Nikon 50mm F1.4 (AI,AIS,AF,AFD) Review

[Evin Grant]

50mm f1.4 Nikkor (AI, AIS, AF & AF-D)
http://www.keh.com/ProductImages/fullSize/NK06010200699.jpg
History:
This design of the 50mm Nikkor was first introduced in 1963 as an available light tool for photojournalists. Originally only single coated it still became very popular because of its high quality. It has seven elements in six groups and a seven bladed iris. In 1973 it was Multicoated and received Nikons AI meter coupling, In 1979 it was updated again to the AIS meter coupling and got a shorter focus throw. In 1986 the first AF version appeared. As far as I can tell there is no difference in optical quality from 1973 on.

Sharpness was set to 10% in Adobe ACR, very light to counter AA filter.

Performance:
This is a very good optic, not perfect, especially wide open but still very capable of producing sharp, well-defined 4k images with a buttery transition to out of focus. See examples…

Zoomify links below images for 10-100% viewing.
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/Jpgs/50f1.4.jpg
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/zoomify//50WideF1.4.html
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/zoomify//50MCUf1.4.html
F1.4
Lower contrast, ghosting and chromatic aberrations are all visible at 100% magnification here. This is the lens at it’s weakest as almost all lenses are. However most low light situations are high contrast to begin with and this combo works well.
F2 is a better choice for shallow depth of field work in better light. Most of the aberrations are gone and micro-contrast will increase dramatically.

http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/Jpgs/50f2.8.jpg
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/zoomify//50Widef2.8.html
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/zoomify//50MCUf2.8.html
F2.8
This is the sweet spot of this lens, very sharp, almost no CA and a very pleasant DOF.

http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/Jpgs/50f8.jpg
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/zoomify//50Widef8.html
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/zoomify//50MCUf8.html
F8
The lens is at its sharpest here. No aberrations to speak of, this is the preferred aperture for wide shots. After F8 diffraction may become a factor, although small.

http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4//Bokehtest.gif
Bokeh & Aberrations:
This lens has wonderful Bokeh, possibly my favorite of all 50mm SLR lenses. The only optics in this focal range that are smoother are the Leica M Summilux and Summicron.
It does display some Coma wide open but it’s quite beautiful and not an issue. If wide open shooting is your primary concern the 58mm f1.2 NOCT Nikkor is the lens you want.

http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4//breathtest.gif
Breathing:
As you can see this lens does breath, it’s not horrendous but more visible than any modern cinema prime from Zeiss or Cooke. Then again it’s 1/300th the price of either of those.

Build and adaptability to cinema style shooting:
I recommend the AI 1973-1978 version of this lens. It is multi coated, metal bodied, built for use in Vietnam, durable and has a longer focus draw than it’s newer AI-S or AF brethren. The AF is now made in China but seems just as good optically; cheaper plastic construction is less desirable though.

Application:
This is a great general-purpose short tele. lens for your Red One. In the 35mm still format that equates to about 83mm. So medium close ups and close-ups should be cake for it. As well as any other general applications. It focuses to 1’6” and is very sharp there too, so inserts shouldn’t be any problem either. You can get some pretty cool images shooting at 1.4 if you’re looking for a softer effect, especially in low light, high contrast situations.

Price/Value:
The AI version of this lens can be found on E-bay for under $100. That’s a no brainier.
The current new AF-D version goes for $250 and even that’s not a bad price, but spend the extra time and get a good condition AI, it’s totally worth the effort.
Also try http://www.keh.com

Uncompressed Tiffs (27MB each, Be patient!)
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/tiffs/50MCUf1.4.tif
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/tiffs/50Widef1.4.tif
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/tiffs/50MCUf2.8.tif
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/tiffs/50Widef2.8.tif
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/tiffs/50MCUf8.tif
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Nikon50mmf1.4/tiffs/50Widef8.tif

[Alexander Nikishin]

Not bad for a $100 lens eh? :)

Thanks for the insight Evin!

Also, please include a wide lens into your reviews, maybe the AF 14 mm f/2.8 ED-RF Nikkor ?

[Jason Francois]

This is great Evin. Thanks for putting in the time.

I've got a set of 4 Nikons that I hope to get started with and this helps immensely.

