Test Nikkor Ais 45mm
From personal experience, the best AIS 35 mm Nikkor is the f/1.4. FWIW, the test results from Modern Photo (tested for same issue from ca. 1980) are shown below. Lines/mm @ 1:47 magnification.
LensRatingComments45 mm f/2.8Nikkor PAI-P4.5(DX:D1X)4.5-5(DX:D2X, D200)IR:4.5(DX:D1, D70, S3Pro UVIR)This petitelens is an enigma with its 'retro' looks andpurely manual operation. With its superb precisionconstruction in bright, satin-finished metal, it is anendearing contrast to the current breed of plasticky,wobbling AF lenses.
The focusing throw is very short sofocusing is fast and positive up to the 0.45m near limit.The lens is so short that the focusing and aperture ringsare closely adjacent and thus need to be very narrow. Tomake handling the lens easier, the rings are convenientlyribbed and the inner aperture ring is slightly wider,thus easier to locate by touch only. To top it all, thereis a peculiar-looking (shaped like a reversed funnel)sunshade that allows the special grey lens cap to bemounted with the shade in place. The sunshade is quiteinefficient in keeping sunrays and raindrops from hittingthe front element, however, so adding one or more K-ringsto push it further out from the lens front is advisable.Like its predecessor, the venerableGN-Nikkor 45 mm f/2.8, this lens has a simple Tessaroptical design. This means just 4 elements (in 3 groups)are used and thus the reflecting surfaces are fewer thanin most other lenses. In shooting against bright lightsources, a small ghost spot occurs, but flare isotherwise quite well under control.I have compared the newand old 45 mm closely and conclude that their designs arenot identical, although both are Tessars.
The new lenshas a bigger exit pupil to make illumination more evenover the entire image. It also focuses closer. Colourrendition is superb and image contrast is quite high,although slightly softer than most modern Nikkors. Thereis no ED glass in this lens, but colour fringing isperfectly controlled nonetheless.
The aperture has 7blades and is nicely rounded, this combines with thesimple Tessar design to give excellent smoothness('bokeh' is the buzz word) in the out-of-focuszone of the image. Geometric distortion is virtuallyabsent so this is a perfect lens for architecture andsimilar applications.This lens obviously istargeted for the new FM3A camera, but attaches to anyNikon body to make a splendid travel companion.
It issmall, inobtrusive, and capable of producing sparklingimages. Equipped with a CPU, it will make the most out ofall Nikons, even the most modern camera such as D1/D1X.A final point: this lensis so small you can easily misplace it and never be ableto locate it again. I hate to admit this has happened to me, soI'm on my second sample now.
You are warned!IR: Theperformance is excellent and no issues with hot-spots areobserved on any camera tested so far.50 mm f/1.2NikkorAI4-4.5(DX:D1X, D1H, D2H)4.5(DX:D2X)5(FX:D3)IR:2(DX:D1, D70)4.5 (S3Pro UVIR)This lensreplaced the older 55/1.2 and besides being neater andlighter, also offered a much better performance even at wide apertures. There isan endearing slight softness (bokeh) when the lens isdeployed on a D1/D2-series camera and shot wide open, butthe image even at f/1.2 has plenty of detail. Stoppeddown in the range f/2.8-f/5.6, image contrast isenhanced, sharpness is very good to excellent, andveiling flare has gone entirely. Quality deterioratesrapidly as expected with the lens stopped down beyondf/8. I suspect the corners at wide settings would be softwith this lens mounted on a 35 mm film-based camera, buthaven't tested this so far.The 50/1.2 is less troubled byhight-contrast and against-the-light shooting than manyof its brethren, and the propensity to flare is kept wellunder control. Occasionally you can get a greenish ghostspot when the sun is placed towards the frame corners,though.Image contrast even atf/1.2 is higher on the D3, so pictures come acrosscrisper and appearing sharper with this camera. Focusingthe lens on a D3 was easy.IR: Theperformance is troubled by a strong tendency for acentral hot-spot on several cameras, but not on the S3ProUVIR (?).
Strange.50 mm f/1.4Nikkor-SCnon-AI4(F2)Nikonactively developed their fast normal lenses throughoutthe '70s. The coatings were improved and the basicdouble-Gauss formula was trimmed to squeeze even betterperformance out of the 50/1.4.
The last version beforethe AI epoch featured a shimmering red front element andsported a very capable performance. Wide open there issome softening in the corners that disappears by f/2.8,At f/4 it gives excellent images, and the quality staysbasically the same up to f/8. Beyond that f-number theperformance declines perceptibly.
