NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: Birna Rørslett on February 07, 2024, 10:05:30
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... it is a NoNikkor :)
Away from my digs at present, however when I return this firstcoming Friday, the NoNikkor 35mm f/1.4 in native Z mount awaits me.
I'l report my findings as soon as I have tested the lens.
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For what its worth!
https://radojuva.com/en/2023/10/nonikkor-mc-35-mm-1-4-1980s-artralab-hong-kong-review/ (https://radojuva.com/en/2023/10/nonikkor-mc-35-mm-1-4-1980s-artralab-hong-kong-review/)
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We can safely assumpy the makers have seen the original look of the Nikkors from the '80s :)
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The *real* thing Nikkor-N 35mm f/1.4 (on Df) vs. Artralab Nonikkor 35mm f/1.4 on the Zf. The difference in size is striking. However, the Nonikkor is no lightweight lens and feels rather heavy (287 g), so must be a metal construction inside.
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The size is reasonable (I wish it were more frequently the case) and the pics shown on radojuva.com are generally pleasant. However they do not tell a lot about behaviour in backlit situations (I saw one case of significant flare in the pics shown) and for night shots.
Awaiting to see Birna's conclusions.
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In terms of external appearance, this Lens - ZF combination is the most harmonious for me.
Hopefully the internal visual combination can follow?
Very curious about Birna's results.
Cheers Michael
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This not a Nikkor -- surprise surprise :) A few general comments follow below.
The lens is nice once you get the practice of focusing a manual lens, and remember to set aperture the 'right' way. i.e. with the aperture ring. I did a lot of boring comparison shooting today, with the Nonikkor pitted against the Nikkor-N 35mm f/1.4 AIS, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 S-Line Z, and Nikkor 40mm f/2 SE Z in visible and IR.
In terms of sheer sharpness, all Nikkors mentioned above are at least equal or better at all aperture settings. Wide open, the Nonikkor isn't the sharpest optic to be had, but many subjects or settings still will be fine with its outcome. When these lenses are stopped down to f/4 or more, the differences can be pretty small though. The Nonikkor has a slightly 'warmer' rendition, probably due to the slight yellow tint of the optics, and image contrast is lower as well. Chromatic aberrations were in general low and won't be a problem even for contrasty subjects.
I found the Nonikkor to be a nice performer for IR as it joins the (very) short list of native Z lenses without troublesome IR hotspots.
I'll have the lens with me when I depart for Spain later this month.
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I'll write up an extensive review later, but some aspects of the Nonikkor deserves being mentioned already.
As stated previously, the Nonikkor fares well in IR. In fact, even though the Nikkors in general are sharper lenses, the Nonikkor is perhaps the better performer in IR even compared to the Nikkor 40mm f/2 SE Z. At f/11 and f/16, it is clearly sharper in IR than the Nikkors and if there is any hot spot, it can hardly be noticed. The 35mm f/1.8Z starts hot spotting already past f/5.6 and is unusable at f/16 due to this, although sharpness is still quite good. The 40/2 is better than the Nonikkor in IR at f/2 by a small margin, but the differences even out and as I already mentioned, the Nonikkor is better at the smaller apertures. 'the 40/2 might occasionally deliver a slight hot spot fully stopped down, but the issue is minor. Do note that the Nonikkor has significant focus shifts across the aperture range thus needs to be focused at the final aperture setting to give best results.
I had hoped the Nonikkor was useable for IR and am quite pleased with the findings so far.
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This is the Nonikkor 35mm f/1.4 set wide open. Camera is Zf.
The result looks quite OK to my eyes. Not the fierce temper of the 35mm f/1.4 Nikkor-N to overcome. Not the slickness of the 35mm f/1.8 Nikkor Z S-Line. However, just good and buttery smooth image coherence. Nice bokeh as well.