[Brook Willard]

That's a stunning bang:buck ratio. Thanks for the report... I'm looking forward to the rest of your findings.

[Mark Thorpe]

Fantastic Evin, really fantastic. Great work mate.

[Finner]

What does the AI and AIs stand for and mean for each lens?

Thanks

[Milan Nikolic]

Thanks Evin for the great lens test. This is the lens that I have in mind in the first place. Keep the good work!

[Evin Grant]

What does the AI and AIs stand for and mean for each lens?

Thanks

AI stands for "Auto Indexing" AI-S stands for "Auto Indexing-Stupid!"

Seriously the "S" is Nikons way of saying second generation, as in D2Hs or D70s or N90s. Nikon usually extends the life of thier camera platforms by doing a minor upgrade after 18-24 months.

Thanks guys, it's fun to do, but involved.

[Alex Boothby]

Thanks Evin. This is killing me - I've put in a res for the RED zoom and I was starting to think that it would be too much hastle to switch mounts all the time, so I've slowly begun to shy away from the NIKON option.

But, now I just don't know. This has WAY less breathing than I was expecting. Maybe I should just cancel the RED zoom and go NIKON all the way. Argghhh...

Can anyone guess how long it will take in the field to switch between the PL mount and the NIKON mount? This will become the deciding factor for me.

[Júlio Taubkin]

Great start for the database, and fair to start off with this lens, the lens that probabbly most people already own and didn't even know. Let's see how the others compare!

Thanks for the effort Evin!

[Sanjin Jukic]

Thanks Evin and looking forward to the next one.

[David Nardini]

Thanks Evin and looking forward to the zooms :)

[mezmo]

Hi Evin,
Thanks for the info on the Nikkor 50, a great old lens. My concerns with
using vintage still lenses on the Red camera would be color matching them
into a usable set for higher end motion picture work while shooting multi lens scenes and the reverse focus control problem if using them with a
conventional follow focus unit. But the price is right at $100-$200 per bottle. Also guys beware the fungus. Grab another Nikkor 50 in the shop
and use it to look into the lens your buying. If present, spaws can be seen
sitting on the elements having a great old time. Pass on that lens.
____________________________
Mezmo

[Zane Roach]

Thanks Evin, your efforts are appreciated!

I had been planning to get the 50mm f/1.8 AF based on this review:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5018af.htm

If you are familiar with that lens, your opinion would be great. It's only about $100 new.

Thanks :)

[Don Woods]

Thanks EVIN that is a very good and very helpfull review. I think for around a 100 to 200 I agree its a no brainer.

[Evin Grant]

Thanks Evin, your efforts are appreciated!

I had been planning to get the 50mm f/1.8 AF based on this review:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5018af.htm

If you are familiar with that lens, your opinion would be great. It's only about $100 new.

Thanks :)

That's a very sharp lens, but the 50 1.4 is great at F2 while the F1.8 needs to be at f2.8. Also the 50 1.4 AI can be had for the same priced used.

[Stephen Williams]

Hi all,

It's a lens I often use for macro (with a bellows) on a motion control rig. Far nicer than the 55mm micro Nikkor's IMHO. I usually work between f2.8 & f4. It's the only lens that I can rent out per day at 50% of its cost! LOL

Stephen

[chuck colburn]

Hi all,

It's a lens I often use for macro (with a bellows) on a motion control rig. Far nicer than the 55mm micro Nikkor's IMHO. I usually work between f2.8 & f4. It's the only lens that I can rent out per day at 50% of its cost! LOL

Stephen

Hello Stephen,

I'm sure you know this, but have you tried reverse mounting the lens on the bellows? It's an old trick when using non macro lenses. It sometimes helps to reduce curverture of field. And with enough bellows extension a reversed mounted 16mm cine type ( "C" mount etc. ) lens provides some very nice images at higher magnifications.

Chuck

[Blue]

Lower contrast, ghosting and chromatic aberrations are all visible at 100% magnification here. This is the lens at it’s weakest as almost all lenses are.

Hi Evin. Does this cause the increased shadow detail in the bushes (bottom left) as the aperture gets smaller or has a camera setting been changed between shots? It just looks funny that the 'fully open' image appears the darkest.

Please enlighten me. Cheers.

