Nikkor K 50mm f/1.4, opinions

[richardHaw]

I have an Ais with don’t make any sharp images a f1.4.
At f2 it is on par with my old 50 H.C f2.
Any idea what is wrong, and can it be repaired?

it's sharp wide open when the subject is a bit further about more than 2m away. i always thought its bad until i realized that this lens was calculated for that kind of distances  the strength of this lens is the resolution from f/2 and up. it's sharp enough to render individual strands of hair at the corners of the frame

[richardHaw]

both shot at f/1.4, one is minimum focusing distance while the other is about 2-3m away. 

the flower was cropped at the center almost 1:1

the wig was shot at the far edge of the frame cropped almost to 1:1

the lens can be reasonably sharp at f/1.4 if you know when and how to use it. i wish i knew what i know now because i shot with the AF-D for many years.

[richardHaw]

couple: f/1.4, chromatic aberration is corrected pretty well when the subject is further from the frame.

telephone: f/1.4, chromatic aberration is making the lens not look sharp.

one more thing you can do is stop it down by a very small amount and that should get rid of the chromatic aberration, most of it that is.

[richardHaw]

at f/2.

we did a test shooting girls almost a decade ago with the 50/1.4 vs the 50/1.8

the 50/1.4 wins easily at f/1.8 vs the 50/1.8 at f/1.8, the one thing we noticed is the resolution and micro contrast. 

[Bent Hjarbo]

I did some very boring tests today with my sample og the Ais 50f1.4.
It is just a chair, focus is at the place in both images.

[Peter Forsell]

A few samples from my Nikkor K 50/1.4.



20180808-_P3F6295b by foppa2011, on Flickr


20180808-_P3F6289b by foppa2011, on Flickr


20180808-_P3F6287b by foppa2011, on Flickr


20180808-_P3F6283b by foppa2011, on Flickr


20180808-_P3F6281b by foppa2011, on Flickr


20180808-_P3F6278b by foppa2011, on Flickr


20180808-_P3F6273b by foppa2011, on Flickr

[richardHaw]

that indeed looks like how the Nikkor-S renders 

https://richardhaw.com/2016/01/23/project-nikkor-s-50mm-f1-4/

you can see a hint of the glow in the girls skin, very characteristic of nikons faster lenses in the old days like the 55/1.2

i have a picture of my daughter that i took last week from about 1m and it's sharp at f/1.4 i will share a crop later tonight if i have time tonight.

[richardHaw]

I did some very boring tests today with my sample og the Ais 50f1.4.
It is just a chair, focus is at the place in both images.

yes, thats pretty much how it should look like 

you can confirm it with my samples after i publish the article some time this weekend or next week.

[richardHaw]

Cinestill 800T

both from the K2. preparing a repair and review of the K1 because of this thread

[Peter Forsell]

Nice work Richard.

I have a question. The strange patterned blooming and artefacts on her legs... is it just motion blur, even at 1/2000? Or interplay of some other things?


20180811-_P3F6368b by foppa2011, on Flickr

[richardHaw]

The strange patterned blooming and artefacts on her legs... is it just motion blur, even at 1/2000? Or interplay of some other things?

Hello. i believe thats aberration 

I took the K1 out for shooting some samples for the coming article and I can confirm that the K2 works better than the K1 at least in my samples.

[richardHaw]

http://richardhaw.com/2018/08/12/repair-new-nikkor-50mm-f-1-4/

here it is now 

[Akira]

I have a question. The strange patterned blooming and artefacts on her legs... is it just motion blur, even at 1/2000? Or interplay of some other things?

Looks like some kind of data artifact rather than an optical one...

[Akira]

Cinestill 800T

both from the K2. preparing a repair and review of the K1 because of this thread

Looks like PF flare.   

[Steven Paulsen]

As a much younger version of me, learning photography by books, the 50mm standard drove me to the point of hating them. (I. have close to a half dozen 50's scattered around the house.)

Thank You. This thread is quite informative. My best 50mm seems to be the K1 Version, reddish hue coating, which I Ai'd myself. It took a long time to figure out, but my copy's aperture stop down lever was/had been too wide.

Set wide open at F1.4, the camera would slam the lens' stop down lever, jar the lens & invoke (what would normally be called "Mirror Slap.") I had to lock the mirror up & shoot at a high shutter speed & did quite a bit of head scratching. (I carefully filed the lens' lever outdoors with a lot of puffs from my dust off can.)


Anyone else noticed this?