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Thread: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

  1. #1
    Jeffery Dale Welker
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    Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    My middle grandson, age 12, has expressed an interest in photography. He has accompanied me on a few LF sorties and truly seems to enjoy the process of creating images. Unfortunately, he learned a hard lesson last week when he accidentally dropped my Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 lens. While I now have a "backup" Copal 1 shutter, the front element is toast. It was an honest accident and I don't want to dissuade his interest by troubling him too much. Besides, I dropped my Nikkor SW 120mm f8 last year in an irrigation canal.

    I'm looking for a replacement lens. A good copy of the Nikkor W 180/5.6 isn't particularly hard to find and they are generally reasonably priced. A local LF acquaintance informed me he had a Nikkor W 180/5.6 he'd be willing to sell. While examining it, I noticed it had a red letter "D" on the lens barrel after the serial number. I've attached a photo below to show what it looks like - this isn't the lens, just an example. I've never seen this before and the Nikon/Nikkor LF lens info I have access to doesn't explain what the "D" stands for? I tried researching online and find lots of theories, assumptions, and well intended statements, but no definitive conclusions.

    Any idea of what this nomenclature is signifying? Any help would be appreciated. Besides the mysterious red "D" on the barrel, the lens looks in excellent condition.

    PS - The fellow who currently owns the lens bought it used from a camera store in Idaho. He doesn't know anything about the red "D". But claims the lens works wonderfully. I have no reason to doubt him.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    "I have this feeling of walking around for days with the wind knocked out of me." - Jim Harrison

  2. #2

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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    I don’t know what “D” means and don’t want to hypothesize that it means “dropped”… that wouldn’t be nice of me. I can sympathize with your grandson. When I was his age I broke something my Grandfather valued. He was very kind about the situation, as I’m sure that you were, but it still haunts me 50 years later that I was so careless. In hindsight I suppose I was just being a young boy who still needed some coordination development.

  3. #3
    Jeffery Dale Welker
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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianShaw View Post
    I don’t know what “D” means and don’t want to hypothesize that it means “dropped”… that wouldn’t be nice of me. I can sympathize with your grandson. When I was his age I broke something my Grandfather valued. He was very kind about the situation, as I’m sure that you were, but it still haunts me 50 years later that I was so careless. In hindsight I suppose I was just being a young boy who still needed some coordination development.
    I like the red "D" for dropped explanation. If I thought it would not be a negative reminder, I'd buy this lens just for that purpose.
    "I have this feeling of walking around for days with the wind knocked out of me." - Jim Harrison

  4. #4
    darr's Avatar
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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"


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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    I remember reading somewhere (possibly on a page in VIEWCAMERA magazine, definitely not on the Internet) that the red "D" indicated that the lens elements were spaced for optimum sharpness at 1:1. "D" for Duplication.

  6. #6

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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    Nikkor W lenses, like Fujinon W lenses, are not designed for "duplication". Sure they can be used for that, but Nikon and Fujinon made special series of lenses for "duplication". With Nikon it is the AM and M lenses, and with Fujinon it is the A series.

  7. #7

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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    From the original version of Ted Orland's poster "Photographic Truths": "Falling lenses are attracted to rocks."

    I verified this many years ago with a 121 mm Super Angulon. It needed repair work to get the shutter back to function but didn't seem to suffer optically. Cosmetically the dented front rim really bothered and in the 1990's when Schneider offered a generous trade-in allowance, even with this deficiency, for a 120 mm Super Symmar HM, I took them up on the offer.

    David

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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    Quote Originally Posted by darr View Post
    According to this thread, tgtaylor was told by Nikon Japan in 2016 that the D meant “Duplication”.

  9. #9

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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    Perhaps this "D" lens was supplied with a removable range-correction ring? Would be interesting to know.

  10. #10
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Nikkor W 180mm f5.6 Lens Question - The Red "D"

    I felt terrible when I dropped/broke a gallon glass milk bottle as little boy

    my folks always acted like the Great Depression was still on

    eat fast

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianShaw View Post
    I don’t know what “D” means and don’t want to hypothesize that it means “dropped”… that wouldn’t be nice of me. I can sympathize with your grandson. When I was his age I broke something my Grandfather valued. He was very kind about the situation, as I’m sure that you were, but it still haunts me 50 years later that I was so careless. In hindsight I suppose I was just being a young boy who still needed some coordination development.
    Tin Can

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