which Nikkor 50mm lenses are Sonnars?

Here's what Bjørn Rørslett has to say about the Sonnar (pre-1972) version of the F-mount 105/2.5: "The Sonnar is easily identified by its smallish rear element compared to more recent versions. It was an extremely sharp lens for its time and the optical quality still surpasses that of many modern lenses. It underwent cosmetic changes of the exterior only and stayed in production until 1971. It is a great performer at f/5.6 and provides for good performance even wide open, but flare could be a problem here."
 
Raid

Raid

They are probably all amazing.

But the later ones are optically even better than the Sonnar ones:

509868592_yUhNU-L.jpg


My 105 Nikkor lenses are all Sonnar, and they are amazing.
 
Sonnar's are known for having high field curvature. It does not do well for flat objects, but this can be an advantage for taking portraits.


I am a Sonnar fanatic. I have ten Zeiss Sonnar 50 F1.5's alone, all a little bit different. I have even more Nikkor 5cm F1.4's, mostly to go with Nikon RF's.
 
Raid - great photos, I doubt those could have been any better with the newer 105/2.5

Brian - I do more than portraits with my 105/2.5, so I like flatness of field. A great lens for portraits is a 75-85 1.4 to 1.8

Here's another with the 105/2.5 p*c post Sonnar version on a d40x:

509865244_zxKHT-L.jpg
 
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