Nikkor Ai-s Lenses?

Hey folks,

I'm looking to invest in some new glasses for videography work and I was thinking to get some Samyang/Rokinon cine lenses but than I looked into Nikkor's Vintage Ai-s lenses and they also look quite impressive. My question is that would you consider me to buy old vintage lenses over Samyang Manual lenses?

I wanted to compare both lenses and see how they perform, but unfortunately I can't afford to do so. Maybe one of you guys have some experience with these lenses and can share your opinion and give me some advice.

I noticed that used Nikkon's Ai-s lenses are more expensive than new Samyang's Cine optics.

I really like the look of old Nikon glass myself. It does have some issues for videography - especially if you compare it to the Samyang Cine glass, which has a form factor more suited for video w/ focus gears and such.

The main thing is that the focus ring turns the reverse direction from pretty much every other lens brand. Minor annoyance, but if you mix lens brands then it can be a pain.

Another thing is to verify with the seller that the focus ring is not really stiff. The grease or whatever gets old and the focus rings can get stiff to turn. In some cases it can make them really tough to use with a follow focus because they will slip or grind your FF gears. You can get them re-lubed by a tech but that will add to your cost.

I would suggest if you have an EF mount camera that you get an adapter ring for each lens and don't plan on using just one adapter on your camera. The adapters are very finicky and thin and it's much easier to attach one to each lens and leave it there. At that point your lenses are basically just EF mount and you can even get EF rear-mount caps for them too. That's what I did anyway, when I was using them on my 7D.

Other than that, something about Nikon glass has a good look to me. I shot a lot of film on those old lenses!

I recently bought a Nikon Nikkor 50mm F/1.2 Ai-S Lens. Quite and old lens design, but they are still being produced and I love using it on both the 5D Mark III and BMCC.