so true, initially my camera did not come with the right focusing screen - I ended up buying the new screen... sadly cost around $80 on ebay. I think its called the type K2. Huge improvement and able to get sharp images at very wide open apertures
I have a copy of the 55mm 1.2, 55 years old, but I haven't used it in ages. It was poor at 1.2, but by 2.0, it was quite good, and I got some great shots with it, almost always on Kodachrome 25.
I heard that is an amazing lens - probably a lot better than the 55 F1.2 from what I have read. For my Nikon ZF I have the Voightlander 50mm F2 APO - amazing perfect sharpness and character
The primary reason for nifty fifty big aperture lenses is to make the viewfinder as bright as possible for accurate focus. The best aperture for maximum image quality on any lens is at least a couple of stops from wide open. The DSLR wars of the 1970s and 1980s saw the arrival of f1.2 lenses more for a "halo effect" that conditioned buyers into the belief that, if a manufacture had a flagship camera wearing a 50/55 f1.2 lens, then any or the more humble cameras in that range wore the gloss of that spec. And so thusly I ended up purchasing a Nikon EM based on the glow of the reputation of some great Nikons of the era. And no sooner having pushed my first roll of film through this camera, a roll of Kodak 25 ASA/ISO Panatomix - X monochrome film, than one of my photos was published in the leading local daily newspaper. All from a $239, entry level Nikon that no-one took seriously! It didn't have an exotic 55/1.2 lens, just a humble, uncoated/less coated 50mm/1.8. The irony for me in purchasing a Nikon EM as my first DSLR is that the "pancake" 50mm/f1.8 that was supplied with the EM was considered a "poor man's" Nikon glass (it wasn't even given the name of Nikkor but the more prosaic "Nikon Series E" moniker, just to reinforce the budget nature of the lens), yet in the passage of time that humble 50mm/f1.8 has become a popular fixture on digital cameras as an under-rated yet brilliant performer. It seems Nikon could not bring themselves to make a cheap nifty fifty, but just pretended they did. Lucky for me, I still have my EM and that lens, so now I play vintage lens games without the need for adapters on my Nikon D5300. My other Series E lens I still possess is the legendary 75-150 f3.5, which on my D5300 has a crop facctor of 1.5, thus making this lens a 112.5mm - 225mm f3.5, a very useful vintage lens, made more useful with the fitting some time ago of a CPU kit that takes this manual lens and makes it an electronic metering lens for auto exposure. So whilst people lust after the acreage of glass found on the front of 1.2 and 1.4 lenses, those of us who pursue image quality over "measurebating" are busily generating quality images on less glamourous lenses using real-life sweet-spot apertures of f4/f5.6/f8.
I heard that the old 50 1.8 lens you are speaking about is a great one to have. I love the creamy DOF from the fast lenses for my portraits - even though they might not be sharp. thanks for sharing
I have the earlier 55/1.2 non-AI, and I love it. Mine is so old it says Nippon Kogaku instead of Nikon. 5/5 for anything organic like people, animals, and plants, 2/5 for anything else.
The further away from the subject of focus "the wider the DOF area is (for that subject)" then You can enlarge and make the subject larger :) Nikon since 1967 :) Best of luck !!!! Use Your modern Z Lenses n Z Camera for faster moving subjects (No Good reason to miss the shot) :) :) I subscribed and will follow Your Nikon Stuff..... :) :) :)
thanks - ya I dont know what it is other than to say the process of manual focus and film is fun. Obviously cant compare to the new Z lenses for sharpness or the new cameras for resolution ect. On a recent trip I used mostly my 24-70 Z F4 - convenient on the ZF But took the old film camera and 18-35 D lens
@@StrategyByLuke I was a Photojournalist in 69' n Freelance till recently .. What people think of Film is a long subject (not for typing) :) :) I now prefer Mirrorless Now n some old Nikkor lenses (Over 30 never sold any) I still document Life n Travel n Portraits of all kinds.... Many 10s of thousands of rolls of film is enough..... Digital is My Choice (why make it harder???) Best of all to You n Yours :) :) :)
@@StrategyByLuke My Friend in photography :) I shot and developed and printed FILM (maybe longer than You have been on earth) As a Professional Photog.... If You use DIGITAL You can go as fast or slow as You want to (not a good reason to spend money on analog) !!!!!
My Friend in photography :) I shot and developed and printed FILM (maybe longer than You have been on earth) As a Professional Photog.... If You use DIGITAL You can go as fast or slow as You want to (not a good reason to spend money on analog) !!!!!
Aww, c'mon. In the film era, the Nikon cameras focused at maximum aperture. The main feature of this lens is it improved the ability to focus in low ambient light conditions. It was never intended to be good at wide-open aperture.
Ground glass focusing screen is all you need. Remember that. Nikon shooter since 1983.
so true, initially my camera did not come with the right focusing screen - I ended up buying the new screen... sadly cost around $80 on ebay. I think its called the type K2. Huge improvement and able to get sharp images at very wide open apertures
I have a copy of the 55mm 1.2, 55 years old, but I haven't used it in ages. It was poor at 1.2, but by 2.0, it was quite good, and I got some great shots with it, almost always on Kodachrome 25.
dust it off and give it a try, even if just for some memories
Looks interesting Luke.
