NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: Airy on July 12, 2020, 00:02:10
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... of shots, not of lenses.
At night, there are better alternatives : the Tamron 45/1.8 comes to mind. But for daytime usage, I always found the Noct quite interesting, and often convincing.
Both shots at f/1.2. Sharpness is adequate, even though the sharpness zone is very thin (and not quite plane).
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Performance near MFD does not drop too sharply. Of course, using the lens wide open under such conditions is near-nonsense, but...
Apertures were f/2, f/2.8, f/1.4, F/2, f/4. There is some noticeable LoCA in the first one, and some blueish fringing against bright backgrounds, but not at a revolting level.
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At mid-distances, the full aperture is more useful, given the combination of subject isolation + vignetting + liquid bokeh. Sorry about the shots, the garden was not the most inspiring place.
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... not to forget one thing : at f/4, it is a brilliant portrait lens esp. for elderly people (high contrast, the wrinkles come out nicely); at f/8 (below), there is no trouble with architecture. By the way, I did not correct the barrel distortion.
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Forgot to tell : all shots taken with my trusty Df and a standard focussing screen + DK17M magnifier. In bright daylight as today, focussing is not an issue, I missed very few. Under dim conditions, ouch...
Reminder: the old Noct is perfectly usable on a Z7 (as I could test in a shop). Alas, I do not own one.
At full aperture, the otherwise excellent 105/1.8 is rarely usable, while the Noct is often usable at 1.2. This is really impressive...
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Forgot to mention - I purchased original rubber hoods (HR-2) for the 50/1.2 and 58/1.2. On the Noct, that hood seems to be a nice fit, as it causes no extra vignetting. The original metal hood was criticized in that respect.
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Even at wide open, the images look sharp enough to me (at least at these image sizes).
The bokeh character looks pleasing. The bokeh of the latest lenses is smooth in general, but I find that their it is so well controlled that it lacks the character.
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Very nice set, indeed a remarkable lens 8)
I was wondering what is D7? ;)
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I was wondering what is D7? ;)
As you would suspect, I read Z7. ;)
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Indeed. Late night posts are prone to such mistakes.
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Indeed. Late night posts are prone to such mistakes.
Off course, i'll correct it. Makes completely sense now ;)
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When using my Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 AIS at f/2 the lens is notably sharper than at f/1.2. I made some exposures from f/1.2 to f/5.6 of this scene and compared. The lens "greatly" improved from f/2. This image: Nikon Df, Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 at f/2 on a tripod. The image was taken December 15th 2019 on a tripod.
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That must be Kristiansund, unmistakeably.
Indeed, at f/2 the aberrations recede a lot, although the transition is less sudden than with the 50/1.2.
Very nice combination of cold and warm light in your photo, by the way.
Could you also post the f/1.2 version, for the sake of comparison?
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Airy, here is the 1.2 shot with the Noct 1.2.
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Looking at both images, you can clearly see the difference in sharpness.
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Indeed, even at low res.
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When using my Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 AIS at f/2 the lens is notably sharper than at f/1.2.
These results should not be too surprising, even for a well corrected lens like the Noct. Very few lenses are perfect wide open, especially lenses of this age and of this speed, so you should expect some aberrations at wide apertures which reduce on stopping down.
Also, the depth of field at f/1.2 is very shallow even at far distances as in the picture above. For example, if the lens was focused on the car, I should expect the fence in the foreground, and the hill in the background to be far enough outside the focus zone to be a little soft. Again, stopping down to f/2 will increase the DoF and render the whole scene more sharply.
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Using the (historical) Noct wide open, we're not looking for perfection, are we :)
Still, f/1.2 is usable under some circumstances, because of the relatively high contrast (much less haze than others) provided by this lens, so the pics still have some punch despite nearly everything being out of focus. I could not find one of my oldest Noct post here, where some forum Member was surprized by the "apparent" sharpness at f/1.2.
I have found this other old thread with some comparisons: https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=7723.0 (https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=7723.0)
Ah, finally found my original thread. See the first two shots, both at f/1.2, that illustrate well this "contrast" story: https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=5780.0 (https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=5780.0)
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I also add the Noct f/4 shot only so you can compare if you like. It's getting better at f/4...
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A funny lens, this Noct. Both pictures were taken minutes apart, f/1.2. No contrast or color tweaks in PP.
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Some more. Df, 58/1.2 at f/2, f/1.4 (3 times), f/2.8 at minimum focussing distance, all handheld of course.
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There is something enchanting about this lens in your hands, Airy.
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Personally, I don’t have anything “wider” than f/2.8. If I would have such a lens, it would be to shoot it wide open, no ? I had an occasion to handle and shoot the Noct f/0.9: waw ! Only for this I would buy a Z. :)
Idem for Leica’s Noctilux 50mm f/0.95. These are genuine masterpieces, even if the applicability is somewhat limited, and return on investment is close to nil ...
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Having used the Noct since 2017, and a couple of 50/1.2 before, I have slightly different views.
