Author Topic: Is the Neo-Noct a sharp lens? Discussing the AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4  (Read 12001 times)

richardHaw

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"not to like it" ?

The prince of typos is wondering.

sorry, hay fever medication is making me drowsy  :o :o :o

David H. Hartman

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sorry, hay fever medication is making me drowsy  :o :o :o

I usually have to make several goes at a post to get it right. I find typos and cut & paste errors in things I've written months back.

Dave
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OCD

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Chambeshi and David:  Thank you for the links!


OCD

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Thanks for the link - that article makes for an enjoyable read. Great photos too :-) Another endorsement for the Neo-Noct is from David Yarrow, described as his Desert Island lens

I think it would be my Desert Island lens too, although I would be trying to smuggle a 28 with me as well, lol.

David H. Hartman

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A thought for the impoverished who might want to use an AF-S 58/1.4G neo-NOCT for candids, street and night photography: if you have a 50/1.8G and a high MP camera you can stand the same distance as you would with a 58mm lens using a 50mm (really 51.6mm) and shoot wide open. Later you crop a bit and all or almost all is well. No this won't help with coma (sagittal coma flare) but that's life in the slow lane. 

Dave Hartman who wonders how many here like bats and their wings?

Should "sagittal" remind me of trigonometry and analytical geometry i took long ago?
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David H. Hartman

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I'm sure most here know this but for those who forget sharpness is much about texture and light that reveals it. A photograph of a church by Ansel Adams taught me this many years ago. The church was white with wood siding. It looked as though it had recently been painted however the wood siding was weathered and so the surface of the church was rich in texture.

A lens with high resolution and low local contrast will give an image that doesn't look so sharp. A lens with moderate resolution and high local contrast can give an image that looks very sharp. Light that bushes across a textured surface with reveal that texture.

Finally smart sharpening with a very small radius like 0.3 pixels can trick the eye into seeing a sharper image while heavy sharpening with a larger radius can destroy data and reduce resolution.

Dave who needs a sharper image but can't afford one.
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chambeshi

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don't know if anybody mentioned this.
I vaguely recall the lens designer (Sato-san) mentioning that this lens is a homage to the 58/1.4 (https://richardhaw.com/2017/06/20/repair-nikkor-s-5-8cm-f1-4-auto/) :o :o :o

the lens wasn't calculated for sharpness but for pleasing rendering. I talked to the designer and he had the rendering of human skin in mind when he calculated this. it is a very bold move by Nikon to make such a lens in modern times where MTF charts are all the rage.

I failed to appreciate the lens when it came out but apart from not affording it, i can see no reason not to dislike it.
I have the greatest respect and gratitude to Sato-San - and his team - for pursuing the concept of this remarkable optic (and others) through to completion :-) It's clear from the interview that new technology (namely OPTIA) and injection molding the aspherical elements. but passion and commitment to realise the ideal stand apart
https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/interview/621449.html

Looking forward to 1001 Nights essay on the 58 f1.4G !!

Airy

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A thought for the impoverished who might want to use an AF-S 58/1.4G neo-NOCT for candids, street and night photography: if you have a 50/1.8G and a high MP camera you can stand the same distance as you would with a 58mm lens using a 50mm (really 51.6mm) and shoot wide open. Later you crop a bit and all or almost all is well. No this won't help with coma (sagittal coma flare) but that's life in the slow lane. 

The 50/1.8G is pretty good, as far as coma is concerned (I made a few quick tests involving point light sources and point reflections near the edges). Your suggestion is far from being ridiculous.
Airy Magnien

chambeshi

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Re: Is the Neo-Noct a sharp lens? Discussing the AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4
« Reply #53 on: November 10, 2019, 11:50:33 »
A Cornucopia of reviews, comparisons and more of the Neo-Noct

https://nikonrashii.wordpress.com/af-s-nikkor-58mm-f-1-4g/

At this time a link to this interview with Sato San (the original is since awol from the Nikon Technology series):

https://nikonrashii.wordpress.com/af-s-nikkor-58mm-f-1-4g/