Category Archives: Vintage

REVIEW: Nikon AI Nikkor 24mm f/2

October 12, 2025 Martin 5 Comments

Introduction

Today, I’m taking a look at a vintage classic — the Nikkor 24mm f/2 AI. With analogue photography making a strong comeback, old film-era lenses like this are getting attention again. Nikon first released it in 1977 as the AI version, followed by the AI-S in 1981 — same optical design, just refined mechanics. This lens was designed near the end of the era when Nikon still held absolute dominance in the professional segment.

For decades, this was Nikon’s fastest 24mm, holding that title until the AF-S 24mm f/1.4G came along in 2010. Even more impressive, Nikon kept producing it until 2005 and sold it as new until 2007 — nearly 30 years on the market. That’s a remarkably long run for any lens, but was it truly because of its performance, or something else? Let’s find out.

camera-icon2 I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf )

You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

Continue reading REVIEW: Nikon AI Nikkor 24mm f/2 →

lenses, Review, Vintage

REVIEW: LOMOGRAPHY Petzval 55mm F/1.7 Bokeh Control Mark II Art Lens

September 14, 2025 Martin 6 Comments

Introduction

Inspired by a 19th-century design with a cult following, Lomography has brought the spirit of Joseph Petzval’s optics into the mirrorless era. Over the years, Lomography has released several lenses based on Joseph Petzval’s original 1840s optical designs. The Lomography Petzval 55mm f/1.7 Bokeh Control MKII is the company’s first Art Lens built specifically for full-frame mirrorless cameras. It’s a reimagining of the original design, aiming to replicate the aesthetic qualities of those early lenses: a sharp centre and wild, swirling bokeh that makes any merry-go-round effect fade in comparison.

I’ve reviewed other lenses that produce a somewhat similar effect — such as the Helios 40, Helios 44, and TTArtisan’s remake of the Carl Zeiss Biotar 75/1.5 — but in terms of effect, those are more like corrected versions of this lens, taming the aberrations that create its distinctive bokeh.

While I usually follow a standard testing procedure, you’ll see that there’s little point in doing so with this lens. After all, it’s not sharpness charts or corner performance that matter here—this is a lens about feel, character, and swirly chaos. So, this will be part review, part test—let’s dive in!

camera-icon2 I tested this lens on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii (Sample images were taken with a Nikon Zf )
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.

Sample Images

Nikon Zf | LOMOGRAPHY New Petzval 55mm 1.7 Bokeh Control Mark II | f/1.7 | BC7

Nikon Zf | LOMOGRAPHY New Petzval 55mm 1.7 Bokeh Control Mark II | f/2

Nikon Zf | LOMOGRAPHY New Petzval 55mm 1.7 Bokeh Control Mark II | f/1.7

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Nikon, Review, Tokina, Vintage

Review: Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro

July 23, 2025 BastianK 9 Comments

Introduction

tokina 17mm 3.5 af at-x pro auto focus wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon d700 d800 d810 d850 d780 fm fe f3 f f5 z6 z7 z8 zf — Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro on Sony A7rII

During the SLR era Tokina had a bit of a thing for 17mm 3.5 ultra wide angle lenses, as they made three different iterations of it. This is a review of the latest one and the urban legend says that the older manual focus version is actually the better performer. I always found that hard to believe, so I thought it was a good idea to find out myself. So let’s have a closer look at this Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro.

Sample Images

Sony A7III | Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro | f/11 | Polarizer

Sony A7III | Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro | f/5.6

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Nikon, Review, Vintage, Zeiss

Review: Zeiss 18mm 3.5 Distagon ZF.2

May 28, 2025 BastianK 9 Comments

Introduction

zeiss 18mm 3.5 distagon classic zf zf.2 zf2 ze t* germany german high resolution contrast landscape sharpness architecture distortion lateral ca chromatic aberration aberrations zf z6 z6iii z8 z9 z7 z7ii z6ii 24mp 42mp 61mp — Zeiss 18mm 3.5 ZF.2 on Nikon FM2n

Zeiss offered a wide variety of manual focus lenses for Nikon F-mount and Canon EF. Many of these lenses have been famous not only for being purely manual focus lenses, but also for being pretty big compared to the competition. Sitting inbetween the huge Zeiss 15mm 2.8 and 21mm 2.8, this Zeiss 18mm 3.5 was Zeiss’ “compact” ultra wide angle prime. It also has a reputation for being the worst of them, is that justified? Let’s find out in this review!

Sample Images

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Nikon, Nikon, Review, Vintage

Review: Nikon AF 14mm 2.8D

January 22, 2025 BastianK 7 Comments

Introduction

nikon 14mm 2.8 af af-d auto focus wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon d700 d800 d810 d850 d780 fm fe f3 f f5 z6 z7 z8 zftokina 17mm 3.5 af at-x pro auto focus wide angle ultra review architecture 42mp 61mp sony a7riv a7rv sharpness contrast vignetting compact nikon d700 d800 d810 d850 d780 fm fe f3 f f5 z6 z7 z8 zf — Nikon AF 14mm 2.8D via FTZ II on Nikon Zf

Released in 2000, the Nikon AF 14mm 2.8D is still the widest auto focus prime lens sold under the Nikon brand to this day. As some of the recent Z-mount lenses, this is also a rebranded Tamron lens though. The existing reviews didn’t paint a clear picture, so I decided to have a closer look at it myself.