Flare levels are low,but ghosting can be provoked by pointing the lens towardsbright light sources.50 mm f/1.4AF-Nikkor D5(DX:D1X)5(DX:D2X, D200)4.5(FX: D3, D3X)IR:2(DX: D200 modified)This AF lensis encased in a dreadful plastic barrel, but manages tofocus quite smoothly with my preferred manual operation.It delivers crisp and sharp images even set wide open,and by f/4 the sharpness is all you could wish for. Imagecontrast and detail hold up well to f/11 and just beginto lose 'bite' at f/16. Vignetting is minimalon the D1X and so is the geometric distortion, which isof the barrel type. Mounted on an F5, however, the barreldistortion may be a bit more visible.The lens focuses quite close, butwhen shooting up close the images loses some of itscrispness. Not entirely unexpected for such a fast lens.Fast lenses tend to besusceptible to flare and the 50/1.4 AF is no exception,so you should shield the front element from being hit bydirect sunlight if at all possible. Ugly ghosts areeasily invocated if there are any dust specks left on thefront element, so keeping the lens immaculately clean ismandatory.The rendition of theout-of-focus areas can be nice when aperture is large,but tends to be much harsher when the lens is stopped fardown.
You definitively need to watch the backgroundrendition using the DOF preview.With the FX:D3,performance is excellent but I have reduced the rating atrifle since corner fall-off is slightly more in evidenceon this camera.IR:Definitively not recommended for IR use since there is anasty central hot spot.AFS 50 mmf/1.4 G Nikkor5(DX: D2X)5(FX: D3, D3X)IR:3(DX: D200 modified, Fuji S3 Pro UVIR)An update ofthe older 'screwdriver' 50/1.4 Nikkor was longoverdue. The new model, largely finished in lightweightmaterial of an organic nature, sports an improved 8/7optical design and at last, AFS operation. But unlikeother recent new Nikkors, there is no nano-coating and noED glass inside. While the lens barrel does not extendduring focusing, there is no internal focusing (IF) towork its magic (and sometimes, adding colour aberrations)- the inner unit moves back and forth as an entity.
Thus,the autofocus operational speed won't set a world record,but for most purposes it suffices well enough. A sideeffect is that the outer casing needs to be pretty big,thus a 58 mm filter thread is used. This breaks theearlier pattern of normal lenses (by Nikon) being servedby 52 mm filters. However, in a predominantly digital erain which filters see much less use than before, thisdisruption of old habits might be easier to accept. Onegets a better fitting lens hood and since it flares justa little, the front element is deeply shaded.
Towards therear there is a rubber gasket to provide weather sealing.Corner fall-off is visible when thelens is set to the widest apertures, but less annoyingthan seen with the earlier AF-D model. Fall-off will ofcourse be most visible on the FX cameras. From f/2.8onwards vignetting is negligible on DX and FX alike. Thebarrel distortion, typical for this class of lens, iskept under good control. Field flatness also is betterthan shown by most fast lenses. Image quality is quitegood in fact at f/1.4 although some blue fringing canoccur at high-contrast transitions, increases to f/2.8accompanied by a rise in contrast and reduction offringing, and really gets into its stride in the rangef/4 to f/9 or so.
The smallest apertures see moresoftening of the image and a reduction in contrast, soonly stop down to f/16 if you desperately need theincreased depth of field, or like to shoot into the sun.The aperture opening is nicely rounded and theout-of-focus rendition (bokeh) is softer and less harshthan seen with the older 50/1.4 AFD model. However, the50 mm lenses are too short to really throw the backgroundway out of focus unless you shoot fairly close and havethe lens nearly wide open.
So don't expect the image to'pop' like it often does with a telephoto lens.Colours are renderedvividly saturated and come across crisp and clear. Onsome subjects, however, one can detect a slightlongitudinal colour aberration leading to reddish fringesto the foreground and greenish fringes towards thebackground. Even in this respect the new lens does betterthan the predecessor so this behaviour should beinterpreted in its proper context, and many shots willnot show this problem at all.Although nano-coating ismissing, the new lens handles awkward backlighting andpoint light sources better than the model it replaces.Ghosting is usually minimal, but when shooting straightinto the sun, you tend to be rewarded by a big blurrather weak blue ghost spot. Flare is well controlled,though, and I did not encounter situations in which flarewas an issue for my shooting with the AFS 50 G.The new model is anevolution of the older lens, so you don't need to rushout to purchase it unless you can only work with AFS.Anyone looking for an excellently performing normal lensshould consider the 'G' carefully. Itcomplements the high resolving power of the D3X in a nicefashion too.IR: Not agood candidate for IR use since there is a central hotspot when the lens is stopped down.Zeiss 50 mm f/1.4 ZF (Nikon mount)4.5(DX:D2X)Sometimesbig companies also produces big surprises, such as Zeissof Germany starting to deliver ZF lenses for the'F' mount. Now, these lenses are not reallyGerman as such since they obviously are made in Japan byCosina, but the engraving on the ZF 50 follows Europeanstyle in using '1,4' instead of'1.4', just to take one example. And you can'teliminate the possibility than German engineers have beenpresent somewhere, or sometime, along the productionline.The ZF 50 /1.4is very nicely made and its aperture ring turns smootherthan on most Nikkors.
