Gear Talk > Lens Talk

Nikkor 55mm f/1.2, Coatings

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RonVol:
Don't ask me why, but there's something about this lens that got me interested in its history & development.
So interested that I started collecting them and all the different variations.

These images show the different reflections given off by the various elements within different versions of the lens.
While not a technically brilliant way of documenting the changes; you can definitely see a change when multi coatings started being used.

Tristin:
Neat!  I'd be interesting in seeing some comparison scenery images to demonstrate how they different coatings impacted performance.

richardHaw:
http://richardhaw.com/2016/02/06/repair-new-nikkor-55mm-f1-2/

That is my favourite! it is my "magic lens"  ::)

HAW_9088 by mrBabaero, on Flickr

HAW_9035 by mrBabaero, on Flickr

HAW_9042 by mrBabaero, on Flickr

like what i said in my repair blog, when shot wide open, all the flaws of this lens comes together and blends harmoniously to give you an image with an endearing quality. yin and yang are one  :o :o :o

HAW_9117 by mrBabaero, on Flickr

at f/2, this lens is just amazing  ::)

by the way, the more colors you see, the more coatings were used (multi-coatead). NIC and SIC

null:
That is interesting- this lens went through some changes.

I've read that the optical formula was changed "ever so slightly" going from the 55/1.2 Nikkor-SC to the 55/1.2 Ai to accommodate the closer focus of the latter. I can "imagine" Nikon slightly repositioning the groups to change optimization. Have you noted that in your collection?

The 1976 Pop Photo test of the multicoated version of this lens rated it as a true F1.2 and a T1.25. As per the test, over the center 2/3rds of the image it was slightly better than the 50/1.4.

nikona by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Mongo:
Ron, the stuff you have posted is really interesting and a great reference. Not sure if others do but Mongo has for a very long time often judged/guessed the age of a lens by its coating (apart form other more standard features). Mongo has one of these lenses but must confess he does not use it much at all. He finds it too soft wide open and has to stop down to nearly  f4 to get results he wants, so he finds there is little point having an f1.2 aperture if you use it at f2.8 and above. This is just Mongo's experience and notes that others have not had this issue or do not mind it.

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