure stuff.
Matters more than what’s at home.
An old lens, and family.
Is enough.
***
Nikon Df + Nikkor 28mm f1.4 D (Vintage Lens 2).
Happy shooting everyone, talk soon.
Jack.
If you’d like to support my work please consider purchasing gear through my affiliate links:
Wotancraft pouches: https://geni.us/vzyZHq
Filter Wrenches: https://geni.us/UjcjID
Nisi Pro UV Filters: https://geni.us/owZ5zL
K&F Concept Lens Adapters: https://geni.us/P3fu
Kondor Blue right-angle USB-C cables: https://geni.us/ckqWq5
DXO Extra 5% off code on top of Black Friday: "bokehtherapy": https://geni.us/YUBv8UK
Nikon Zf: https://geni.us/fRFp
Nikon 35mm f1.8 S: https://geni.us/HYuWa
Nikon 40mm f2: https://geni.us/0AAhXJ
Nikon 50mm f1.8 S: https://geni.us/sQ55h
Nikon 85mm f1.8 S: https://geni.us/ItonAtp
Nikon 28mm f2.8: https://geni.us/tyZX2A