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Congratulations on the new lens! Also, thank you for the early report on performance ;)
Very vintage looking set indeed 8)
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A few more examples taken at f/1.4 with the Nonikkor. Up close there is very little vignetting, however the image corners start darken perceptibly as focus goes farther away and at infinity the vignetting is pretty obvious. The lens needs to be stopped down a few clicks if a more flat-field like response is required.
(the last example had 1/6400 sec exposure time thus shows the flickering of the LED lights of the EV charging poles in the background)
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When focus goes to near infinity, vignetting is clearly present at f/1.4. Stopping down to f/4 helps a lot and by f/5.6-8 is hardly detectable any longer.
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oooh...thee bokeh hurts my eyes :o :o :o a bit too rough for me...
but it's sharp ::)
how do you find the quality control?
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The external finish and workmanship appear quite good. Legends are engraved, not painted on. And so on.
The chrome plating of the bayonet is shiny and reveals this is not a Nikkor, exactly as the lens name indicates!
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The optical design resembles that of Leica Summilux 35/1.4 for the M-mount, and the bokeh rendition also suggests its vintage design. Interesting.
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it looks liket the nikkor K outlooking when I see the rubber ring grid , personally I like the AI and AI-S grid looking
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The optical design resembles that of Leica Summilux 35/1.4 for the M-mount, and the bokeh rendition also suggests its vintage design. Interesting.
When I looked at the optical schematic on their website I thought that looked like the 1.4 35 Summilux which was a lens I always wanted to own. But recently I saw a comparison of that lens with the 35 1.4 Ais Nikkor and was happy to see that the Nikkor was sharper than the Summilx which was nice to hear because I own the Nikkor and it’s one of my favourites. It has helped me to overcome my Leica GAS which I have had since my youth but I went the Nikon route which now that I’ve gone mirrorless has proved to be a good decision after all. I still miss my 50 1.5 Summarit and one day I may pull the trigger and buy one. But not the Leica.:)
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When I looked at the optical schematic on their website I thought that looked like the 1.4 35 Summilux which was a lens I always wanted to own. But recently I saw a comparison of that lens with the 35 1.4 Ais Nikkor and was happy to see that the Nikkor was sharper than the Summilx which was nice to hear because I own the Nikkor and it’s one of my favourites. It has helped me to overcome my Leica GAS which I have had since my youth but I went the Nikon route which now that I’ve gone mirrorless has proved to be a good decision after all. I still miss my 50 1.5 Summarit and one day I may pull the trigger and buy one. But not the Leica.:)
Another lens with the optical design similar to the first version of Summilux 35/1.4 is Cosina/Voigtländer Nokton Classic 40/1,4. On the other hand, the optical design of Cosina/Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35/1.4 is rather similar to the first version of Summicron-M 35/2.0 (so-called 8-element Summicron).
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Another lens with the optical design similar to the first version of Summilux 35/1.4 is Cosina/Voigtländer Nokton Classic 40/1,4. On the other hand, the optical design of Cosina/Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35/1.4 is rather similar to the first version of Summicron-M 35/2.0 (so-called 8-element Summicron).
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Sorry, hit post before I started typing.
That 40 1.4 Voightlander lens was the lens I was really interested in. Especially because of the size and focal length being between 35 and 50, a kind of sweet spot. But now I own the 40 mm F2 Z lens and love that lens because of its focal length and its rendering. I use it on my Zfc as a long normal and enjoy it there too. Although using it on my Z5 with its original intention. I’m glad Nikon finally opted to use that focal length and from what I can see. It’s been a pretty popular lens .
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Sorry, hit post before I started typing.
That 40 1.4 Voightlander lens was the lens I was really interested in. Especially because of the size and focal length being between 35 and 50, a kind of sweet spot. But now I own the 40 mm F2 Z lens and love that lens because of its focal length and its rendering. I use it on my Zfc as a long normal and enjoy it there too. Although using it on my Z5 with its original intention. I’m glad Nikon finally opted to use that focal length and from what I can see. It’s been a pretty popular lens .
Good for you to find a favorite lens anyway.
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