[Stephen Williams]

Hello Stephen,

I'm sure you know this, but have you tried reverse mounting the lens on the bellows? It's an old trick when using non macro lenses. It sometimes helps to reduce curverture of field. And with enough bellows extension a reversed mounted 16mm cine type ( "C" mount etc. ) lens provides some very nice images at higher magnifications.

Chuck

Hi Chuck,

I have gaffer tape reverse mounted a Zeiss Super Speed on my Ultracam LOL!

With the Fries Mitchell AF35R belows one has about 10 inches of bellows extention. As one passes through 1:1 its amazing watching what the camera change direction to stay in focus. (The lens is fixed and the camera moves relative to the lens to focus)

Stephen

[donatello b]

"has WAY less breathing than I was expecting"

you tend to notice more (breathing) on wide angles vs. normal to long lens...

[Zane Roach]

That's a very sharp lens, but the 50 1.4 is great at F2 while the F1.8 needs to be at f2.8. Also the 50 1.4 AI can be had for the same priced used.

Thanks Evin. I suspected that could be the case. Looks like the 50 1.4 for me :)


you tend to notice more (breathing) on wide angles vs. normal to long lens...

Agreed and on that note I eagerly await the 17-35mm f2.8 review.

[lomotion1]

What camera was used for this test, the red?

[Evan Owen]

What camera was used for this test, the red?

Evin's Nikon D2X, which has very similar specs to the RED at 4k.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Evin's Nikon D2X, which has very similar specs to the RED at 4k.

As Graeme said before (http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=4187&postcount=3) Nikon is CCD. Red is CMOS.
"CCD (charge coupled device) and CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) image sensors are two different technologies for capturing images digitally. Each has unique strengths and weaknesses giving advantages in different applications. Neither is categorically superior to the other, although vendors selling only one technology have usually claimed otherwise."
Read more at "CCD vs. CMOS"
http://www.dalsa.com/markets/ccd_vs_cmos.asp

[Evan Owen]

As Graeme said before somewhere here at the REDUSER forum Nikon has CCD. Red has CMOS. That is the difference.
Read "CCD vs. CMOS"
http://www.dalsa.com/markets/ccd_vs_cmos.asp

Most Nikon sensors are Sony CCDs. The D2x sensor is actually a CMOS chip also made by Sony (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/04091701nikond2xsony.asp) (a first for Sony). Nikon's D2H, which uses a CMOS-like JFET chip called LBCAST that they developed themselves, is the only other Nikon that doesn't use a CCD, AFAIK.

Anyway, the D2x is actually very similar to Mysterium. Except of course Mysterium can capture at 60fps. :)

[Sanjin Jukic]

Thanks, sorry but Graeme was wrong, you are right. I did not check it out because my Nikon D50 is CCD.
Nikon D2Xs: 12.4 effective megapixel Nikon DX Format CMOS image sensor featuring optimum image quality and high-speed 4-channel data output.
http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/slr/d2xs/index.htm

[Evan Owen]

Thanks, sorry but Graeme was wrong, you are right. I did not check it out because my Nikon D50 is CCD.
Nikon D2Xs: 12.4 effective megapixel Nikon DX Format CMOS image sensor featuring optimum image quality and high-speed 4-channel data output.
http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/slr/d2xs/index.htm

No problem. We discussed this a bit in another thread. The D2x really makes quite a good test-bed for Nikon lenses heading for RED use (hence this new forum–thanks Evin!). Even the 1.5x crop-factor is quite close to RED One's 1.6x crop-factor when compared to 35mm still format (RED One at 4k is 35mm cinema format).

What were seeing in these lens tests should be very similar to what you can capture with the RED One, only at 24fps+. :)

[Sanjin Jukic]

Very good.

After digging more at DALSA site I found that also new DALSA Piranha 2K/4K camera available in Q1 2007 has lens mount Nikon F mount. Seems to me that Nikon F mount manual lenses becoming a common option for the brand new 4K cameras. The RED ONE will follow the same for sure.

Picture below: Manual Nikon lens attached on new DALSA Piranha 2K/4K camera
http://vfm.dalsa.com/products/features/pcolor.asp?r=home

http://vfm.dalsa.com/images/piranha_color_250w.jpg

Also read about Piranha specs with Nikon F mount built in option
http://vfm.dalsa.com/catalog/03-070-20002-00%20Piranha%20Color%20datasheet.pdf

[_BK]

Thanks for the great review! I just picked up the AI 1973-1978 version off craigs list today.

