Nkkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S 1001 nights

[richardHaw]

http://nikkor.com/story/0060/

 

[Erik Lund]

Thank you!

[Akira]

Rick, thanks for the reminder!

[Airy]

I went immediately to read it... and others too.

[Roland Vink]

Thanks, that are a good series.
Confirms what I've had listed on my database for years: the 50/1.8 Series-E, AIS pancake, AF and AFD models all have the same optical design (with differences to the coatings)

I still think the "long nose" AI and AIS models are better ...

[Akira]

Thanks, that are a good series.
Confirms what I've had listed on my database for years: the 50/1.8 Series-E, AIS pancake, AF and AFD models all have the same optical design (with differences to the coatings)

I still think the "long nose" AI and AIS models are better ...

Maybe because the tolerance could be different also.  The pancake Ais was originally intended as kit lens for EM instead of Series-E version.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I agree about the "long nose" versions. They are excellent in optical terms, if you pay some attention to the background since the bokeh might not be equally superior. However, the same can be said of most 50 mm lenses.

[Roland Vink]

In my experience, the long nose 50/1.8 has better bokeh than the subject of this thread - smoother centrally, although double-lining appears towards the edges.

[Airy]

I'd anyway look elsewhere if bokeh is the point - Voigt 58/1.4, or Tamron 45/1.8, or Summicron R 50/2, or Zeiss 50/2 all seem to fare better in this field.

[Moritat]

I would certainly agree that the long nose 50mm 1.8 is a terrific lens. Probably one of Nikon's best bang for the buck lens ever. At f2 or smaller, it's about as sharp as the 50mm 1.2 AIS.  Over the years I've had several copies of the 50mm 1.8 E which I considered to have average performance at best.

[Airy]

I'd anyway look elsewhere if bokeh is the point - Voigt 58/1.4, or Tamron 45/1.8, or Summicron R 50/2, or Zeiss 50/2 all seem to fare better in this field.

Just two examples, Voigt 58/1.4 @2.8 and 4.0, respectively. The iron grids are especially "difficult".

[richardHaw]

I got myself an Ai 50/1.8 because of you guys.

The Ai-S longnose is a bit rare here. I might do a test between this Ai longnose and the pancake 50 and see how it goes.

I had a series E almost 10 years ago when I was still living in Singapore and that was a very sharp lens but the bokeh can be a bit abrupt. I regret selling that thing.

[Roland Vink]

The AI-S long-nose is rare in Japan as it was for export only. Its place in Japan was the pancake AI-S 50/1.8 (the subject of the 1001 article) which is why this version is rare internationally.

Unless you need the AI-S version, I would go for the AI long-nose as it is the same optically, it has a longer focus throw and the aperture ring is full-size (on the AI-S the raised grip is reduced from 3 rows to 2 so there is less to grip). The AI was made for all markets so should be easy to find anywhere

[John Geerts]

The AI-S long-nose is rare in Japan as it was for export only. Its place in Japan was the pancake AI-S 50/1.8 (the subject of the 1001 article) which is why this version is rare internationally.

I couldn't find it in Europe after  looking for it for more than a year (2009-2010). In the end I got a (cheap) mint sample from the US.

[Akira]

I also prefer Ai, too, and I actually had one.  The longer focus throw was a treat, especially when focusing in live view or using with mirrorless cameras.

Unlike 105/2.5, the septagonal aperture opening is edgy also on the Ai version.