Jump to content

50mm f/1.2 on D700


jphotog

Recommended Posts

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I just acquired a 50mm f/1.2 for my D700. As I put the aperture ring on f/1.2 the display on the camera says f/1.4. </p>

<p>Can I fix it? Should I return the lens or repair the camera? Should I just live with it?</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Jonas </p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>As Matthew has said, setting the focal length and aperture in the non-CPU section of the menu should work. f1.2 is one of the options for aperture. It's on page 210 in my copy of the D700 manual. I use several non-CPU lenses and I use the Fn button to swiftly set the camera when I swap non-CPU lenses.</p>
Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>Matthew,</p>

<p>I edited the lens menu and now it works as expected. My manual is in Dutch, which is why I rarely consult it. Yes, I know, I will get one in English...</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

<p>Jonas</p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>An f/1.2 lens is certainly an interesting oddity. I would love to have one to play around with.</p>

<p>I find that in much of what I do, I am trying to increase depth-of-field. So I end up stopping down the aperture significantly. And the relatively good performance of modern digital cameras at high ISOs makes low light lenses like this less necessary. Still, I'm jealous!</p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>Paul, don't be jealous of that extra 1/2 stop aperture. It's almost unusable with most subjects because of the shallow DOF, residual SA and low contrast.</p>

<p>An aperture of f/1.2 was useful with film and manual focus because it may have made the difference between a sharp shot and one ruined by camera shake. It also let you focus accurately in low light. With the D700 you can just use the focus confirmation light and wind up the ISO sensitivity to (almost) whatever is required. Believe me, f/1.4 is more than enough glass these days, especially since low-light candids seem to have gone out of fashion now that they're so easy to get!</p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<p>Don't listen to Rodeo Joe :-)<br /> The spherical aberration is beautiful and the bokeh is great at f/1.2. And it's still sharper than the Nikkor f/1.4 at f/1.4 and the Nikkor f/1.8 at f/1.8.<br /> And then we Nikkor f/1.2 owners have the mechanical heft and the build quality of yesteryear to drool over. :-)</p>

<p> </p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<blockquote>

<p>Me, too. Had one for my Canon, swapped everything to Nikon, and haven't found one yet... :0(</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Monika, there are some Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AI-S (manual focus) lenses on the used market if you are interested in one. They aren't cheap, fetching between $400 and $600, but then again the 50mm F/1.4 AF-S goes for about the same cost. There are usually a few on flea-bay at any given time, and pop up from time to time on KEH, Adorama and B&H.</p>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...