Nikkor f1.2 MF lens

medwaygreen

medwaygreen

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Richard
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I have never used a lens of this type/quality before, can you tell me should I buy and sell all my other 50mm or not.:thinking:

Thank you in anticipation.(y)
 
The earlier 55mm wasn't especially sharp at f/1.2 (which, let's face it, is pointless since the whole reason you should own a lens like this is for sharpness wide open).

The 58mm NOCT-Nikkor has a superb reputation but is fantastically expensive on the used market (one sold on eBay USA for nearly $3,000 recently).

The 50mm is probably the best compromise between used price (£300-400, depending on the copy) and sharpness wide open.

I'd still personally buy a 50mm f/1.4 and put the savings in another gear. It's a half a stop difference, which is the same as shooting f/1.2 on ISO 400 film or shooting f/1.4 on ISO 560 film (hardly the push of the century).
 
medwaygreen said:
I have never used a lens of this type/quality before, can you tell me should I buy and sell all my other 50mm or not.:thinking:

Thank you in anticipation.(y)
Click to expand...

Buy one, it's my favourite lens but a bugger to focus at 1.2 on my F100.

I've got rid of my f1.8 but still have the 1.4 attached to the F4
 
^ good point, ideally you should have a split-prism focusing screen and a bright viewfinder - thinking the K screen on the F3, the K3 screen on the FM(2)/FE(2) line of cameras etc.
 
Thanks Guys
 
I have one (I picked one up in less than perfect cosmetic condition for around £250) and it is a lovely lens in many ways.

View is brighter through the viewfinder - this thing sucks light in! Wide open it needs to be used with care - best at middle distances I think, where it can still isolate subject and is at its sharpest. There is a kind of dreamy look wide open which you either love or hate. Up to f2.8 I suspect it's the best 50mm of all the Nikkors, but they're all great anyway so I don't think that is a massive thing personally. Between f4 and f16 there's probably nothing to choose between them.

It can be hard to nail focus wide open, unless the subject and camera are stock still, and I suspect any inaccuracies in the position of the mirror/focusing screen are at risk of showing up with the razor thin DOF.

I'm not 100% convinced by its merits though. If you want a superfast portrait lens, you might be better off with the 85mm f1.4 (I don't have one of these beauties, but I do have an AI converted f1.8 which is nearly as nice). If you want a superfast general purpose lens, you might be better off with the 35mm f1.4 (which I do have, and which I think is actually far more useful, because while half a stop slower, you can easily hand-hold it at a whole stop slower shutter speed, so arguably it is a more useful lens for general low-light work, especially as its DOF is a bit more manageable!).

If you already have a (slightly) slower 50mm, I'd go for a 35mm f1.4 personally.

Perhaps have a look at the reviews on here, which are perhaps the most respected (if you haven't already):

35mm in here: http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_wide.html
50mm in here: http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_norm.html
 
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