It uses a non-standard (in theNikon line) 58mm filter thread and the curved apertureblades form a smooth circle. Thus you would expect it todeliver a pleasant bokeh.Direct side-by-sideshooting with the ZF 50 and the Nikkor 50/1.4 AFDdemonstrated the following: For distant motifs, the ZFwas sharper and distinctly showed more contrast than theNikkor at f/1.4 and f/2. From f/2.8 the differencestarted to decline and from f/4 onwards differences, ifany, were negligible. Same trend occurred for closesubjects, but here the quality difference was muchsmaller and the ZF had occasionally more CA issues thanthe Nikkor as well.The biggest surpriseoccurred when I tried to evaluate the bokeh of the ZFlens. Let me summarise this by stating that at f/1.4, theZeiss exhibited a weird or downright ugly bokeh with pronounced double linesand harsh edges. The transition from sharp to unsharp isabrupt.
The Nikkor on the other hand delivered pleasantlysoft-looking backgrounds without any harshness to them.Stopping further down the picture tended to change, thusthe Nikkor gets harder and harsher and the ZF availeditself of its very circular aperturte to give less harshbackgrounds than the Nikkor. But having heard a lot ofhype regarding the alleged superiority of the ZF line interms of bokeh, I have to admit that the Zeiss lens was aclear disappointment.
The reason for having a superfastlens is amongst others to use it set more or less wideopen. I quickly stopped using the ZF 50 in that fashionand decided not to keep the lens for myself. I give theZF 50 due credit for its sharpness qualities, but bewarned that its bokeh can give nasty surprises if youshot the lens wide open.
At the very least, do try outthe lens before you commit to purchasing it.50 mm f/1.8NikkorAIS, AF5(AIS version: F4, D1, D1X)5(AF version: F4, D1, D1X)5+(AIS: D2X)4.5(AF: D2X)5(AIS version, FX: D3X)IR:4-4.5(DX:D1, D70, S3Pro UVIR)A small,cheap and unobtrusive lens with an outstanding opticalperformance - can anyone wish for more? This petiteNikkor delivers the goods with a snap and clarity manylenses could - or better - should, envy. Wide open thereis a trace of softness into the corners that disappearsby stopping down to f/2.8. From f/4 to f/8 itsperformance hardly can be improved.
I have obtaineddecent results even at f/22. The multi-coating layers onthis lens gives it much better contrast and coloursaturation than the E-series derivative.According to my sources the AF andAF-D versions of the 50 mm f/1.8 are virtually identicalto the MF lens, so can be safely recommended as well (ifyou stand the plasticky feeling of the newer versions,that is). However as more and more Nikon cameras becomecrippled when an older lens is mounted on them, we shouldat least be thankful that some of the best opticaldesigns survive into the brave new world.The earliest AIS versionof the 50/1.8 delivers a truly stellar performance on theD2X.
Test Nikkor Ais 45mm Price
The field is admirably flat, too. There is nothingmore to be said here. As perfect a lens as anyone couldimagine. What a shining little star this lens proveditself to be.The modern, plasticky andcheap-looking AF 50/1.8 ('Made in China') alsogives excellent central image sharpness, but not so setwide open, you need to go to f/2.8. Field curvature ismore prominent on this version and the corner performancea little less convincing than with the MF model, but whenyou factor its low price into the equation, you do get alot more quality than you have bargained for.IRperformance: When used for IR photography on some DSLRbodies, the newer AF versions can show an occasional'hot-spot' in the image centre.
The MF lens, orat least my sample, isn't troubled with this at all. I'vedowngraded this lens a little for IR to indicate thepotential issue. So don't tell you haven't been warned.50 mm f/1.8Nikon Series EAIS4(F2,F4)Thiseconomical version, made for the EM and FG cameras, wasvirtually identical to the Nikkor 50/1.8 in opticaldesign, but built even more compact than the Nikkor.
