I like using film, accordingly I like using my F80 with which to shoot it, I also like using my Nikon prime lenses that go with my F80. I really like the end results I create with them. What's not to like?

I have three favourite films, Kodak Ektar 100, CineStill 400D and Kodak Portra 800 with the latter being my all time favourite but 400D running it a close second. But that's a story for another day.

What I not going to do is get into the old primes versus zooms debate, both can be equally valid. You pay your money and you make your choice. On the medium of film and for the sort of work I use film for, I have a predilection for quality prime lenses. For different applications I would choose differently.

Thus the question becomes, which primes? Well the first choice was made for me as the camera I bought came with a Nikon AF 50mm f1.4 D bundled with it. So this 50mm was by default the first prime lens to join my outfit as my fast prime "normal" lens.

I then decided to supplement this lens with a small set from the same old AF-D generation of optics as they are both excellent quality for film work and can be found at bargain prices in the used market as, unlike the newer AF-S lenses, they have no motors in them and can only be driven by the body integral AF motor of such cameras as my F80 so are not, relatively, in that great of a demand.

Starting with said 50mm f1.4 as my 'standard' lens then conventional wisdom would be to create a classic 'Leica M Rangefinder" three lens set of 28m, 50mm & 90mm.

However, I loathe the 28mm focal length and have never got on with it, much preferring the wider 24mm. Many a 28mm I have owned has sat in a bag unused over long decades, leaving me wondering on what whim I ever acquired them. So I thought I'd get a Nikon AF 24mm 2.8 D. Think again, Any amount of used 28mm out there but of 24 mils nary a one. So I bought an AF 20mm f2.8 D instead as I knew I would want one sooner or later anyway.

Which brought me getting a 90mm. Well the nearest Nikon AF-D equivalent was the 85mm f1.8 D which I duly acquired and this has turned out to be one of my most used lenses for this system. This is a wonderful optic.

Thus I created a three lens outfit comprising:

• Nikon F80 Body
• Nikon AF 20mm f2.8 D
• Nikon AF 50mm f1.4 D
• Nikon AF 85mm f1.8 D

I then tripped across a Nikon AF 35mm f2 D that I could't resist; this a super quality old optic so I added it to the set. This leaves me with a continuing internal debate as whether to make this 35mm my 'normal' lens as I do with my 35mm rangefinder cameras or stick with the 50mm. We shall see. Strangely my money is on the 50mm at the moment, maybe this is something to do with the F80 being an SLR rather than a rangefinder camera and seeing the world differently through the two types of viewfinder?

Many months have gone by... much time has passed... then finally a single used copy of a Nikon AF 24mm 2.8 D popped up yesterday out of the blue at one of my most trusted camera shops and in premium condition and at a great price. I grabbed with both hands. Patience is a virtue after all, it would seem.

Thus I now have my complete set:

• Nikon F80 Body
• Nikon AF 20mm f2.8 D
• Nikon AF 24mm f2.8 D
• Nikon AF 35mm f2 D
• Nikon AF 50mm f1.4 D
• Nikon AF 85mm f1.8 D

When I started writing this article, I was originally going to say that with the F80 what didn't like was I couldn't find a AF 24mm f2.8 D Now that I have at last managed to buy one however, I must say what's not to like?

Post Script:

It was then I tripped over another oldie but goodie quite by accident in my extensive searches for the 24mm. Quite off topic and completely contrary to what I had been propounding above. Something you don't find mentioned in most of the major references out there and this was a zoom, the Nikon AF 70-210mm f4-5.6 D. A very compact and relatively lightweight zoom (for its type) that has the reputation for being sharp throughout its zoom range and for having super fast and accurate AF too.

Being little known they have the added benefit of, if you can find one, being dirt cheap. Three down sides, the slow maximum apertures (but hence the compactness), the old fashioned push-pull "trombone" style zoom mechanism and no VR anti wobble but for £95 for a such high optical performer? Who could resist? Mind you what I'm going to use it for is another question?