Showcase Nikon 58mm f/1.2 Noct

[Sandro Bravo]

It’s about time that this thread is opened…. I realize not many folks have it, and it seems that even fewer use theirs….but those who do, please do share you work with it…if not, I hope some of these can make you use your Noct’s more often.

I have to admit I’m using the Sigma 50 F1.4 90% of the time and I still see it as the closest thing to a Noct ( there’s a thread I started about it buried somewhere..) but….this MF lense, hard to master and to nail focus at F1.2….is still the bokeh and low-light perfect lense. Couple it with a D700 / D3 and it will leave any low-light shooter in heaven.

Try to post preferably F1.2 shots ( all of those below were wide-open, with D300 and D700 more recently)

UPDATE : since this thread has grown over 50 pages, browsing to check all the photos can be a pain....so for those who want to check a few of them in one place, i've linked my own gallery at Pbase were you can see all the photos i posted on this very thread.

PBase.com

An excellent Noct gallery by SirCharlie (thanks for the link
Noct-i-licious.

 

[shtarka1]

Stunningly Impressive!

 

[intruder61]

impressively stunning

 

[Phil K]

Some random samples

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[Sandro Bravo]

Some random samples

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Nice shots Phil !

This one is the kind of photo that the Noct was made for.

 

[shtarka1]

impressively stunning

Vinny...You Kill Me!

Phil...Awesome!

 

[SeeNoEvil]

cool, i've been waiting a thread like this! great shots!

 

[ciscopro2000]

Very impressive pics Phil and Sandro!

 

[sbruno]

Oh jeez, why did I have to read this thread...



Steve

 

[:Francis:]

The 58/1.2 is one of my two dream lenses. My other dream lense is the 200/2 VR.

I have the poor mans option - the 50/1.2, but it doesn't come close to the Noct with regards to sharpness wide open.

Francis

 

[Saturnia]

We could share one, Francis..

 

[Sandro Bravo]

The 58/1.2 is one of my two dream lenses. My other dream lense is the 200/2 VR.

I have the poor mans option - the 50/1.2, but it doesn't come close to the Noct with regards to sharpness wide open.

Francis

Hi Francis,

The Noct is also for those who really want one, even not being wealthy...unfortunatelly i'm not rich so i had to work that part out...

I had one (AIS version) borrowed for 1 month...and then went back to my good old F1.4 D since a Noct was out of my budget...but it was not what i got used to during that whole month, so i bought a 50 F1.2 AIS on EBAY....the sharpness, bokeh and contrast wide-open was completely different from the Noct, i got some great shots from it but....apart from being 50mm-ish and F1.2 ( similar construction), the results were very different...so now what ?

I then looked really close at my bag and found a 70-200 VR sitting there pretty much neglected, sold it, got on EBAY and bidded on a 30 year old AI version that was in pretty good shape at a really good price, when the dollar was pretty low compared to the euro ( about 2.400 USD when they were averaging 2.800 / 3.000)....it was a really good feeling when i won that auction...

I took a few comparison shots a while back, between the 50 AIS and 58 AI ( PBase.com )

( full-res D2Hs files on the link)

50 F1.4

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50 F1.2

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58 F1.2

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On FX the DOF is even shallower and makes shooting in low light a real treat.

 

[sbruno]

Sandro, for those of us ignorant to the powers if the noct, can you offer some pointers in analizing your comparison? The noct does seem a tad smoother, but it does have a shallower DOF. What kind of differences should we be lookng at here?

Thanks for sharing.

Steve

 

[Sandro Bravo]

Sandro, for those of us hnoran to the powers if the noct, can you offer some pointers in alaoizing your comparison? The noct does seem a tad smoother, but it does have a shallower DOF. What kind of differences should we be lookng at here?

Thanks for sharing.

Steve

Hi Steve

This was not a scientic test, just a curiosity one...i was just checking the differences in bokeh and sharpness...the Noct bested the rest. The DOF on the 50 F1.2 is the same (slight FL difference), the results aren't.

Regarding the particular issue which is bokeh, being on these kind of "tests" or real-world shots, the Noct is better than any of the lenses you can see on the signature below.

 

[archangel]

wow, that test photos speak the $3000 difference.. you really see the bokeh come out MUUUCH better...

why they heck cant they make more of these lenses??? i mean if they did it 10 years ago, why not now??? blaaaaaaaaaa

 

[Bill]

Although the bokeh from the 58mm is better than with the 50mm and can be used in the light of day, I think the real benefit of the Noct is night photography. The background light seems stronger and smoother but less harsh then night photography with other lenses.

 

[Sandro Bravo]

wow, that test photos speak the $3000 difference.. you really see the bokeh come out MUUUCH better...

why they heck cant they make more of these lenses??? i mean if they did it 10 years ago, why not now??? blaaaaaaaaaa

I'll take this as some sort of humour...you could at least have made a comment on the opening shots, those are the actual samples of the performance of the lense that one should argue about, if one really needs to...it's pretty obvious that the extra you pay for a Noct is basiclly because they only made 12.000 and that was a loooong time ago....since i use mine on other situations than test shots and have others to compare it with, i know it's worth the sacrifice it takes to get one.

Some say it's not worth it because they never used one or are willing to fork out the dough...but this is the same for several lenses out there...:wink:

The Sigma 50 F1.4 is about the closest you can get to it...and i mean really close....

Although the bokeh from the 58mm is better than with the 50mm and can be used in the light of day, I think the real benefit of the Noct is night photography. The background light seems stronger and smoother but less harsh then night photography with other lenses.

I agree....even tough it can be used in better light, at night it's where you'll see the most differences to other lenses.

 

[bestfromnw]

added to archive

 

[Sandro Bravo]

No more pics ???

C'mon guys....i don't believe that only 2 of us shoot with this lense...i know several forum users have them...don't be shy.....

 

[Sandro Bravo]

added to archive

You've got it under "Voightlander Nokton 58mm f/1.2"...it should be Nikon 58mm F1.2 Noct AI