How does the Nikkor-S 50mm f1.4 millenium compare to the original 50mm f1.4

[kram]

Hi Any comparisons for the above. Also other say M mount 50mm lenses. I have tried Google but just hear 'it's a great lens'.

 

[raid]

Supposedly, the Millenium 50/1.4 can challenge the Summilux.
Can the regular Nikon 50/1.4 challenge the Summilux?

 

[Timmyjoe]

I have an original 5cm f1.4 (actually I have three, one Tokyo LTM, one Japan LTM, and one Japan S-mount) and love them all. But they are not Summiluxes. I own a pre-asph Summilux and it is sharper with better contrast at f1.4, f2.0, f2.8, and things get about even after f4.0. Maybe the original Summilux, which is roughly in the same time frame as the original Nikkors, is a closer comparison to the Nikkors.

Never used the Millennium 50 f1.4, but I've heard it is a more modern rendering lens compared to the originals.

Best,
-Tim

 

[raid]

I bought several years ago a Nikon camera & lens set just to get the millenium Nikon 50/1.4. I have never used the camera so far. I think it was the S3 2000 model.

 

[raid]

Ken Rockwell said this:

This Nikon NIKKOR-S 50mm f/1.4 is a limited-edition commemorative item built by Nikon in 2000 to sell along with the year 2000 Nikon S3. Nikon built about 10,000 of these in 2000 and 2002, sold only as a set with the Nikon S3 Year 2000 Limited Edition. (Nikon made 8,000 chrome S3 sets in 2000, and 2,000 sets in black in 2002.)

It is a cosmetic match of Nikon's 1964 version of the original 5cm f/1.4 lens. Collectors dubbed the 1964 version as "Olympic."

This lens' optics are modern, and probably the best 50mm f/1.4 ever made by Nikon. It is super-sharp even at f/1.4, has great bokeh, and less distortion than any other Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lens ever made since Nikon invented the 50mm f/1.4 lens in 1950.

This new lens has a magnificent 9-bladed diaphragm and is multicoated. The other 50mm f/1.4 G AF-S is mostly plastic, made in China and has a lot of distortion, while this masterpiece is made of all metal in Japan.


Many people do not exactly follow Ken Rockwell's writings.

 

[css9450]

Ken Rockwell said this:

This new lens has a magnificent 9-bladed diaphragm and is multicoated. The other 50mm f/1.4 G AF-S is mostly plastic, made in China and has a lot of distortion, while this masterpiece is made of all metal in Japan.


Many people do not exactly follow Ken Rockwell's writings.

Hopefully no one thinks those two lenses can be used interchangeably! 😱

 

[Timmyjoe]

I bought several years ago a Nikon camera & lens set just to get the millenium Nikon 50/1.4. I have never used the camera so far. I think it was the S3 2000 model.

So Raid, just out of curiosity, what are you using the 50mm Millenium lens on? Amedeo adapter? Mirrorless?

Best,
-Tim

 

[Timmyjoe]

Hopefully no one thinks those two lenses can be used interchangeably! 😱

Well in theory, you could take a Nikon Z7/Z6 and the Nikon F adapter and use the 50mm f1.4 G lens, then take the same camera body, with an Amedeo adapter, and a Novaflex Leica M to Nikon Z adapter, and use the Millenium 50mm Nikkor. Just thinkin'.

😀

Best,
-Tim

 

[raid]

So Raid, just out of curiosity, what are you using the 50mm Millenium lens on? Amedeo adapter? Mirrorless?

Best,
-Tim

Hi Tim. I use Amedeo's adapter with the lens, but it is on my mind to also enjoy one day film photography with the S3.

 

[jonmanjiro]

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2626979&postcount=69

 

[Timmyjoe]

Hi Tim. I use Amedeo's adapter with the lens, but it is on my mind to also enjoy one day film photography with the S3.

I've got an S2, not an S3, but I find it really a joy to use. I love the little knurled/toothed focus wheel for fine focusing, and the viewfinder is just so bright and clear. Hope you get to use that S3 someday soon.

Best,
-Tim

 

[kram]

Can it challenge the Summilux Asph, or is that just hearsay. I know the old VC 50mm f1.5 is supposed to be better than the ola Summilux. With the new Nikkor-S used with a M mount adapter, I take it it is not rf couple to the M mount camera. Is this true.

 

[raid]

Can it challenge the Summilux Asph, or is that just hearsay. I know the old VC 50mm f1.5 is supposed to be better than the ola Summilux. With the new Nikkor-S used with a M mount adapter, I take it it is not rf couple to the M mount camera. Is this true.

It RF couples with Amedeo adapter. Correct me if I am wrong here.

 

[xayraa33]

I have several of the original f 1.4 Nikkors, in LTM and the Nikon S mount.

They have their own charm and were cutting edge lenses in the early to the mid 1950s for fast 50s but personally I could never get use to the veiling flare when these lenses are used at full bore.

I find the Nikkor 50mm f2 to be more predictable and to be honest, I don't like going beyond f2 on the f 1.4 lens, so the cheaper f2 lens should be the ones I should have bought in the first place.

I surmise that the millennial 50mm f 1.4 Nikkor lens is a modern image rendering beast that cannot be faulted in its modern drawing at any aperture and is a joy to use, as one of the best of the best as modern lenses go.

 

[kram]

I am tempted.

 

[splitimageview]

I feel the same about the 50/1.4 Nikkor from the 50s, but this also applies to the related 50/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar and the Canon 50/1.5 too. They lose contrast wide open but 2/3 to 1 stop down the contrast increases:

Here is a comparison:

Zeiss at f/1.5

Zeiss at f/2.0

 

[xayraa33]

I feel the same about the 50/1.4 Nikkor from the 50s, but this also applies to the related 50/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar and the Canon 50/1.5 too. They lose contrast wide open but 2/3 to 1 stop down it goes away.

Here is a comparison:

Zeiss at f/1.5

Zeiss at f/2.0

I also have several examples of the Canon 50mm f 1.5 lenses and many Jupiter 3 lenses in LTM and an f1.5 Opton Zeiss Sonnar .


The f1.4 Nikkor claim to fame was its sharpness at f1.4 ( when ones gets lucky and veiling flare is at a minimum ) and that was the edge it had over the original fast Sonnar and the Canon f1.5 and the Jupiter 3. The f1.4 Nikkor was computed to be that way and was its ace in the hole as far as the Sonnar optical design goes in the era of the 1950s.

The Canon f 1.5 lenses are rather pleasant at full bore but best at f 2.8 and very little veiling flare, unlike the Nikkor f1.4 and they have that sought after 3D like separation in the OOF areas from foreground to background at the larger apertures and at close distances.

The J3s are also very nice but they all vary in their drawing at full bore, some are very good and dreamlike in their bokeh and some are just average but all have good flare control, veiling and ordinary flare.

My Opton f1.5 Sonnar just flares badly at f1.5 and it is more than veiling flare so I don't use that lens, unfortunately, despite the hype about classic and legendary Zeiss lenses .

 

[raid]

Your opton may be a lemon.

 

[xayraa33]

"Your opton may be a lemon."

Yes, it has occurred to me that could be, Raid.

I rather try my luck on a J3 for my Kiev cameras.

That will be next on my shopping list.

 

[NaChase]

I've been using the Millennium-Nikkor for about 5.5 years now. It's a great lens:
Always Laughing by Nick Chase, on Flickr
From Our Room in the Mark by Nick Chase, on Flickr
What a gent by Nick Chase, on Flickr