[betty schaefer]

err.. i think the dalsa sensor u showed is a linear sensor..it is 3pixels by 4096 (or 3 by 2048) :)

[Roberto B]

http://vfm.dalsa.com/images/piranha_color_250w.jpg


hmmmm, i dunno but this reminds me something....................... eheh

[Peter Sensor]

Thanks for a great test Evin. I personally like the AI - F2 for sharpness.
I've been selling (5) lens Nikon and Canon manual focus prime sets for DoF adapters. They are Re-Purposed for digital cinema - Focus gears, step-ups to 80mm OD on the front and aperture rings are dampened and de-clicked.
I love my set on my P+S Technik. RED has told me they will be making
Nikon and Canon mounts. Check out RP Lens.com

[Evin Grant]

Peter,
I don't mean to be well, insulting, but your prices are astronomical for what are essentially modification that can be done by any competent hobbyist with a set of jewlers screwdrivers. It really goes aginst the point of using still lenses. I do admit your focus gears are very nicely machined but all those lenses could be had from KEH in LN condition for under $1000. Which means you are charging $3000 for focus gears and step up rings that can be purchased from Red-Rock for under $400. Or better from Zacuto (Belt system w/ hard stops) for $450. I just can't in good consience reccomend anyone here pay that. If these lenses are in your budget you're far better served to look for real PL mount T2 Zeiss primes.
Sorry, E.

BTW to the rest of us I wll be posting a "How to" for removing the click stop from your AI and AIS Nikkors soon.

[Zane Roach]

BTW to the rest of us I wll be posting a "How to" for removing the click stop from your AI and AIS Nikkors soon.

Evin = hero

Thanks as always.

[Joel Kaye]

I had been planning to get the 50mm f/1.8 AF based on this review:
If you are familiar with that lens, your opinion would be great.

I have both that lens and the 50mm 1.4 old style Nikon. I can't really see much of a difference between them in quality - though I always put the manual lens on my M2. I need to test them both for breathing side by side. I think the 1.4 stopped to F2 or 2.8 might be a little better than the AF at the same stops. I'd lean towards getting a manual 1.4 used if I were you.

re Breathing: I've tested an older 35mm 1.4 AI, 50mm 1.4 and the 85mm 1.8 AF and none of them breathe much at all. Evin's 50mm test seemed to show more breathing then I remember. He showed a pretty big rack focus though. My tests were a few feet this way or that. I'll test more.

I have also tested the well regarded Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 in a camera store. Seems like a pretty picture but it does breathe more than I'd like to see. I should have footage of all this stuff somewhere... it's not too scientific though.

My wide angle tests (20mm 2.8 and 35mm 1.4) "seemed" softer than the other lenses. It may be that a very high quality wide angle lens will be worth spending money.

Suffice to say - my opinion at this point is SLR lenses may be much better on RED than some people are thinking. You're sure going to hear people who have $200k invested in Cinema lenses pointing out differences... but I kinda doubt my grandma will be able to see what they are talking about.

And color matched sets? Doesn't RAW and the whole digital timing thing make that close to irrelevant?

If the crop factor on RED is actually 1.6 (bit of a bummer when you want wide angle) then a D70 or D50 (1.5 crop) should also be decent test cameras.

Ditto on RP lens - pricey for what you get IMHO. Hell, I think Redrock's $60 gears are pricey for 6 cents of plastic. But hey, they work and no one else has got anything like them for less.

[Jonathan E.]

Does anyone have any opinions of the 50mm f1.2? All I know that it is tad faster and has lager price tag genteraly around $590.00 (which seem to me a fair price, but could be better) http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/NT2024/2.html
would it be worth the extra cash?

