Free 50mm F1.2 Ais .. but I have a D70?

[heartyfisher]

Hello Photo netters,

 

Since I have been getting so excited about photgraphy the last

few months and showing my pictures to anyone who wants to look

and anyone who does not want to look..

My brother is giving me an old 50mm f1.2 AIS which he does not

use anymore. as we live across the world from each othr I wont

be getting it in my hands for a few months. My sister is visiting

then and will be our courier!!

 

So in the mean time I will do some research to try to find out more.

I have looked around and I have found out some bits. but not too much..

I understand that it cannot meter on my D70 and I will have to use

the histogram but that is fine I use the histogram now anyway...

 

But I am having trouble focusing on the D70 screen with the lenses

I have now when I want fine focusing in manual mode. Will it be much

worse with this lens as the DOF is very narrow? Or is it just that

the DX lenses are such a pain to manual focus.

 

I am thinking of upgrading my D70( well not really more like

getting a second camera), are there any DSLRs that work better

than the D70 for this 50mm f1.2 AIS lens?

 

I read somewhere that there are "chipped" versions of AIS lenses

that allow for metering will the F1.2 50mm be upgradeble ?

I went to the guys web site and its not conclusive either way

He has a list of lenses he will upgrade. But its not a list of

lenses that are upgradable.

 

In various posts there are vague statement that the 50mm f1.2AIS is a

specialised lens and should be used in special cases. But I could not

discern what the "special" cases and situations were and when not to

use it. Anyone can shed some light on this?

 

Finally should I just say thanks but no thanks and get the

50mm F1.8 instead? Since its is fully functional on my D70 and

its a fair price.

 

I intend to use the 50mm for portrait and concert/event/theather. ie. lowlight

type situations that my VR 18-200 is really bad at. Its a slow lens and the

bokeh is crummy/not creamy :-)

 

Well thats my thoughts for now.. Looking forward to your advice. Thanks.

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

You could always either use a handheld meter or adjust exposure based on your histogram. As for focusing - you can buy a split prism screen and install it yourself or send it to Katz Eye:

 

http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/cat--Nikon-DSLRs--cat_nikon.html

 

Just be aware that this may void your D70 warranty.

[radfordneal]

Narrow DOF is beneficial for focusing accurately, since it

makes it more obvious when you don't have it right. Unfortunately,

the D70's viewfinder won't show the narrow DOF of the 50mm f/1.2, because of the design of its focusing screen. So it

will focus much the same as a lens at about f/3.5 - no better or

worse. The narrow DOF will show up on the actual image, however

(if you're using it at f/1.2).

The desire for narrow DOF is one "specialized" use for this lens.

The other is use in low light. Howevever, it can also be used

for ordinary purposes, though it might be slightly less sharp at

f/8 than the 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 lenses.

 

The D200 or D2X would allow you to use the meter with this lens.

[ShunCheung]

There is no Nikon AF lens that is max f1.2, so I don't think you can find any CPU chip for f1.2.

 

In any case, your problem will be focusing, not metering. The metering problem can easily be solved either with an external meter or just the histogram trial and error. I would get a KatzEye type split focusing screen.

 

I tried the Zeiss ZF 50mm/f1.4 on my D2X and I found it impossible to focus. Even on my Contax 645, I bought the split focusing screen for manual focusing.

[rene gm]

My advice: buy a Nikon 1.8 50mm AF brand new for 100$ instead, or let it be given to you a present from the lady that travels around the world as a courier.

[bjørn rørslett]

Shun: there is no problem getting an f/1.2 Ai-P chip for this lens at all, but that won't help much. The main issue with this and other of its ilk is the lack of space inside. I've looked at the 50/1.2 with a CPU upgrade in mind and found you need to remove a section of the optical glass in order to get space for a contact block.

 

The 40/1.2 has a "character" entirely of its own when it is used wide open. Either you love it or you positively dislike its rendition. It is not a replica of the 58/1.2 Noct despite their common speed and have a different kind of bokeh. Whilst the Noct is the sharper of these at f/1.2, the 50/1.2 is more than sharp enough for the kind of images you aim at using a super-speed lens.

[flaviosganzerla]

I use on my D70s all the time, just believe the focus confirmation and be careful to where you point the large center AF sensor. It takes some time to get confortable with.

[ShunCheung]

Bjorn, where do you get this f1.2 CPU chip from, custom made?

 

I understand that for example Rolland Elliot buys chips for Nikon AF lenses and put them on AI/AI-S lenses. So it becomes a problem when there is no AF equivalent for a certain lens.

