Category Archives: Review

Review: Voigtländer 55mm 1.2 SL IIs Nokton – The last F-mount lens?

April 25, 2024 BastianK 10 Comments

Introduction

voigtländer sl iis nokton nikon f 55mm 1.2 ai-s fast review 42mp sony nikon z 61mp z6 z7 z8 z9 a7riv a7rv contrast sharpness bokeh vignetting portrait — Voigtländer 55mm 1.2 SL IIs Nokton on Nikon FM2n

Cosina is always up for a surprise and when they announced this Voigtländer 55mm 1.2 SL IIs Nokton for the Nikon F-mount in 2023 – 5 years after Nikon transitioned to the Z-mount – that surely was a big surprise. Lenses as fast as f/1.2 are rare birds in the F-mount world because they are really operating at the limit of this bayonet. As I will show you in this review, Cosina’s engineers managed to create something that Nikon’s engineers were not able to achieve in over 60 years.

Sample Images

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Nikon, Nikon, Review

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

April 21, 2024 BastianK 17 Comments

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

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Review, Viltrox

Review: Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 STM ED IF – Ultra Compact Portrait Lens (APS-C)

April 15, 2024 Martin 8 Comments

Introduction

Review test Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 aps-c nikon z6 Z6ii z50 z30 zfc z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 Zf nikon z f fc Sony FE Fujifilm Fuji X canon rf m43 review nikon z z-fc z30 z50 test sharpness bokeh coma vignetting Flare 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z 7 z 7ii Z8 Z9 Zf nikon z f

Viltrox, a pioneer in autofocus lenses from China, has been on a roll lately, releasing new lenses for both full-frame and APS-C cameras. Their recent APS-C PRO series boasts impressive quality but with a larger size footprint. In stark contrast, their latest creation is this super-compact AF 56mm f/1.7. Let’s see how this tiny portrait lens performs!

I tested this lens on a Fujifilm X-S10 with its 26 Mp APS-C sensor.

Sample Images

VILTROX Review test Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 STM ED IF aps-c nikon z6 Z6ii z50 z30 zfc z7 z7ii Z8 Z9 Zf nikon z f fc Sony FE Fujifilm Fuji X canon rf m43 review nikon z z-fc z30 z50 test sharpness bokeh coma vignetting Flare 24mp nikon z6 z6ii 46mp nikon z 7 z 7ii Z8 Z9 Zf nikon z f — Fujifilm X-S10 | Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7 | f/2

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Nikon, Nikon, Review

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

April 6, 2024 BastianK 16 Comments

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

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

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Review, Sony, Sony E-mount

Review: Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM

March 30, 2024 BastianK 22 Comments

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.