[Evin Grant]

The 50 f1.2 is a good lens but not any better than the 1.4 at 1.4 or below. The 58mm f1.2 NOCT Nikkor however is amazing, and amazingly expensive. It's designed specifically for wide open night photography (Hence the NOCT designation inspired by the Leica Noctilux). A superb lens that commannds north of $2000 on E-bay but well worth it if you can handle the price.
http://i3.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/85/2e/c881_3.JPG
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160080947353&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

[sean90291]

And I wonder what the difference is between the Nikkor 1.4 50mm AI lens and a Nikkor 1.4 50mm S lens (i.e., a Nikkor-S)...And I mean the OPTICAL difference (obviously there's an Auto-focus function with the AI lens).

EDIT: From what I can glean by searching the Internet, the only difference seems to be the lens mount of the older Nikkor-S series won't fit on the more modern Nikon mounts. Not good.

[chuck colburn]

I think all "S" mount lenses are screw mount.
I could br wrong!

[betty schaefer]

i read the argument to pick the older sturdier nikkors over the new ones many times. one thing pple tend to forget is how glass manufacturing, coating and cnc machining has improved over the last 25 years...they probably still smoked in clean rooms back in the 70's :)

[Evin Grant]

Maybe, but I tested both versions and both perfomed identically.

[Dan Blanchett]

This particular lens seems to be getting more expensive as the days go by. I had several AI versions on my "watch list" on ebay and was startled at the end results. Some were selling for north of $200 (link (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=017&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=270100927247&rd=1&rd=1)). Are REDUsers driving them up already? If you planned on getting one, I would recommend sooner rather than later. They do have some on keh.com for less, but I wish they showed more actual pictures of the product rather than simply specifying a condition category.

EDIT: As PaulClements made clear to me, there are some still going for as cheap as $75 on ebay if you are patient, resourceful and/or a little lucky.

[Clint Johnson]

There is an ancient portrait studio in Prince George that I've driven by for a decade or three. It is primarily for portraits and passport photographs but I thought would stop in and see if there was any old equipment for sale.
Off in the corner was a sorry little display case with maybe a dozen lenses all told... and there, on the bottom shelf, covered in dust, was a Nikkor 50mm 1.4. The man who owns the store had actually forgotten that the lens was even there it had been so long.
We cleaned it up and it the damn thing looked like it had just come out of the box. The $100 Canadian wasn't a smokin' deal but I appreciate the fact that I could look it over before buying it and that there would be no shipping costs.
So I bought my first piece of Red 1 kit.

[bryanheath]

Thanks Evin. It would be interesting to see how the 35mm and 28mm Nikon lens perform.

[Greg Rutkowski]

Have you tested the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 lens? This is the lens that I have so just wondering.

[Piktor Duende]

Evin, I appreciate your post, was very helpful in my search for a good low-cost Nikon mount setup. The other Nikon mount 50's that are interesting are the ZeissZF 50mm 1.4, and the Voigtlander 58mm 1.4 SL2. Would be an interesting comparative test. thanks again for the post!

[Nils J. Nesse]

The Zeiss 50/1.4 is good. Not the best lens in the ZF line. Not necessarily better than the Nikon.

I bought two lenses instead:
-The Zeiss 50/2 makro, for better image quality, probably the sharpest 50mm in Nikon mount
-The Voigtlander 58/1.4, for low light, at least as good as the Zeiss 1.4 but not a duplicate focal length. (I've discovered that 58mm is a very useful focal length.)

[Evin Grant]

Thanks Evin. It would be interesting to see how the 35mm and 28mm Nikon lens perform.

There are many versions of those lenses to consider.
The best 28mm is by far the F1.4 AF-D. Review here (http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2354&highlight=nikon+28mm+f1.4+review)
My second choice is the 28mm F2 AI or AIS, almost as good as the 1.4.
Third is the 28mm F2.8 AIS (Not AI or AF) ver good but not as fast.

The 35mm f1.4 is a classic, amazing bokeh. Pretty much that and the f2 AF/AI-S are the only contenders.

[Rubancam]

It is amazing to see the difference in depth of field between F 1.4 and F 2.8 .

It seems to me ideal lens for medium close ups at cheaper rate.

Thanks for the post.

[Matt Ryan]

I bought a set of Nikons from Peter Sensor and rplens.com. He customizes lenses for cinema use. Check out his site!

http://rplens.com/

Here is his process...

"Affordable Lenses for Digital Cinema

How we do it ...

By acquiring used and new still photographic lenses and Re-Purposing, by adapting and upgrading
them for use in Digital Cinema.

