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03-20-2012, 10:22 AM
Could someone with a bit of experience comment on this set? Optically, how do these compare to the 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.2, and 85mm f1.4? Are we losing anything IQ wise, or just f-stops? The RP Lens set looks pretty appealing.Originally Posted by Tom Greenberg
03-20-2012, 03:01 PM
I think the 28mm F2 is a much sharper lens than the 24mm f2 wide open. I also think the 35mm f2 is better at f2 than the 1.4. The 50mm 1.2 is my favorite 50mm, but the 1.4 and 2 are also nice. The 85mm f2 is very good, some prefer the older 1.8, the 1.4 is really the king. The 105mm 2.5 is a classic but the 1.8 better matches the stellar 85mm 1.4.
Here are my "picks" in each focal length...
20mm f2.8 AIS
24mm f2.8 (AIS Not AI)
28mm f2
35mm f2
40mm f2 (Voightlander Ultron)
50mm f1.2
85mm f1.4
100mm f2.8 Macro
105mm f1.8
135mm f2
180mm f2.8 ED (AIS only)
Last edited by Evin Grant; 03-20-2012 at 03:08 PM.
03-20-2012, 03:06 PM
Thanks for your suggested list Evin. As I said above, I am extremely happy with the RP set I got, especially for the price. They are optically, cosmetically and mechanically pristine.
Peter also sells the following Nikkor sets (not sure if these are current prices or not...check with him for latest pricing):
Nikkor Hi-Speed Prime 4 Lens Set - Full Cine-Mod Upgrade - $4,850.00
24mm F2.0
35mm F1.4
50mm F1.2
85mm F1.4
Nikkor Hi-Speed Prime 6 Lens Set- Full Cine-Mod Upgrade - $7,150.00
24mm F2.0
35mm F1.4
50mm F1.2
85mm F1.4
105mm F1.8
135mm F2.0
Last edited by Tom Greenberg; 03-20-2012 at 03:19 PM.
03-20-2012, 03:13 PM
I just picked up a F3 body with 105mm 2.5 and 50 F2 for $100 total from a craigslist seller here - all in EX+ condition.
03-20-2012, 05:21 PM
@Evin and Tom -- Thanks for the replies. I've traded emails with Peter, and he's also willing to modify lenses that are sent in. I was thinking of going with his Nikon Super Speeds Set:
35mm 1.4
50mm 1.2
85mm 1.4
And then adding 2 of my own:
24mm 2.8
105mm 2.8 Micro
Love searching around for these lenses; there are some very good bargains out there.
03-21-2012, 05:26 AM
Just added a 500mm f/8 Reflex to my collection. Pretty limited applications, not easy to get optimal results with, but a very impressive lens.
03-23-2012, 02:38 PM
Today was the first time I saw and used a set of Nikkor re housed lenses by Eastern Enterprises. They were proper Cinema grade lenses, proper markings, gears and calibration. 15mm f3.5, 24mm f2.8, 35mm f2, 85mm f2. Optically beautiful and engineering as good as you will find any where. My only criticism is breathing and the lenses extend. The 15mm, 35mm and 85mm were excellent.
Ive seem many lens sets and quality engineering, these were some of the very best. Its so good to see bespoke engineering done so well. One thins is certain that ill be in touch with this company very soon.
http://www.easternenterprises.biz/nikon-lenses/
04-03-2012, 11:15 AM
I can't speak for usage on a RED camera system but can comment on favourite Nikon F-Mount lenses.
LENSES USED.
8mm Peleng-for-Nikon f3.5 Fisheye.
16mm Zenitar-for-Nikon f2.8 Fisheye.
14mm Sigma-for-Nikon f2.8.
20mm Sigma-for-Nikon f1.8.
28mm Sigma-for-Nikon f1.8.
28mm Nikon f1.4.
35mm Nikon f1.4.
40mm Voightlander "Ultron"-for-Nikon f2.
42mm Nikon f2.8 "Pancake" lens.
50mm Nikon f1.8.
50mm Nikon f1.4.
55mm Nikon f1.2.
58mm Noct-Nikkor f1.2.
85mm Nikon f1.8 ( autofocus ).
85mm Nikon f1.8 (manual focus).
85mm Nikon f1.4.
105mm Nikon f1.8.
135mm Sigmatel-for-Nikon f1.8
200mm Nikon f2.
500mm Nikon f8 mirror telephoto.
12mm - 24mm Nikon f1.4 zoom ( digital lens ).
17mm - 24mm Tokina f2.8 zoom.
50mm-500mm Sigma-for-Nikon f4 - f6.3 zoom.
1084mm MTO "Jupiter"-for-Nikon f10.5 mirror telephoto.
FINAL LENS BOX.
14mm Sigma-for-Nikon f2.8.
28mm Nikon f1.4.
35mm Nikon f1.4.
40mm Voigtlander "Ultron"-for-Nikon f2.
50mm Nikon f1.4.
85mm Nikon f1.4.
105mm Nikon f1.8.
135mm Sigmatel-for-Nikon f1.8.
Of the Fisheye lenses, the 8mm Peleng was the standout. The image has good contrast, pleasing colour rendition and apparent clarity. The Zenitar yielded less contrast and was a bit flary. In this clip, I used an AGUS35 adaptor, made a new front mount cap to reset the lens optical centre to lower the centre of the image to produce a straight line at about the lower one third of the image frame. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx-GTXQLF6A
The 12mm - 24mm Nikon f4 zoom yielded a pleasing image which seemed apparently sharp. The image footprint at 12mm is small and vignetted on the 35mm adaptor I used it on.
