Nikkor 58mm f/1.4 AFS The New Noct-Nikkor

[Martin Zimelka]

Thanks for the comments!

Night out shots from Copenhagen must wait

Here are the first image in the series I shot of the church with the castle in the back ground, before I started to include the leaves for foreground.
Shot at 1.4 on D3X...
No PP at all, no CA correction or the like, except a normal sharpening
First the whole image resized
Center of the frame at 100%
then the far sides of the frame at 100% on the left the floaters for the regatta are clearly defined all the way to the edge not much else to add, it's a impressive capture wide open, sore the Zeiss Othus is capable of surpassing this lens in numbers, but does it add anything...
Very pleasing rendering IMHO!
Obviously there is no issue at all with field curvature in this capture, on close to the near focus limit there is a nice curved convex field curvature very similar to the old Noct Nikkor!
Up really close on a small extension tube the image breaks up slightly in the corners and at the edge of the frame but it does so in a very nice transition.
I tend to shoot wide open or stopped down to f/5.6 for a nice dof over the image plane.

If you need corner to corner flat field close up and medium distances the by all means go with the Micro Nikkor 60mm AFS f/2.8 it's a tool made for it also with very nice background rendering.

Thanks so much, Erik.
That is a very reasonable result at 1.4 I would definitely be more than happy with such results...

I don't need a flat field, however, in this case I would prefer to know the lens' behaviour ahead of time. No try before you buy option for me this time...

I really hope it pans out that this lens will find a home in my bag... lets see. I've never really bonded with the AF-S 60/2.8 Micro. The sample available to me has average performance, surpassed by my AF-D 50/1.8 for resolving details at infinity. Bad sample of the AFS 60 vs a really good 50/1.8? 

[Martin Zimelka]

Turns out I found an Authorised Nikon Partner retailer in Switzerland, that has both the lens in stock and has it currently on special for 1530 CHF (down from 1700)!
So my Uncle will go round tomorrow and buy one  Super excited   

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Good on you to have found a real situation to which "Family value(s)" applies.  An avuncular fringe benefit.

Erik loves his AFS 58 and keeps telling me this on every occasion. So far I have kept my old and trustworthy Noct-Nikkor with no plans of an upgrade, however once in a while borrowed his 58 G for IR work.

[Martin Zimelka]

Well, I'm back home, and I'm delighted with the AF-S 58/1.4.
The majority of reviews online have not done it justice, and I'm consequently more impressed than I though I would be.

It's certainly not a un-sharp lens. At least, it's plenty good on my D810 at f/1.4. It certainly has an unusual/unique (for me) focus transition from foreground to background.
Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to focus on taking pics during my stay in Cape Town as it was more about family, however, I have a few images I'll post here from the trip...

One of the very first images I've taken...

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Martin, your flower pictures show off the 58 and its optical properties to good advantage. Also confirms my observation that the new 58 has much less field curvature than the Noct at closer distance.

[Erik Lund]

Two very nicely framed shots, very deep vibrant colors, the transitions in color and sharpness is really pleasing!

[Martin Zimelka]

Thank you.
I haven't quite figured out the filed curvature, as it increases the closer one focuses, and even then it doesn't seem like much...

As for colour and contrast, the lens is quite vibrant and contrasty. As is my newly acquired AFS 28/1.8. Both lenses have a much different look than what I'm used to.
I use the Huelight colour profiles for the D810, and use either Low or the Neutral profile... the images have had only minor adjustments.

Here are some more images...

[pluton]

The imaging qualities of this lens look great in these [800 pixel]JPEGs.

[Frank Fremerey]

Lots of nice images. Can anyone tell me where I could possibly see the special character of that lens?

Michael Earlwine excels in characterising special optics.

can you create visual evidence?

[Jacques]

One of my test shots, cannot put my feelings/impressions into words I have to judge on the images produced.

[Frank Fremerey]

Jaques: special. I share you feelings.

[Fons Baerken]

Have been playing with this glass almost a year now, its either the 35g or the 58g as my walk-a-bout.

[Martin Zimelka]

For me the biggest difference is that the 58 is far more even tempered; It's OOF areas are smooth and not nervous. The transition from foreground to background blur is gentle. It's fairly contrasty even wide open, which btw extends to the periphery of the frame. It doesn't have that that purple haze like many fast 50mm lenses have, thus retaining good colour reproduction wide open. A big bonus is the reduced for sagittal flare (correct term?) which reduces the bat wings at the frame edges.

Bellow is a quick actual pixels comparison between the 58 and the 50/1.2... I changed the shooting distance for the 50/1.2 in order to get similar framing. My sample of the Ais 50/1.2 is perceptively sharper than the Ai 50/1.2 I had, with better contrast too.

[Martin Zimelka]

Some more images 

[pluton]

These photos make me want that lens.