Nikon 50mm f/1.2 Nikkor AI-S 35mm Primes
Nikon 50mm f/1.2 Nikkor AI-S 35mm Primes
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[Dec 03, 2005]
nikon_junkie
Intermediate
Strength:
speed
Weakness:
manual focus, weight I only used this lense a short while, but I liked it very much. It's a fat and heavy little bugger and larger than the 50mm f/1.4 AF version. There was nothing in performance that would keep me from buying or using the lense again. I just like the speed and simplicity of autofocus. |
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[Jun 17, 2005]
RRoss
Expert
Strength:
Fast, sharp, colour balance, excellent construction, nice looking.
Weakness:
Heavy? Very expensive new. This lens looks wonderful, is beautifully made and performs wonderfully well under almost all conditions. Its speed is a real bonus, bright viewfinder image and useful in poor light and for selective focus. It amazes me that some users say that this lens is 'soft'! Even fully open it can be tack sharp but focusing is crtical, because of the very limited depth of field. Colour rendition, if correctly exposed, is superb. A wonderful lens! Similar Products Used: Prime 'standard' lenses from Canon, Contax (Zeiss) SLR and G, Leica M (Elmar [beautiful!] and Summicron) and R, Minolta and medium format Mamiya (80mm) |
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[Dec 10, 2004]
Discpad
Professional
Strength:
You can capture shots otherwise unobtainable with other lenses
Weakness:
Exposes any focal plane misalignment... No AF-d model available!! Actually, I have its' predecessor, the 55mm Nikkor f/1.2 AI/S. I use it on my N90s and (especially) my Fuji S1 Pro dSLR with fantastic results, scooping up night racing shots with the minimum 320 ISO of the S1 Pro and f/1.2 aperture with no blue channel noise. MOst of the complaints in the reviews below regarding sharpness are simply focus problems (user error), or, as I've seen, the short depth-of-field (DOF) exacerbating camera body misalignment, where the focal plane of the film differs from the focal plane of the focusing screen. In other words, when I shot a tape measure at a 30 degree incline with the aperture at f/1.2 and distance scale set at 6 feet (~2M), the DOF was only about 3 inches. Basically, when the lens is wide open, the short D.O.F. shows up any alignment inaccuracies otherwise not visible at smaller apertures. This has become my favorite lens for ambient light shooting, as I can use a higher shutter speed for overall sharpness. Customer Service N/A Similar Products Used: Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-d, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF-d |
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[Aug 29, 2003]
Jacques
Intermediate
Strength:
speed. the pictures i got from this lens is almost always soft given i only used it only when i have to, under low light condition. i got a nikon series e 50mm 1.8 for the day, the 1.2 lens is used exclusively with fuji cu1600 or press 800 for night work. this lens can be adequately sharp when used at f4 and slower. i believed the reason why this lens has a poor reputation for wide open sharpness is simply because the way it is meant to be used: handheld. Handheld pictures are almost never as sharp as a tripod mounted shots, and this lens will almost never be used wide open on a tripod :). but if you do, you would be surprised by its sharpness and unbelievably smooth bokeh.
Weakness:
significant curvature of field, and barrel distortion makes it unsuitable for straight line work. coma and ghosting can sometime be very obvious in low light shots esp when there is a point source in a picture dominated by dark areas. I am sure the reason why people get this lens is not because it is the most 'sanely' expensive normal nikkor, if som they would have gone for the noct nikkor. The reason is to snatch a picture, a usable picture under low light conditions where a slower lens would not suffice. Customer Service none. Similar Products Used: numerous 50 from marque manufacturer. all normals are good. |
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[Jun 18, 2003]
JavierBlas
Professional
Strength:
Construction, speed
Weakness:
Soft when wide-open The picture is too soft when wide-open (1.2), but sharp if you close 4 or 5.6. If you don't need really a speedly lens, maybe you could think in the nikon 50 f1.4 or, better, f1.8. But at night time or in critical circustances, the nikkor 50 f1.2 could save your pictures. Some time ago, I have to photograph in really dificult light without flash (I was a interview in Iraq with a minister and my minder say not flash) The 1.2 save my pictures. Similar Products Used: 50 1.8 |
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[Jan 14, 2003]
Y Geoffrey
Intermediate
Strength:
Build quality Fast Very bright for manual focus
Weakness:
Price Too soft Coma The picture is too soft when wide-open. Stop down to f/5.6 or smaller aperture for sharp image. Obvious coma if pointed towards light source. OK for portrait. The 50mm 1.8 AF-D is much sharper and cheaper. Customer Service N/A Similar Products Used: 24mm 2.8 AI, 50mm 1.8 AF-D, 85mm 1.4 AF, 80-200mm 2.8 AF-ED |
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[Sep 27, 2002]
Daniel Lindsay
Expert
Strength:
Like nearly all manual focus AIS Nikkor lenses, the 50mm f/1.2 is a bulletproof lens, made of the best material and with keen attention to detail in assembly. I find their workmanship nearly second to none,--save Leica. It's a fairly light lens for an f/1.2, and it's priced too terribly bad.
Weakness:
Like any lens (nearly) that opens up to such a fast opening, this 50 is subject to contrast reduction and flair by too much light bouncing around in there. I've done head to head conparisons of this lens to others of mine (more than one sample) and found it soft, prone to image damaging flair, and thus not to my liking. Nikon's 50mm f/1.2 AIS grew out of the need for a little more speed in the 1970s. Their previous lens, the 55mm f/1.2 was fairly soft and the newer design benefitted by improved coatings and years of experience with other lens designs. But did Nikon get it right this time? Customer Service They're always helpful to me! Similar Products Used: Nikon 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor S Nikon 58mm f/1.2 Noct-Nikkor AIS Nikon 55mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor Zoom-Nikkor 43~86mm f/3.5 |
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[Jul 03, 2001]
C. Liu
Intermediate
Strength:
Rugged, extremely sharp lens. Great color rendition.
Weakness:
None I bought this lens from e-bay. After using it for some times, I will have to rate this lens with a five star rating. If you like true color rendition, a sharp picture corner to corner, this is the one. Though I have to say this lens much performs better in close range than infinite. For landscape photo, the picture is just above average. Customer Service None needed Similar Products Used: Nikon 60mm Micro. 24-50mm, 80-800 ED. |
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[Jul 18, 2001]
Tyler Pierce
Intermediate
Strength:
Fast.
Weakness:
A little soft wide open, so why bother? I've tried several of Nikon's 50mm lenses. The 50mm 1.2 AIS has the best build quality, but the 50mm 1.8 AF is the best performer overall. The 50mm 1.4 AF-D is the compromise, but why pay more? You can afford to break the cheap 1.8 AF and buy a replacement for the price of the others. The 1.2 version, while great, doesn't give you that much more for the money. It feels better in the hand, but it's the picture that counts. Customer Service None needed. Similar Products Used: Nikon 50mm 1.8 AIS |
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[Aug 13, 2001]
Ian Barringer
Intermediate
Strength:
FAST! Very sharp.
Weakness:
Severe coma wide open. Contrast not quite up to other Nikons. An excellent lens, with good resolution and color rendition. However, you're paying for the wide-open, low-light performance, which is less than spectacular - pinpoint light sources on the periphery exhibit severe coma ("smearing" of the image), and lens is generally more prone to flare than its Nikon peers. These problems generally disappear by f2.8. While I am fond of this lens, I don't love it like my 28mm and 135mm lenses, and would buy the 50mm f1.4 AIS for half the price and live without that extra 1/3 stop. Similar Products Used: Nikon 50mm 1.4 AIS |