Nikkor 5cm F1.4 for first 50?

El Jonbre Grande

El Jonbre Grande

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I'm a 35mm guy and haven't had the chance to shoot a 50 with my M2 before. Currently I'm tossing up between a Zeiss ZM 50 f2 or a Nikkor 5cm F1.4. I do have a soft spot for older lenses (currently shooting with a 35mm Summaron f2.8) but am not sure if its sensible to pay around the same money as the newer Zeiss - any thoughts? examples? thanks :)
 
Prices for the Nikkor 5cm F1.4 seem to shot up a lot in the last few years, hard to believe that it is the same price as the Zeiss 50/2. One of the keystone lenses of the past 60 years, but the Planar will be sharper and "better behaved".

The Nikkor is center sharp, calms down a bit when stopped down. The "Bokeh" is more harsh than the German Sonnar 5cm F1.5 and Canon 50/1.5 Sonnar. The Nikkor is a bit sharper than the Canon, about the same as a wartime Sonnar.

Nikkor, wide-open at F1.4, on the Nikon SP:

picture.php


Much calmer at F2:

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Wartime Sonnar "T", wide-open at F1.5:

picture.php

(for comparison)
 
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The planar will have better contrast and corner sharpness at all apertures especially opened up. The nikkor on the other hand has a look that is quite signature and beautiful. I would say painterly but i'm not such romantic. From f1.4-f2.8 it is dreamy and showing some glow. By f4 it becomes more modern looking with stronger contrast and drawing. I love the Nikkor and would not trade it for anything.

Here are a few from the nikkor with HP5 to demonstrate it's character. These are not art.

f1.4
5703587847_7f10320dfb_z.jpg


f1.4
5704133118_89090bbf8c_z.jpg


f4
5734351218_7838029bcc_z.jpg
 
It's a good lens. Once I got mine, it was enough to convince me to sell my 50 Summicron because I wanted f/1.4, but it was also enough to convince me that for general usage, the Nikkor wasn't going to fill that f/1.4 gap :)

For $200-300, go for it. For the price of the Zeiss though, I think I'd go for that instead.

Here's what I got with it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tgray1/tags/nikon50mmf14ltm/
 
I love my nikkor 5cm 1.4, but it is unusable for landscape work. Wonderful for portraits and sharp close in, but poor at infinity. Bokeh comments above are right on.
 
Deception Pass park! I saw that hillside and railing and instantly knew where it was. Beautiful area. I miss living up in that part of the country.

Very nice photos showing what that classic masterpiece of a lens can do.

Phil Forrest
 
Here's a trick for the Nikkor and other Sonnar formula lenses that are optimized for close-up and wide-open. When shooting at infinity and stopped down, back the focus off ever so slightly. The Sonnar focus shift is towards infinity, and beyond infinity when the RF indicates infinity. Backing the focus off slightly when stopped down should make things a bit better for distance work. Make Sense? Or buy two, and optimize one for F5.6.
 
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