The 14mm Sigma-for-Nikon f2.8 is now discontinued. It is comparable to other non-Nikon 14mm rectilinear ultra-wides. The colour rendition and contrast from this lens I found pleasing. Wide-open, the sharpness seems to suffer.
The 17mm - 24mm Tokina f2.8 yielded a blueish cast to the image. Sharpness wide-open seems to suffer.
The 20mm Sigma-for-Nikon f1.8 lens colour and contrast I found pleasing. Wide-open, the sharpness seemed to drop off.
The 28mm Sigma-for-Nikon f1.8 lens yielded pleasing colour and contrast. It went soft wide-open and the image walked badly during focus movements. It was a plastic bodied autofocus lens. These seem to require generous moving part clearances for small focus servos to work.
The 28mm Nikon f1.4 is an expensive lens and no longer in production. The colour rendition, sharpness and constrast, even wide-open are of a quality which reflects the cost.
The 35mm Nikon f1.4 provides a pleasing colour rendition, sharpness and contrast. It seems to flare a bit in the last stop to wide-open. Reviews on the internet suggest the 35mm f2 is the better lens.
The 40mm Voigtlander "Ultron" f2 yields pleasing colours, contrast and a natural "look". Its image frame is apparently close to the natural field-of-view of human vision.
The 42mm Nikon f2.8 "Pancake" lens also yields pleasing colours, slightly it seems lesser apparent contrast than the Voigtlander, good sharpness and that same apparent "natural" look.
The 50mm Nikon f1.8 lens does not seem as sharp as its f1.4 and 55mm f1.2 colleagues. Colour and contrast was good.
The 50mm f1.4 yields an image of apparent good contrast, colour rendition and sharpness.
The 55mm f1.2 lens surprised me. It was well used and had deep cleaning marks. The lens was sharp, the colour rendition pleasing and the flaring from the damage to the front element nowhere hear as bad as I thought it should be.
The 58mm Noct-Nikkor f1.2 is a special purpose lense designed for low light performance and does its job well in all aspects - at a premium price. The lens is no longer in production. It was the sharpest of the Nikon lenses I tried and holds up in a 2/3" 2K sensor environment.
The 85mm f1.8 autofocus lens was sweet imagewise, in sharpness and apparent contrast. The focus ring movement arc is short and focus a touchy task.
The older 85mm f1.8 heavy metal manual focus lens I got hold of was a well worn specimen and cheaply priced. The front element had deep cleaning marks into the glass. I thought it was going to be a mess but it surprised me with apparrent good sharpness, colour rendition and less flare than I thought it would yield. It has a longer more controllable focus throw and it is damped and smooth. Contrast of course was less due to its condition. A good specimen would perform better.
The heavy metal 85mm f1.4 is a pleasing and controllable lens to use. The last stop to wide-open seems a little less apparently contrasted and sharp.
The Nikon 105mm f1.8 is a pleasing lens to use and I was told is a favoured portrait lens for stills. This one has good apparent contrast and sharpness.
The Sigmatel 135mm f1.8 is no longer in production and fairly scarce. It yields a pleasing image but I have not studied it for flare or contrast loss wide-open.
The Nikon 200mm f2 is an older lens and has earned someone an honest living in the past. It yields a pleasing image in colour, contrast and apparent sharpness. I put a doubler on it for ground-to-air images and they looked good.
The Nikon 500mm f8 mirror lens seems apparently softer than an equivalent refractive lens and there is a different "look". As for size, weight and convenience, it is very handy indeed.
The MTO "Jupiter" 1084mm f10.5 lens hails back to Soviet Cold War times when it was apparently favoured as a surveillance lens. It is softer than desirable but is a compact long-reach performer. Over long distances in daylight, atmospheric haze pretty much eliminates sharp imaging anyway. To achieve foreshortened images of successively higher hills and mountain ranges in distance and the colour shading which distance through air creates, this lens enables a unique look. a long refractive telephoto will work better but this lens is a lot more convenient to carry about. The mounting system is a bit tricky. The lens has a bare shoulder on the rear and mounting adaptors have to be used. There are two styles of M42/Nikon mount adaptor for the Russian lenses. One is of correct flange to focal plane distance, one is not. There are three fixture points at 120degree centres around the lens barrel. The focus movement has lots of friction and several turns to make the excursion from closest focus to infinity. To use this lens effectively, a sighting lens, rifle scope or small harmonised sighting camera might be found handy.
The above comments are subjective impressions only, reflect purely personal preferences and are not a competent assessment by any means. Furthurmore they are derived from shooting on a 35mm groundglass based relay system and not to a RED cam.
04-03-2012, 02:47 PM
Left handed DNA is called z-DNA. Sorry the one genetics comment on this board- I had to comment! :)
now back to the topic...
04-03-2012, 02:59 PM
We loved our Nikon lenses before switching to Canon L-series and the Birger/Impero on our MX One. But not all of them.
I think the 35mm f1.4 is an awful lens. And I did not like the 50mm f1.2 (very soft) anywhere nearly as well as the f1.4 (terrific, even wide-open). But, as has been alluded to many times, the 85mm f1.4 is a thing of beauty in every way. It even feels wonderful in one's hand. The 135 f2 is a gorgeous piece of glass, as well.
But, quite honestly, we're in love with electronic wireless focusing, so we'll stay with our L-series lenses for the foreseeable future.
Stephen
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