Author Topic: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch  (Read 6048 times)

Airy

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Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« on: July 12, 2020, 00:02:10 »
... of shots, not of lenses.
At night, there are better alternatives : the Tamron 45/1.8 comes to mind. But for daytime usage, I always found the Noct quite interesting, and often convincing.

Both shots at f/1.2. Sharpness is adequate, even though the sharpness zone is very thin (and not quite plane).
Airy Magnien

Airy

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2020, 00:04:39 »
Performance near MFD does not drop too sharply. Of course, using the lens wide open under such conditions is near-nonsense, but...
Apertures were f/2, f/2.8, f/1.4, F/2, f/4. There is some noticeable LoCA in the first one, and some blueish fringing against bright backgrounds, but not at a revolting level.
Airy Magnien

Airy

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2020, 00:11:34 »
At mid-distances, the full aperture is more useful, given the combination of subject isolation + vignetting + liquid bokeh. Sorry about the shots, the garden was not the most inspiring place.
Airy Magnien

Airy

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2020, 00:14:51 »
... not to forget one thing : at f/4, it is a brilliant portrait lens esp. for elderly people (high contrast, the wrinkles come out nicely); at f/8 (below), there is no trouble with architecture. By the way, I did not correct the barrel distortion.
Airy Magnien

Airy

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2020, 00:18:45 »
Forgot to tell : all shots taken with my trusty Df and a standard focussing screen + DK17M magnifier. In bright daylight as today, focussing is not an issue, I missed very few. Under dim conditions, ouch...

Reminder: the old Noct is perfectly usable on a Z7 (as I could test in a shop). Alas, I do not own one.

At full aperture, the otherwise excellent 105/1.8 is rarely usable, while the Noct is often usable at 1.2. This is really impressive...
Airy Magnien

Airy

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2020, 00:26:08 »
Forgot to mention - I purchased original rubber hoods (HR-2) for the 50/1.2 and 58/1.2. On the Noct, that hood seems to be a nice fit, as it causes no extra vignetting. The original metal hood was criticized in that respect.
Airy Magnien

Akira

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2020, 05:54:28 »
Even at wide open, the images look sharp enough to me (at least at these image sizes).

The bokeh character looks pleasing.  The bokeh of the latest lenses is smooth in general, but I find that their it is so well controlled that it lacks the character.
"The eye is blind if the mind is absent." - Confucius

"Limitation is inspiration." - Akira

Erik Lund

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2020, 07:12:57 »
Very nice set, indeed a remarkable lens  8)


I was wondering what is D7?  ;)
Erik Lund

Akira

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2020, 07:58:01 »
I was wondering what is D7?  ;)

As you would suspect, I read Z7.   ;)
"The eye is blind if the mind is absent." - Confucius

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Airy

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2020, 12:30:40 »
Indeed. Late night posts are prone to such mistakes.
Airy Magnien

Erik Lund

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #10 on: July 13, 2020, 10:20:26 »
Indeed. Late night posts are prone to such mistakes.
Off course, i'll correct it. Makes completely sense now ;)
Erik Lund

Imagelover

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2020, 11:18:04 »
When using my Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 AIS at f/2 the lens is notably sharper than at f/1.2. I made some exposures from f/1.2 to f/5.6 of this scene and compared. The lens "greatly" improved from f/2. This image: Nikon Df, Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 at f/2 on a tripod. The image was taken December 15th 2019 on a tripod.
One picture taken is far better than none!

Airy

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2020, 14:35:51 »
That must be Kristiansund, unmistakeably.

Indeed, at f/2 the aberrations recede a lot, although the transition is less sudden than with the 50/1.2.
Very nice combination of cold and warm light in your photo, by the way.
Could you also post the f/1.2 version, for the sake of comparison?
Airy Magnien

Imagelover

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #13 on: July 27, 2020, 00:18:58 »
Airy, here is the 1.2 shot with the Noct 1.2.
One picture taken is far better than none!

Imagelover

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Re: Noct Nikkor (58/1.2 AIS), another batch
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2020, 00:21:06 »
Looking at both images, you can clearly see the difference in sharpness.
One picture taken is far better than none!