Search ImagingPixel for Images by Camera or Lens

Monday, January 8, 2018

Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4, Vintage Lens Test, Take I

Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4, Vintage Lens Test, Take I 01
Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4, Vintage Lens Test, Take I 02
Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4, Vintage Lens Test, Take I 03
Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4, Vintage Lens Test, Take I 04
Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4, Vintage Lens Test, Take I 05
Image making with a Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4, the superhero of lowlight photography.
<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The 50mm 1:1.4 is the superhero for lowlight photography, a must for indoor sports, an essential for street photography, a norm for travel and adventure, an extreme closeups lens with a reverse adapter, and a superb portrait lens on crop-sensor digital cameras.

The legacy Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 Ai-S by Nikon is no different, affordable by comparison (to current standards), and is one of the few manual focus lenses left in Nikon's lens line-up. Performance is said to be almost at the top of the line. Though reportedly to be pretty weak at f/1.4, the lens improves considerably when stopped down to f/2.

Nikkor Ai-S 50mm 1:1.4, View
Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4

On a DX-sized or a 1.5 crop-sensor DSLR, the lens becomes a 75mm equivalent, which is more of a portrait lens than a nifty-fifty prime. On the 2x crop-sensor Olympus E-P5, the lens is equivalent to a 100mm short telephoto lens. The lens is built of all metal and glass the lens is the ultimate build quality.

Olympus E-P5, Nikkor Ai-S 50mm 1:1.4
Olympus E-P5, Nikon Ai-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4

Quite hefty in size when compared to Olympus's M4/3 lenses, the lens is about 70mm long when fitted with an adapter to the camera, and it weighs in at 250 grams which does add to the weight of the setup. The lens, however, is a pleasure to use, the focus ring is buttery smooth and can be moved with one finger, and the aperture stops are sharp and sure.



Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories.
Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular on ImagingPixel