Itcame in a cheaper-looking (and -feeling) barrel andlacked multi-coating and an aperture coupling prong.Sharpness is very good, but contrast and coloursaturation result in images that do not quite match theclarity of the Nikkor.50 mm f/2Nikkornon-AI, AI5(F5)5(DX:D1X)5+(DX:D2H)4.5-5(DX:D2X)IR:4(DX:D1, D70)I wasgenuinely surprised with the test results of this humblenormal lens. It delivers sharp and contrasty imagesalready at wide apertures. Even at f/2, there is just atrace of flare and corner softness, and beyond f/2.8 itrenders excellent image quality. Despite itsmulti-coating, some flare and ghosting result when thelens is pointed towards the sun, so be careful in thatsituation. The 6-bladed aperture can give somenot-so-nice ghosts and while these normally are wellcontrolled, they become much more obvious for IRphotography.To showage doesn't mean a thing, this lens is probably one ofthe sharpest Nikkors I've deployed on my D2H.
A pity itisn't comfortable with my D70 because of the AIconstruction.For use on the D2X, youshould be aware of the less than perfectly flat field ofthis lens. Centre of the image is very very sharp withD2X, but you can see a slight deterioration of qualitytowards the corners, thus preventing the lens fromgetting a perfect score with this camera.The earlier, non-AI modelsare engraved 'H' or 'HC', thelatter being multicoated. Optically, both are fineperformers as is the AI model.IRperformance: Not giving a true hot-spot, but I've seensome unevenness of light across the frame, so haveadjusted the rate to reflect this observation.55 mm f/1.2Nikkor-SC3.5(F5)not tested on DSLRsThis lens isimpressive to behold, but image quality is modest when itis used wide open. There is a veiling flare from internalreflections that softens the image and coma is apparentat f/1.2. Residual optical aberrations lend a softness tothe corners until the lens is stopped down to f/4-f/5.6,at which point it becomes a capable performer in terms ofsharpness.
Image contrast picks up beyond f/2.8 and isvery good at f/8 to decline when the lens is stopped moredown than this. Note that the 55/1.2 is susceptible toknocks from the side, such abuse can misalign the opticalelements.58 mm f/1.2Noct-NikkorAI4.5(F5)5(DX:D1X, D2X)4.5(DX:D200)4-4.5(FX: D3, D3X)IR:4.5(DX:S3Pro UVIR)The 'Noct' designationcalls attention to the main application area for thissuper-fast lens, viz.
Its intended use in low-light andnight photography. The front element is hand-polished togive its aspherical shape and this by necessity inflatesthe price of this infrequently seen optic. Improvedcontrol of coma and spherical aberration is the mainreason for including the aspherical element in itsoptical design. This effort pays for itself by givingvery sharp pictures even when the lens is used nearlywide open. In fact, performance is good even at f/1.2,really picks up at f/1.4 and simply is marvellous atf/2-f/2.8. Flare control is very good, but some ghostingcan occur when extremely bright spots are included in thepicture. Unusual for a normal lens, field curvature isreadily apparent and focusing it closer exacerbates thesituation.
The prominent curvature of the field canexplain why the 'Noct' scores low in tests: the cornerssimply are not brought into focus at wide apertures whenthe lens is focused on a test target. This is not theproper lens for copying or close-up photography.
Forshooting 3D objects however, the field curvature isn't abig issue. Beyond f/4 the image contrast also begins todecline slightly and there is a significant drop inoptical quality beyond f/8. The 'Noct' is built for speedand should be used for its targeted purpose. End usersalso may be attracted to its special image rendition, thetexture of which has an appealing 'creamy' smoothness(nice bokeh).D2Xand D200 mercilessly show that focusing accuracy iscritical in order to get the maximum quality from theNoct-Nikkor.
The new high-resolution D3X furtherunderlines this fact. With such a bright lens as theNoct, manual focusing is really difficult using these cameras. This iscounter-intuitive but unfortunately true.On theother hand, if the image is properly focused, andyou are aware of the strong field curvature and itspossible effects on the rendition of your subject, youare rewarded with excellent sharpness and very high imagecontrast at settings from f/1.4 to f/4. Beyond f/4, image qualitydeclines, after all this is a specialised design not a'normal' lens. This is further witnessed by thevery good image rendition at f/1.2.IRperformance: Seems to be equally good to the visiblelight rendition. At f/16, and under strong contrastlighting, you might just notice the first sign of a hotspot. However, since this stopped-down setting isoff-limits territory for the Noct anyway, I haven'temphasized that too much.