These Prime Sets are an excellent affordable choice for use with HD and HDV DoF adapters such
as P+S Technik, Letus 35, Brevis, MovieTube, etc. As well as Ultra HD single chip cameras, RED 4K
and SI-2K. All of which have Nikon and Canon lens mounts available.

35 mm still photography lenses are made to cover an image size larger then that of 35 mm motion
and the DoF adapter image sizes, as well as 4K and 2K image size. They have extremely good
edge-to-edge sharpness.

We pride ourselves in providing only the most Pristine glass we can find. And in some cases, if we
can’t find used pristine quality to complete a set, we’ll find it new. These lenses are hand picked
and sharpness tested before they go through the process of adapting and upgrading for digital cinema.

What we do...

* Aperture rings are dismantled to remove the click stops and to dampen the ring
for smooth cine lens like setting and pulling.
* Focus barrels are cleaned and re-dampened if need be.
* Standard 32 pitch Black Delrin gears (very hard plastic) are carefully press fitted on
the barrel. Compatible with motion picture follow focus systems, Arri, Chrosziel, etc.
* Black anodized aluminum step-ups to 80 mm O.D. are added to the front of the lens.
To match with standard motion picture matte boxes and clamp-on shades.
* Rubber 80 mm push-on caps are used and the set is delivered In a new
Pelican case or optional A&J case.
* Personal attention to detail is taken with each prime set we sell. This is why,
depending on stock, orders can take 10 days to 3 weeks."

I had a custom set put together including a 24mm 1.4, 35mm 1.2, 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.4, 135mm 1.4. Its a great set and I had it in less than 2 weeks!

[Andrae Palmer]

Anyone done a lp/mm test with this lens? I would like to know what numbers you got. We did a sharpness test on the REd 18-50 and was getting 200 lp/mm.

[Jason Ing]

Anyone done a lp/mm test with this lens? I would like to know what numbers you got. We did a sharpness test on the REd 18-50 and was getting 200 lp/mm.

I just bought this lens Saturday. What's a lp/mm test? Tell me how to do it and I'll see if I can.

[Andrae Palmer]

I just bought this lens Saturday. What's a lp/mm test? Tell me how to do it and I'll see if I can.

Jason,

You can print the The Koren 2003 lens test chart found here:

http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF5.html

Make sure you set the print dimensions to what's stated... 9.84 inches long, also use the 5mm charts. There is a distance to target calculation. For the 5mm chart it is 51 * focal length = # of mm converted to inches or feet. Here's a link to my test result of the RED 18-50mm: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2927510524_0feb7c820d_o.jpg

As you can see the REd 18-50mm is clearly resolving at 200 lp/mm. Here's a test result that was conducted with the Zeiss ZF 50mm at f4:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2950247994_d846d77d29_o.jpg

The test of the Zeiss 50mm ZF could be off due to back focus issues that is why I'm on here asking for other test results. I don't have the Nikon mount installed on my camera... the test was done on a friends Red.

[Disco Legend Zeke]

Can anyone guess how long it will take in the field to switch between the PL mount and the NIKON mount? This will become the deciding factor for me.

Be very careful when even changing a lens with the same mount, "in the field" can be found one hella lot of dust, lint, and insect parts that would just love to live on your Mysterium. The time it takes to change adapters would exponentially increase the danger.

[Vincent Thomas]

Did someone else run this test with a Nikon Zeiss lens?
Or have you make another try? i expect the 50mm to perfrom much better...

v*


Jason,

You can print the The Koren 2003 lens test chart found here:

http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF5.html

Make sure you set the print dimensions to what's stated... 9.84 inches long, also use the 5mm charts. There is a distance to target calculation. For the 5mm chart it is 51 * focal length = # of mm converted to inches or feet. Here's a link to my test result of the RED 18-50mm: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2927510524_0feb7c820d_o.jpg

As you can see the REd 18-50mm is clearly resolving at 200 lp/mm. Here's a test result that was conducted with the Zeiss ZF 50mm at f4:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2950247994_d846d77d29_o.jpg

The test of the Zeiss 50mm ZF could be off due to back focus issues that is why I'm on here asking for other test results. I don't have the Nikon mount installed on my camera... the test was done on a friends Red.