All posts by BastianK

My name is Bastian and I am your expert here when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, super fast portrait lenses (ranging from a 50mm f/0.95 to a 200mm f/1.8) and I also have reviewed way too many 35mm lenses. Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though.

Review: Nikon Nikkor 105mm 2.5 Ai – The Portrait Tele Bestseller

Introduction

nikon 105mm 2.5 ai ai-s f/2.5 tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Nikon 105mm 2.5 Ai via K&F adapter on Sony A7rII

Some lenses became famous because they are rare and/or expensive. Neither is the case for the Nikon Nikkor 105mm 2.5 Ai. In fact – from the early 70s to the mid 80s – Nikon made a lot of them, it was by far their best selling short tele prime. Why was that? And are there still good reasons to use this lens today? Let’s find out in this review.

Sample Images

nikon 105mm 2.5 ai ai-s f/2.5 tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Nikon 105mm 2.5 | f/2.5
nikon 105mm 2.5 ai ai-s f/2.5 tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Nikon 105mm 2.5 | f/2.5
nikon 105mm 2.5 ai ai-s f/2.5 tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Nikon 105mm 2.5 | f/5.6
nikon 105mm 2.5 ai ai-s f/2.5 tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Nikon 105mm 2.5 | f/5.6
nikon 105mm 2.5 ai ai-s f/2.5 tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Nikon 105mm 2.5 | f/4.0
nikon 105mm 2.5 ai ai-s f/2.5 tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting
Sony A7III | Nikon 105mm 2.5 | f/2.5

Continue reading Review: Nikon Nikkor 105mm 2.5 Ai – The Portrait Tele Bestseller

Analogue Adventures – Part 30: Kodak Portra 800 C-41

kodak portra 800 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Kodak Portra 800

There are already two articles covering Portra 800, but both times they have been developed in the ECN-2 process by Silbersalz35. What was missing was Portra 800 developed in the more common C-41 process, so here we go.
Exposed as ISO640. Processing (C-41) and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany.

kodak portra 800 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om c-41 minolta cle
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 21mm 1.4 | f/1.4 | Portra 800 C-41
kodak portra 800 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om c-41 minolta cle
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 21mm 1.4 | f/1.4 | Portra 800 C-41
kodak portra 800 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om c-41 minolta cle
Leica M6 | Hologon 16mm 8.0 | Portra 800 C-41
kodak portra 800 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om c-41 minolta cle
Leica M6 | Hologon 16mm 8.0 | Portra 800 C-41
kodak portra 800 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om c-41 minolta cle
Leica M6 | Hologon 16mm 8.0 | Portra 800 C-41

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 30: Kodak Portra 800 C-41

Review: Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai – The first f/1.2 F-mount lens

Introduction

nikon 55mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai on Nikon FM2n

The optical design of this Nikkor 55mm 1.2 dates back to 1965, which makes it Nikon’s first f/1.2 lens for the F-mount. Among Nikon’s three manual focus f/1.2 ~50mm lenses this is not exactly a fan favorite though and usually considered the worst of the bunch. Let’s try to find out in this review if that bad reputation is actually justified.

Sample Images

nikon 55mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2
nikon 55mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2
nikon 55mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2
nikon 55mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2
nikon 55mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2
comparison nikon 55mm 1.2 ai nikkor voigtländer 58mm 1.4 nokton sl iis sliis f-mount slr dslr review sharpness contrast bokeh vignetting rendering CA resolution 42mp 61mp a7rv z8 z9 z7 z6 a1 a9
Sony A7III | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2
nikon 55mm 1.2 ai ai-s f/1.2 pre-ai tele fast 1971 1977 reportage press review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait
Nikon FM2 | Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai | f/1.2 | Kodak Gold 200 | ECN-2

Continue reading Review: Nikon Nikkor 55mm 1.2 Ai – The first f/1.2 F-mount lens

Using Speedboosters on Fullframe Cameras

Introduction

Zhong Yi LensTurboII and Nikon AF 85mm 1.4D via Pixco Speedbooster on Sony A7rII

Speedboosters are still somewhat popular among videographers, but since these days used fullframe cameras are very affordable, this is not really the case for still photographers anymore. They can be used for some creative shallow depth of field photography on fullframe cameras though, and that is what we will have a look at here.

Sample Pictures

Sony A7r | Zhong Yi LensTurbo II | Canon nFD 85mm 1.2L | ©Simeon Kolev

Continue reading Using Speedboosters on Fullframe Cameras

Review: Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM

Introduction

sony fe 50mm 1.2 gm fullframe fastest lens contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9 bokeh portrait
Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM on Sony A7rII

After the first fullframe E-mount cameras hit the market there was a lot of marketing fluff from the competitors that the E-mount was too narrow for fast high performance lenses. I cannot help but think this Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM had mainly been designed to prove them wrong and from everything I can see it more than succeeded at that, but let’s have a closer look.

Sample Images

sony fe 50mm 1.2 gm fullframe fastest lens contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9 bokeh portrait
Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2
sony fe 50mm 1.2 gm fullframe fastest lens contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9 bokeh portrait
Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2
sony fe 50mm 1.2 gm fullframe fastest lens contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9 bokeh portrait
Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2
sony fe 50mm 1.2 gm fullframe fastest lens contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9 bokeh portrait
Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2
sony fe 50mm 1.2 gm fullframe fastest lens contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9 bokeh portrait
Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2
sony fe 50mm 1.2 gm fullframe fastest lens contrast resolution 33mp 42mp 61mp sharpness vignetting a7riv a7rv a9 bokeh portrait
Sony A7III | Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM | f/1.2

Continue reading Review: Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM