The Nikon 45mm...

[awilder]

The 45/2.8 P the only Nikkor I've ever used that renders it's image noticably different (i.e. better) than 50 mm Nikkors. This is likely due to it's Tessar design and rounder aperture blades compared to the double Gauss designs and straighter blades of the 50s. The Tessars are extremely sharp over most of the frame, especially the center, with a little softness at the corners and edge until stopped down a few stops. It also benefits from their modern multicoating on all air surfaces and has fewer elements making it less prone to flare than the 50/1.8 pancake which use single coating on most of the surfaces and only multi-coats one or two elements to keep the cost down. The first 50/1.8 AI or previous 50/2 from the mid 70's were multicoated on most air surfaces.

 

[PatrickT]

Tokyocamerastyle has an incredibley cool photo of a black F2 Eye-level with the 45/2.8P...a little anecdote I asked tokyocamerastyle about that camera and he informed me that the camera used to belong to the father of the person in the picture. IMO the 45/2.8P is maybe the most handsome Nikkor you can mount on an Eye-level F or F2...as to performance I don't know...

Do you happen to have a link to the photo? I'm curious.

And yeah, it does look great.

 

[PatrickT]

The 45/2.8 P the only Nikkor I've ever used that renders it's image noticably different (i.e. better) than 50 mm Nikkors. This is likely due to it's Tessar design and rounder aperture blades compared to the double Gauss designs and straighter blades of the 50s. The Tessars are extremely sharp over most of the frame, especially the center, with a little softness at the corners and edge until stopped down a few stops. It also benefits from their modern multicoating on all air surfaces and has fewer elements making it less prone to flare than the 50/1.8 pancake which use single coating on most of the surfaces and only multi-coats one or two elements to keep the cost down. The first 50/1.8 AI or previous 50/2 from the mid 70's were multicoated on most air surfaces.

Thanks for the input...that's what I'm looking to hear!

 

[kdemas]

A little trivia about the old 45mm GN lens. It focuses "backwards" from other Nikkors, in the same direction as Leica users are used to. Just a quirk 🙂

 

[awilder]

The backwards focusing direction (for Nikon) is a real bitch to use with a split image focusing aid due to their prism base direction or with the arrows with the electronic rangefinder in an AF body (film or digital). I guess a microprism aid would work best with the 45/2.8 GN especially for distances of 10 ft or less where the focus range "speeds up" to give it more snap with it's quirky GN priority design.

 

[jsrockit]

Just so you know...good old Ken did his review without ever handling the lens. Enough said.

He's got screenshots of corners though... did he steal those?

 

[Contarama]

Do you happen to have a link to the photo? I'm curious.

And yeah, it does look great.

http://tokyocamerastyle.com/post/348982626/yotsuya-nikon-f2-eye-level-with-45mm-f2-8-lens?5e8aecc0

 

[dbarnes]

It's just silly, but to me, the coolest thing about the 45GN is its weird little lens hood. The 45GN takes 52mm filters, of course (like tons of other Nikkors), but the actual glass is quite small. So the lens hood has a small aperture in the middle of a black metal disk. The 45P pictured on the black F2 (see prev msg in this thread) wears a similar hood.

 

[kdemas]

He's got screenshots of corners though... did he steal those?

What a miracle, he updated his "review" to include a few samples! Here is the review as it used to appear, with his superb analysis like this:

Performance

I have no idea since I've never tried one.​

There's also this gem:

For making photographs this obsolete Tessar design is worth $70 US. It should be Nikon's least expensive lens. It's only manual focus. ​

Only manual focus... I guess that means my Leica lenses are crap. There is some slight vignetting wide open (not as severe as his test from my experience) but his "sharpness test" is bordering on the absurd. It looks like he shot the 45P on a windy day, very very bizarre.

The lens has a very nice rendering with excellent controlled contrast. Good old Ken clearly doesn't like Tessars a whole lot. It's not necessarily a lens for everybody but I, and many others, enjoy the rendering of Tessar lenses.

Here's one of mine, a Panda with a silver hood on a black lens. This combo always gets a lot of attention, which might be good or bad depending on what you're doing!

 

[kdemas]

It's just silly, but to me, the coolest thing about the 45GN is its weird little lens hood. The 45GN takes 52mm filters, of course (like tons of other Nikkors), but the actual glass is quite small. So the lens hood has a small aperture in the middle of a black metal disk. The 45P pictured on the black F2 (see prev msg in this thread) wears a similar hood.

I have a 45mm GN as well as the "P" and the hood for the GN is definitely retro-strange. Cool in a very industrial kind of way.

 

[jsrockit]

What a miracle, he updated his "review" to include a few samples! Here is the review as it used to appear, with his superb analysis like this:

Performance​

I have no idea since I've never tried one.​

There's also this gem:

For making photographs this obsolete Tessar design is worth $70 US. It should be Nikon's least expensive lens. It's only manual focus. ​

Haha, thanks. What a fool. This will be my next lens.

 

[gilpen123]

It's sharp and renders very well specially in color film. I still have mine though not used for some time already. I think I'll start using this again with my F3. I had the FM3a black and silver with matching silver and black lenses and an SB30. I sold them except the black 45. The RF really bit me so bad that almost all my Nikon SLRs were sold.

 

[dave lackey]

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated. It seems as if the winner will be the 50/1.8 Pancake. Sounds like a good compromise, although I'd like to have a slightly wider angle of view.

I already enjoy my 50/1.4 H (or whatever...it's pre-AI) so I think something smaller would be the ticket. I'd say that ideally the Voight 40/2 would be the best, but I can't get one of those for ~$100 🙂

But damn if I wouldn't get the chrome version of the 45 2.8P just because it looks so damn cool with the F:

Patrick, that is the whole point of the lens. It was designed and made to fit the Fm3a in chrome. It works like no other lens. The build quality and look is perfect IMO.

It works (size-wise) better than any 50 I ever owned and that is all I have owned since 1971 with a few zooms.

I sold mine because I am a speed freak and bokeh wasn't working for me on TriX. Since then, I have found what works for me with the Leicas.

But, I woud buy a combo like pictured above in a heartbeat if I had the cash. Nikon hit a home run on this one. So, buy one! It sells easily enough if you decide you don't want it.😀

 

[raid]

I like the Nikkor 50/2 and the 55/3.5 micro. Both are very sharp lenses. I would be surprised if the 45mm lens is as sharp.

 

[dave lackey]

I like the Nikkor 50/2 and the 55/3.5 micro. Both are very sharp lenses. I would be surprised if the 45mm lens is as sharp.

It is not, IMO.... but then, sharp as in the photograph it makes and the photograph it is IN, are two different things.😛

It is however, the most beautiful lens IMO.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Okay, final schpiel. I see on some quick research you're talking about a pre-Ai 45mm f/2.8 that I know nothing about and have never read about. (It LOOKS really cool, though....) But it's selling on KEH for about $149 in BGN condition. The 50/1.8 AiS is $109 BGN; and the 50/2 can be had for $79.

But those other two have no guide number control 😀

Kiu

 

[jsrockit]

The 45mm P is so much prettier than the 45mm GN. 😉

 

[James24]

There seems to be a shortage of pictures of GN 45s here, so I'll try to make amends.



Lightweight D700. 🙂

 

[James24]

PS Anyone got a spare HN-4 they don't want? If so please contact me.

 

[kdemas]

On a related matter...if anyone spots a HN-35 Black Hood for sale I'd lobe a heads up. They are scare little buggers to find (at least for me thus far).

Kent