As I mostly shoot static subjects with MF lenses, aperture is to me the synonym of DoF. Everything else is taken care of by the wide ISO range provided by the Df.
The Noct provides me with a full range of DoF, according to circumstances. f/1.2 is mostly irrelevant at minimum focussing distance (unless you want everything to be unsharp); f/2.8 seems the bare minimum.
At a distance, subject isolation benefits a lot from f/1.2-f/1.4 (other, similar case: the 105/1.8 AIS wide open also allows such tricks, but bokeh is not so good). When I need more sharpness and DoF, f/4-f/8 is also available and usable with the Noct, despite some field curvature. Besides, the Noct has more barrel distortion than classical fifties, but it is easily corrected if need be (i.e., rarely).
Bottom line, the Noct is a fine all-rounder if you *also* need high subject isolation, but it remains an all-rounder all the same, also because it is rather small and light, compared with contemporary monsters. I can shoot all day and not swap lenses all the time. The Noct is sure not perfect; its main drawback however is price but even so, my non-financial ROI is significant. I wonder what would have happened if it had been produced in higher quantities using machine-grinding for the aspherical front element...
Of course, given the present market where chart-shooters have the say, the old Noct is doomed and will remain a collector item, in most cases.
I'm happy to have found Mr. Rörslett's website, early in my digital photography "career", helping me stay away from charts when considering actual lens usability.
By the way, on my fourth and so far last trip to Japan, I decided to take the Noct with me (together with the Zeiss 25/2) and did not regret it. Another similar setting I frequently use is Nikkor 28/2 + Voigtländer 58/1.4.
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Lovely rendering!A lens that will always be close to my heart.Thank you for sharing! Much appriciated
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Today I took with me the AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G and the AI-S Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2, in order to shoot some shots for comparing. The first shot is with the 1.4G, the second with the 1.2. Both were shot at 2.8, D810 and a tripod, mirror lockup. You out there are the best to compare, but i noticed that the 1.2 render the sky a little more "bluish" or "colder". What do you think?
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Here is the second one ( AI-S Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 at f/2.8 )
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It’s hard to see any difference it’s almost identical, the sky difference is the 4 minutes in time and some rosy clouds
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At f/2.8, I do not expect big differences anyway - all fifites being "good enough" at f/2.8. At wider apertures, you would expect less halos with the newer coatings of the Neo-Noct, as I could see from a tester in Brussels who also owned an '"old" Noct.
Color difference may arise from Auto WB and its reactions to ambient light. Yesterday I experienced such variations (not due to moving lights, probably just a small camera movement). Not very likely in your case, since you used a tripod and car lights most likely did not disturb. Maybe just the sunlight fading away quickly at that time of the day, resulting in more blue in the later shot.
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Df, noct wide open. ISO 360 and 1/60 is always nice to have at night.
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This shot is from January 1st 2014, right after the year of 2013 has turnet to its next. Nikon D300 and the Noct-Nikkor 58mm 1.2 AI-S, f/2.8. In my opinion: great contrast and quite sharp.
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Just got my Noct Nikkor 1.2 AI in the post the other day. It's gorgeous. But I haven't shot Manual for nearly 20 years, so I'm as rusty af (no, not auto focussing ;-) ) right now...
Haven't had much time. I will take it out this weekend.
But went to a local shrine and took a few shots... A couple turned out ok.
The bokeh was as incredible as expected, but I was shocked by just how sharp it is when you nail the focus... Incredible to think that this lens is over 40 years old.
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Enjoy ! hmmm... time to post a few more shots here.
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Noct Nikkor 58mm 1.2 AI on the Nikon 1 V3 with FT1...
155mm equivalent. Waiting for sun up so I can get some shots in the wild.
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Just got my Noct Nikkor 1.2 AI in the post the other day. It's gorgeous. But I haven't shot Manual for nearly 20 years, so I'm as rusty af (no, not auto focussing ;-) ) right now...
Haven't had much time. I will take it out this weekend.
But went to a local shrine and took a few shots... A couple turned out ok.
The bokeh was as incredible as expected, but I was shocked by just how sharp it is when you nail the focus... Incredible to think that this lens is over 40 years old.
Congratulations on your 'new' lens, it's really a nice optic.Field curvature up close can be a challange ;)I like your processing of the images, retaining soft bokeh and fine color tonation
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Wonderfull pictures ! Nice bokeh and right amount of sharpness ! I only have the "new not" 1,4/58 AFSG (not the real thing, I know) and the good old 1,2/50 Ais ...
There's a really nice (mint) Noct 1,2/58 actually on the French "Nikon Passion "site: 3900€ if you can afford it ! I don't know the seller...
www.nikonpassion.com
"Nikon Passion : Communauté Photo Annonces Occasions Photo Achat - Vente Annonces Occasions Photo Annonces Objectifs pour boitiers Nikon (Nikkor, Sigma, Tamron, …) Nikon Noct 58mm 1.2"
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Lille, 7 December. Df, Noct @f/1.2
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And another one at f/2.8