What's Your Favorite Vintage Nikkor "BOKEH" Lens?

[Birna Rørslett]

According to my data base record, f/2.8.

[Robert Camfield]

Birna,

Thanks for clarifying...I calculate that at f2.8, the depth of field for the 200mm at 16 meters focusing distance, is 130 centimeters based on Nikon's circle of confusion criteria for depth of field.

It's a beautiful photo...Robert 

[Birna Rørslett]

It's the rain that makes most of the mood difference compared to photos of the same birch grove shot a little earlier that day.

[Birna Rørslett]

Another bokeh champion of the past, already mentioned, is the industrial 55mm f/1.2 Nikkor-O (CRT) lens in 39mm Leica thread mount.

Attached to the Z6 without a short helicoid, it is pushed into close to its design operating range (here 1:3, design is for 1:4.4). That makes it quite sharp across the entire frame and of course, at f/1.2, everything outside the razor-thin zone of acceptable focus is awash in bokeh blurs.

On the other hand, if put on a short helicoid on the Z system, it will reach infinity focus, but then only the on-axis centre is sharp and image quality elsewhere is - put mildly - 'not sharp'. Yet on a DX/Z camera it can  be useful even under such abuse.

[f4-fan]

Micro Nikkor 105mm f/4 (ai-s)
Micro Nikkor 105mm 1:4 (ai-s) + Nikkor-P 105mm 1:4
Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 Ai-s

other:
Ricoh GR 3 at close range
Zeiss Macroplanar 100mm f/2.0
Zeiss Milvus 35mm 1.4 (at close range and medium distance)
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2

++++

[Toby]

Another with really wonderful bokeh (not too crazy but with character) is the Ultra Micro Nikkor 165mm f4.

[F2F3F6]

Very nice Toby, sharp subject and soft background ! Nice rendering and bokeh, indeed !

Must be a heavy lens, no ?

[Toby]

Yes, 82mm filter thread and built like a tank. Probably about 1.5 kilos. Given that it is f4, you can see just how little of the lens is being used. I'm sure that's how they achieve a light falloff value of 0%.