Nikon's first SLR lens - Nikkor-S 5cm F2

[bakemono]

There is a lot of praise for the classic nikkor-H (6 element) f2 lens. Everybody seems to love it. However, few people know that before it came the 7 element nikkor-S 5cm f2.

It's actually the first Nikon F mount lens that was put into production.

As little information there is about it, all of it's very conflicting - people either dismiss it as 'soft', 'crappy' or so on or praise it for it's 'character'

I recently purchased an early example with 9 aperture blades and put it to test on my Nikon F. Here are some sample photos if you are interested.

For me - this is the favorite among all 50s I've used. The rendering is very pleasing to the eye and stopped down it's as sharp as H version

 

[jonmanjiro]

A while back I had the opportunity to shoot a couple of rolls with Lynn B's nine aperture blade Nikkor-S 5cm F2 on his very early Nikon F after both were fully serviced by Kiitos Camera Repair in Tokyo, and the lens was much better than I expected it to be based on its reputation. Here's a few of those shots. Hopefully Lynn B will spot this thread and post a few more for us!

 

[Erik van Straten]

Very interesting! I can't remember having seen pictures from this lens before. They look a bit like as if they were taken with an old fashioned rangefinder lens.
Does it really have 9 aperture blades? That is very special for an SLR-lens.

Beautiful pictures.

Maybe this lens was used for the pictures in the book "Bob Dylan NYC" by Ted Russell (1961-1964). I can't figure out if these are made with a rangefinder or an SLR. There is only talk of "Nikon". They have this look too.

Erik.

 

[bakemono]

Only the first ~15000 lenses have nine blades, later ones have regular 6 blade apertures. You can see the serial number ranges and details here http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html#50slow

It does indeed have that old rangefinder lens look.

jonmanjiro - those are nice photos, they show off the character of the lens quite well

 

[Mark C]

I think mine is the 6 blade version; I should really get it out and try it a bit more. It definitely has a different look from the H, at least at larger apertures.

I got it because I've been leaning toward lenses that have a bit of a smoother look and thought this might have that. The 50 1.4 S and 55 1.2 come close for me, but are still not quite up to my favorite normals. There are so many great choices available cheaply that it is hard for me to resist temptation to try them all.

 

[tunalegs]

Doesn't look very sharp, but the OOF areas are sort of interesting. Reminds me a bit of early Petri SLR lenses.

 

[Fraser]

Is it really that different from the nikkor H 6 blade ?
Cheers

 

[jonmanjiro]

Is it really that different from the nikkor H 6 blade ?

I guess different enough that Nikon saw the need to reduce the number of elements from 7 for the Nikkor-S lens to 6 for the Nikkor-H lens.

 

[Steve M.]

The old Nikkor H SLR lenses are one of the best 50mm SLR lenses ever made, no matter how many aperture blades they have. Great IQ, smooth bokeh, giveaway prices. What's not to like? I shot them on my Canon SLR's w/ an adapter in stop down mode because they were far better than the FD and FL 50 lenses.

 

[lynnb]

A while back I had the opportunity to shoot a couple of rolls with Lynn B's nine aperture blade Nikkor-S 5cm F2 on his very early Nikon F after both were fully serviced by Kiitos Camera Repair in Tokyo, and the lens was much better than I expected it to be based on its reputation. Here's a few of those shots. Hopefully Lynn B will spot this thread and post a few more for us!

I'm currently shooting a roll of Portra 160 with this lens, I'd bought the roll for portraits of my daughters but so far I've managed to shoot 15 frames in 12 months 😱

Here's a photo at f11 on a sunny summer day on Sydney's beaches with Ektar 100. 1920px scan so click for the large size.

Sydney summer #167 by lynnb's snaps, on Flickr

 

[lynnb]

here's a close focus photo - can't remember the aperture. Ektar 100 again (click image for 1920px size):

hibiscus. Nikkor-S 5cm f2 9-blade aperture #166 by lynnb's snaps, on Flickr

 

[lynnb]

with FP4 in D76

Nikkor-S 5cm f2 #964 by lynnb's snaps, on Flickr

 

[lynnb]

an early test on this lens @f2, HP5+ in XTOL. 1920px, click for larger:
(the two light circular objects in the central background are street lights. Picture taken just after sunset).

Nikkor-S 5cm f2 9-blade aperture #196 by lynnb's snaps, on Flickr

 

[lawrence]

I'm currently shooting a roll of Portra 160 with this lens, I'd bought the roll for portraits of my daughters but so far I've managed to shoot 15 frames in 12 months 😱

Here's a photo at f11 on a sunny summer day on Sydney's beaches with Ektar 100.

Those retro colours are magic. I wonder how much of this is due to the film and how much to the lens?

Lawrence

 

[Flat Twin]

Stupidly, I sold my 5cm f2 seven element/9 blade lens. I remember it to be a lens that rendered very nicely indeed...

Bruton, Somerset, August 2012 by Flat Twin, on Flickr

 

[Flat Twin]

Another...

August 2012 by Flat Twin, on Flickr

 

[raid]

Beautiful images being posted here in this thread. I have the 50/2 SLR lens (standard) and the 50/2 ltm RF lens (standard). I may not have any 9-blade lenses. I will try to survive!

 

[Mark C]

Two more air/glass surfaces in this lens, so should be lower a bit lower contrast than the H. The H is a very nice lens, but I find the out of focus a littler harsher than I would prefer. I've not shot enough to convince myself the S is better or worse in that regard; certainly not quite as sharp at the edges.

There is some brief info on the lineage here:
http://www.nikkor.com/story/0002/

 

[Flat Twin]

And another...

August 2012 by Flat Twin, on Flickr

 

[Flat Twin]

Nikon made four lenses with the 9 blade iris between 1959 & 1960 (I think) - the 3.5cm f2.8, 5cm f2.0 10.5cm f2.5 & the 13.5cm f3.5.

I used to have them all but sold them, oh well!

Regards

Simon