The Voigtlander 58 mm / 1:1.4 Nokton SL II - S, would also serve my purposes for film, on my Nikon Nikomat camera.
I heard that is an amazing lens - probably a lot better than the 55 F1.2 from what I have read. For my Nikon ZF I have the Voightlander 50mm F2 APO - amazing perfect sharpness and character
The primary reason for nifty fifty big aperture lenses is to make the viewfinder as bright as possible for accurate focus. The best aperture for maximum image quality on any lens is at least a couple of stops from wide open.
The DSLR wars of the 1970s and 1980s saw the arrival of f1.2 lenses more for a "halo effect" that conditioned buyers into the belief that, if a manufacture had a flagship camera wearing a 50/55 f1.2 lens, then any or the more humble cameras in that range wore the gloss of that spec. And so thusly I ended up purchasing a Nikon EM based on the glow of the reputation of some great Nikons of the era. And no sooner having pushed my first roll of film through this camera, a roll of Kodak 25 ASA/ISO Panatomix - X monochrome film, than one of my photos was published in the leading local daily newspaper. All from a $239, entry level Nikon that no-one took seriously! It didn't have an exotic 55/1.2 lens, just a humble, uncoated/less coated 50mm/1.8.
The irony for me in purchasing a Nikon EM as my first DSLR is that the "pancake" 50mm/f1.8 that was supplied with the EM was considered a "poor man's" Nikon glass (it wasn't even given the name of Nikkor but the more prosaic "Nikon Series E" moniker, just to reinforce the budget nature of the lens), yet in the passage of time that humble 50mm/f1.8 has become a popular fixture on digital cameras as an under-rated yet brilliant performer. It seems Nikon could not bring themselves to make a cheap nifty fifty, but just pretended they did. Lucky for me, I still have my EM and that lens, so now I play vintage lens games without the need for adapters on my Nikon D5300. My other Series E lens I still possess is the legendary 75-150 f3.5, which on my D5300 has a crop facctor of 1.5, thus making this lens a 112.5mm - 225mm f3.5, a very useful vintage lens, made more useful with the fitting some time ago of a CPU kit that takes this manual lens and makes it an electronic metering lens for auto exposure.
So whilst people lust after the acreage of glass found on the front of 1.2 and 1.4 lenses, those of us who pursue image quality over "measurebating" are busily generating quality images on less glamourous lenses using real-life sweet-spot apertures of f4/f5.6/f8.
I heard that the old 50 1.8 lens you are speaking about is a great one to have. I love the creamy DOF from the fast lenses for my portraits - even though they might not be sharp. thanks for sharing
I have the earlier 55/1.2 non-AI, and I love it. Mine is so old it says Nippon Kogaku instead of Nikon. 5/5 for anything organic like people, animals, and plants, 2/5 for anything else.
thats a good way to describe the rating scale
The further away from the subject of focus "the wider the DOF area is (for that subject)" then You can enlarge and make the subject larger :) Nikon since 1967 :) Best of luck !!!! Use Your modern Z Lenses n Z Camera for faster moving subjects (No Good reason to miss the shot) :) :) I subscribed and will follow Your Nikon Stuff..... :) :) :)
thanks - ya I dont know what it is other than to say the process of manual focus and film is fun. Obviously cant compare to the new Z lenses for sharpness or the new cameras for resolution ect. On a recent trip I used mostly my 24-70 Z F4 - convenient on the ZF But took the old film camera and 18-35 D lens
@@StrategyByLuke I was a Photojournalist in 69' n Freelance till recently .. What people think of Film is a long subject (not for typing) :) :) I now prefer Mirrorless Now n some old Nikkor lenses (Over 30 never sold any) I still document Life n Travel n Portraits of all kinds.... Many 10s of thousands of rolls of film is enough..... Digital is My Choice (why make it harder???) Best of all to You n Yours :) :) :)
Digital is amazing, I think the process of slowing down has been fun and also in using old precision analogue equipment. Thanks for your comment
@@StrategyByLuke My Friend in photography :) I shot and developed and printed FILM (maybe longer than You have been on earth) As a Professional Photog.... If You use DIGITAL You can go as fast or slow as You want to (not a good reason to spend money on analog) !!!!!
My Friend in photography :) I shot and developed and printed FILM (maybe longer than You have been on earth) As a Professional Photog.... If You use DIGITAL You can go as fast or slow as You want to (not a good reason to spend money on analog) !!!!!
Digital gives you freedom, but there's something special about film's process.
Aww, c'mon. In the film era, the Nikon cameras focused at maximum aperture. The main feature of this lens is it improved the ability to focus in low ambient light conditions. It was never intended to be good at wide-open aperture.
Still really good at F 1.4 - not bad at all. Really good by F2