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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

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

"has WAY less breathing than I was expecting"

you tend to notice more (breathing) on wide angles vs. normal to long lens...
 
Evin Grant said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

donatello said:
you tend to notice more (breathing) on wide angles vs. normal to long lens...
Click to expand...

Agreed and on that note I eagerly await the 17-35mm f2.8 review.
 
scienceguy_ae said:
Evin's Nikon D2X, which has very similar specs to the RED at 4k.
Click to expand...

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
 
The Third Man said:
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
Click to expand...

Most Nikon sensors are Sony CCDs. The D2x sensor is actually a CMOS chip also made by Sony (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. :)
 
The Third Man said:
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
Click to expand...

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+. :)
 
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

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 Piranha Color datasheet.pdf
 
err.. i think the dalsa sensor u showed is a linear sensor..it is 3pixels by 4096 (or 3 by 2048) :)
 
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
 
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  • #34
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 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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  • #38
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.
c881_3.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ndexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting
 
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.
 
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