(AIS) Nikkor 24mm f2.8, Nikkor 50mm..... Nikkor MF shots

peterm1 · Joined: 06 Dec 2007 Posts: 224

Taken yesterday. In the sunny midday of an Australian Xmas. (Sorry to friends in the northern hemisphere.)

I really like early Nikon glass which is very competent. In some way perhaps because we are so used to this kind of result it is easy to take it for granted or to believe that its ordinary. But you can see why Nikon attained its early reputation for being the camera of the professional. Just remember with the following that these are on a 4/3 camera so the field of view is approximately that for a lens of twice the focal length in 35mm.

The first with a Nikkor 50mm f2 shot at around f4. I like this lens. It really does give me a newfound appreciation for lenses of modest design specifications.

And with a later (AIS) Nikkor 24mm f2.8 shot at around f5.6. Alla is in focus and the background is just out of focus. If the day had not been so bright I would have opened it up more to throw the background out more. This lens is widely regarded as being a beaut.

And finally this one. Also with the 24mm. I think it shows how well it handles skin tones.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

hi Peter,
I have owned both lenses. I had to sell them because, well, you can not keep hundreds of lenses forever. But they were very good performers for me also. Your shots do them surely justice. I love the pre-AI nikkors, although in many cases the later versions are sharper, I am more happy with the older ones, as they render the images in a way that pleases me better.
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Abbazz · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 1098 Location: Jakarta

Thank you for sharing the pictures, Peter.

peterm1 · Joined: 06 Dec 2007 Posts: 224

This lens is very good. As it is also compact and very well suited to close-up and macro work, it would make an ideal all-purpose lens if it hadn't so much distortion. I have never seen a 50mm lens exhibiting so much barrel distortion. Never try to shoot a straight line near the edge of the frame with this lens

That is interesting to know, I had not noticed it yet. Otherwise the lens is lovely though - it renders beautifully. I may try a couple of shots to produce barrel distortion just to see this. You have me curious about it now.

peterm1 · Joined: 06 Dec 2007 Posts: 224

I love the pre-AI nikkors, although in many cases the later versions are sharper, I am more happy with the older ones, as they render the images in a way that pleases me better.

I should have added that agree with this comment. If you look at the rendering on the black and white shot it has a nice characteristic to it that reminds me of earlier rangefinder lenses.

While on the subject of Nikkor lenses I have just today taken delivery of a 35-135 AF lens of the mid 1990s. The reports on this are mostly very good although many would agree that it needs to be stopped down a little. There are still one or two AF lenses I would like. The above is one of them so that particular ambition is satisfied. The other is the 20-35 AF lens of the same era. It seems to get knockout reviews for the most part but like most lenses that are around 10-12 years old and were designed for film, it has dropped radically in price. The AF lenses of that era are especially pleasing to my mind. The build quality is simply superb compared to the much lighter lenses of today. I have also considered the 35-70mm AF f2.8. mainly for its image quality which is superb. The only thing thats put me off a little is the range which is not all that useful with a digital. But I think it would be worth it never the less.

patrickh · Expire: 2011-11-18

Peterm

I have both of the lenses you use and love them both. I do, however, find I prefer the "bigger" brothers (or is it sisters?) - 50/1.4 and 24/2. Less distortion and sharper once you move into the one-stop down position. I would highly recommend the 35-70/2.8 - it is without doubt one of the best lenses Nikon ever made. Many tests have described it (accurately I think) as a competitor for all the primes in its range. The 50/2 is particularly kind to people and your first shot is a real keeper.

patrickh

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

Hi Peter
very nice color, great lenses
how is the leica kit lenses of the Panasonic render skin tones

peterm1 · Joined: 06 Dec 2007 Posts: 224

PatrickH, I agree that the 50 1.4 is an excellent lens although I still like the older 1.8 results too. The 1.4's Bokeh is especially nice when shot wide open or close to, I have found. I have not tried the faster 24 however so cannot comment I am afraid.

Poilu, thanks very much. The Leica kit lens has particularly nice color rendition. Its one of the things that convinced me to buy the L1 as I saw a number of reviews which have commented on this. Here are two shots taken with the Leica.

The first is an inside shot, taken using flash (the L1 is particularly good at getting flash exposure right) and the second in natural light. The L1 has a nice feature - the ability to dial in about 8 different "film" styles including 3 black and white ones. This gives a lot of latitude when shooting different scenes for different effects. I cannot recall but it would not surprise me to find that these were shot in "dynamic" mode. But even so the kit lens produces the goods in any mode and I suspect that if I used standard mode the outcome would not be too different.

BTW I have just noticed that in the shadow areas near the bottom right of the first photo there is a lot of objectionable color noise. This is the L1s big downfall. However, it is normally not anywhere near this bad and it suggests I shot this at a high ISO setting and maybe used curves to balance the contrast, which brought out the noise. I shot this photo shortly after getting the camera (two months back) so cannot recall the specifics of how I shot it.

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

Thanks Peter for the samples
I would also have take the L1 just for the Leica lens
The green are killer and this soft rendition of out of focus are first class.
Today I had in my hand a Leica monster 70-180 2.8 Apo Elmarit-R
I prefer to stay away when I learn about the price.

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03