Thinking of a new SLR lens

[Athos6]

I'm looking at yet another ~50mm lens... Currently I'm thinking of the 1.2 Nikkor, the Zeiss 1.4, or the VC 58mm 1.4 SLII... I'm leaning heavily towards the 1.2 because I always find myself in dark places. Anybody have the 1.2 and have some thoughts on it vs. the others on my list? Plan B is that 24mm 2.8 Nikkor, but I've own one of those before...

 

[vha]

Had the 50mm 1,2 twice . . no clue about the others .. been curious on the 58 because it smells like a biotar lens to me, and that can´t be a bad thing ?
Have some late night/summer shot in my gallery taken with the nikkor 1,2, just look after the colur stuff 🙂

vha

 

[Roger Hicks]

All the Zeiss F-fit primes I've tried have been stunning: they make my D70 look an AWFUL lot better than the kit zoom, and somewhat better than it looks with my 90/2.5 Vivitar Series 1.

I hope the 58/1.4 (which I haven't tried) is modelled on the 58/1.4 Nikkor (which I had and loved) and not the 58/2 Biotar (which I have, and which is somewhat stronger on character than sharpness, though the latter is still pretty good).

I sold my f/1.2 F-fit Nikkor because I saw no real advantage in an extra half stop on a reflex. Like many people, I find I can hold an RF camera still for about one shutter speed step longer than a reflex, so f/1.4 equates to f/1.0 and f/1.0 to f/0.7. In low light, rangefinders simply wipe the floor with reflexes as far as I am concerned.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[jwhitley]

I have the CV 58/1.4 SL-II and love it. Unfortunately I can't compare to your other options. I've primarily used it on my crop dSLR, where it works nicely as portrait-length lens. I've only just shot my first roll of film with it, and appreciated both the view and working feel of the lens. I'd like the focusing feel to be a touch looser, but I believe that will come naturally with more use: I'm comparing it to a nicely broken-in 24/2.8 AI-S Nikkor... not really fair. ;-) I'm eager to see how the photos came out...

 

[Athos6]

I like the ZF quality as well, and I think 1.4 would be fast enough. I'm not sure if the half a stop would be worth it either... The 58mm is still on the table as well. I think its time to check out some picture sites.

 

[jonmanjiro]

About two years ago I bought a new AIS 50/1.2, then sold it to buy a ZF 50/1.4 when they came out, and then after trying out the ZF 50/1.4 and realising I liked the AIS 50/1.2 better, I sold it and bought a 2nd AIS 50/1.2. I don't regret my decision at all, because IMO the AIS 50/1.2 is a better lens than the ZF 50/1.4 in terms of bokeh and consistent sharpness across the entire frame from about f1.8 to f4 (which is where I use this lens the most). After f4 its pretty much a draw. However, if you do decide on an AIS 50/1.2, I recommend getting a new one for the Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC). Nikon changed over from the Nikon Integrated Coating (NIC) to this new type of multi-coating in about 2001-2002, so only the very latest lenses in the old serial number series (up to about 390671) and the lenses in the new serial number series from 2006 (starting from 400001) have the new type of multi-coating.

The new CV 58/1.4 is an interesting looking lens, and I remember reading the optical formula is similar to the Noct-Nikkor 58/1.2 but without the asperical element. However, as much as I'm tempted, since I've already invested a lot in 52mm filters (and several lenses that use this size) the 58mm filter size kills it for me.

Here's a pic of my AIS 50/1.2 purchased new about two years ago.

 

[Athos6]

Drool, I've almost pulled the trigger on a few F2as's over the years. Hmmm, thats one vote for the 1.2, I was thinking of getting a new one. I'm always baffled when a ebay auction for a used 50mm 1.2 goes over the new price, it happens all the time, its beyond me...

 

[Avotius]

I would go for the Zeiss 1.4, the 1.2 might be nice but the extra speed is very marginal and difficult to use, I didnt find the 1.2 that consistent. The zeiss lens on the other hand is a zeiss lens, hard to go wrong there, plus its smaller.

 

[jonmanjiro]

I would go for the Zeiss 1.4, the 1.2 might be nice but the extra speed is very marginal and difficult to use, I didnt find the 1.2 that consistent. The zeiss lens on the other hand is a zeiss lens, hard to go wrong there, plus its smaller.

The AIS 50/1.2 @ f1.2 certainly doesn't reward poor technique 😉

The ZF 50/1.4 is actually not much smaller or lighter than the AIS 50/1.2, and considerably larger and heavier than the AIS 50/1.4. The ZF 50/1.4 is pretty large for a 50/1.4 lens.

Ai-S 50/1.2
Weight - 360g
Length from mount - 47.5mm
Filter size - 52mm
Diameter - 68.5mm
Closest focus - 50cm

ZF 50/1.4
Weight - 330g
Length from mount - 45mm
Filter size - 58mm
Diameter - 66mm
Closest focus - 45cm

Ai-S 50/1.4
Weight - 250g
Length from mount - 40mm
Filter size - 52mm
Diameter - 63mm
Closest focus - 45cm

The Zeiss lens is a Zeiss lens, hard to go wrong there. The Nikkor is a Nikkor, hard to go wrong there too. The CV lens is a CV lens, hard to go wrong there as well. If it wasn't for than darn 58mm filter size, I might have sprung for one.

 

[Dfin]

I`d go for the Nikkors, simply on price alone.I bought a 50mm F/1.2 some years ago,s/h 255xxx,can`t fault it,same for the Nikkor 50mm F/1.4.