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

Flat Twin said:
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
Click to expand...

I have the 3.5/2.8, 10.5cm 2.5, and the 13.5/3.5. Maybe I have the nine balde Nikkors after all.
 
They came both ways, mine are 6 blade. Difference only shows up in bright out of focus highlights. And, of course, no difference wide open. Still, the rounder apertures are nice.
 
This is not with a Nikkor-S, but with an early Nikkor-H, just to show the difference.

Nikkormat FTn, Nikkor-H 50mm f/2, 400-2TMY.

Erik.

30214514864_f99bd46cd6_c.jpg
 
I have the 3.5cm, 5cm, 10.5cm, and 13.5cm 9-blade pre-AI Nikkors. They are all phenomenal, and some of my favorite F-mount lenses.

I use them on my F2 generally. The 5cm is pretty sharp and has wonderful out of focus rendering. Worrying about extreme peripheral sharpness wide-open is silly so I don't really care.

Photos from the 5cm:

goldrush-4571s.jpg


goldrush-4588s.jpg


oldhouses-1621s.jpg
 
\Yep. You can find them cheap if you are patient and watch eBay for them from sellers who don't know. I discovered the 9-blade models after buying a complete Nikon F kit very cheaply that turned out to have 3 different "Tick Mark" lenses included, which are the very FIRST production lenses, which then were made sans Tick Mark but retained the 9-blade aperture (see the serial number lists). I loved the look of those lenses but due to collector interest I sold all of the TM lenses for a tidy profit and bought generic models with the 9-blade apertures.

A friend who liked the look bought a 5cm f/2 9-blade for $40 on eBay that I pointed out. They sell for a lot more from dealers who know what they are.
 
I learn't about the 9 bladed models from reading the serial number lists and comments posted next to each serial batch. I then collected all four lenses just like Corran has above and I agree with his description of the rendering of the lenses.

It just interested me and it was something different, thats all!

Regards

Simon
 
Reading this got me thinking about aperture blade count on my non-AI Nikkors. Went through them all and don't have any 9-blades. Did have a 7-blade in my 35mm Nikkor-OC.

And checked my two Nikkor rangefinder lenses. The S mount 3.5cm W-Nikkor-C has 8-blades, and the LTM mount 5cm Nikkor SC Tokyo has a whopping 12-blade aperture. It's pretty round.

Best,
-Tim
 
Since I brought up the question and was pointed in the right direction, decided to give this thread a bump.
 
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