[bjørn rørslett]

I've run out of supplies for custom-made prints right now, but there will be a new order later this spring. These chips are much smaller than the original Nikon equivalents and can be programmed as AI-P or AI-G (useful for PC-Nikkors, bellows etc.) exactly to specification. So having an f/2.5 105 mm AI-P or a Mirror 1000 mm f/11 Ai-G (this lens needs the "G" type so that the camera won't ask for an aperture collar) is a breeze. The EXIF data will report the precise focal length and aperture ranged programmed (in 1/6 EV stops). For zoom lenses you can have the full zooming range reported, but since the lens can't give feedback with respect to the actual zoomed position, you have to pick some intermediate range. Thus, I have programmed my 200-400/4 AIS Nikkor to report itself as 200-400 f/4-f/32 Ai-P @312mm.

[bjørn rørslett]

Shun: also, in case you are interested in the topic, there are further details <a href="http://nikongear.com/smf/index.php?topic=3907.0">here</a>.<p>

 

I haven't decided whether there will be customised prints offered to the public. Getting the contact blocks is the current night mare, but if you can supply your own (scavenged from a wrecked low-end zoom), then I might consider offering some prints for sale.

[ShunCheung]

Bjorn, thanks for the info.

[wj_lee]

"Finally should I just say thanks but no thanks and get the 50mm F1.8 instead"

 

Are you crazy? Saying no to a free lens, especially an expensive one? You could just sell it and be able to get couple of 50mm F1.8. Or Get a 50mm F1.4. A lot of people make big deal out of narrow depth of field and ultra fast lenses being not sharp enough wide open, but really I don't think there much to it. You either fuss about not being sharp at wide open or fall in love with dreamy quality of pictures at maximun apperture of ultra fast lenses.

[anthony_bez]

"My advice: buy a Nikon 1.8 50mm AF brand new for 100$ instead"

 

Tze, I will send you a f1.8 in exchange for your f1.2, but you would be crazy to accept the offer!

[ShunCheung]

I can't speak for Tze's brother, but if I gave a 50mm/f1.2 lens to my (hypothetical) brother and he turns around and sells it for money or exchanges it for some other lens without my consent, I would be really pissed.

[heartyfisher]

Thanks guys!

 

To summerise

 

1) Katseye split screen for manual focus assistance.

Love this idea. Sounds like many of you guys already have

this.

 

Didnt understand Radford Neal's comment on the viewfinder view

being f3.5 DOF? I did notice other posting in other threads that

implies this as well. Why is this the case?

 

2) Specialise features/functions/use.

*> low light

*> extream narrow DOF. Depending on taste its either "dreamy" or "fuzzy"

*> Different Unique "Character" at F1.2

*> Not too good at above F8 "Soft"?

 

3) D200 and D2X would allow Metering ie no need to "chip" it.

"Chipping" may not work anyway.

 

What a wonderful excuse to get a D200 !!

 

4) 50mm F1.8 or F1.4 is a valid alternative for D70.

 

5) old 50mm F1.2 ais is still very desiarable!. yes, I can see your drool..!

 

6) No I wont want to piss him off.

 

I think the courier pack may contain a PC lens as well and a 70-210 f4.

Who know what else he has that he does not want anymore!!

 

gosh even more reasons to get the D200!

 

Thanks guys for your great advice ..

[oskar_ojala]

I don't think that lenses such as the 50/1.4 can be critically focused manually on a D70 without a magnifier, but using the rangefinder function helps a lot, although it slows you down. The D200 should make everything easier with working metering and better finder.

 

Few people really make use of the features of the 50/1.2, but free is always free, so getting this kind of "extended loan" is of course very good for you.

[rene gm]

I'd still advice to sell this lens, and buy a 50mm (1.4 or 1.8) Nikkor instead. Nobody ever regretted having this lens. Take the rest of the money to travel to photo locations.

 

Of course, if you want to have an excuse for upgrading to a D200, there is nothing wrong with the 1.2 :-)

[bart_v]

Hello Tze,

 

You can use your 50mm F1.2 on your D70(s) perfectly. Even with the small viewfinder of the D70(s) it's possible to get perfect focussed pictures, I have one myself and use the following trick: I focus a bit in front of the subject and at 3fps I slowly turn the focussingring untill the focus is a little behind the subject. On a your computerscreen you can see which picture was focussed best, that's the one you keep!

 

Bart