Review: Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct

26 Jan 2020 4 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Nikon,museum,classic lenses,, Uncategorized

Hello, everybody! I was out with my friend Andrew and we’re talking about systems architecture and administration, its design, cost, implementation, security and maintenance. All that talk is good but we all agreed that these don’t mean a thing if we don’t have a vision for it, it’s just money wasted, a resource that’s finite. Making something through the guidance of a vision is not easy because you’ll have to know what it is first and that can come from a limitation or other constraints. The lens that we’re going to talk about was born from the need to have a lens that performs close to its peak wide-open and to surpass its legendary predecessor. That vision guided the engineers at Nikon and they have created a modern masterpiece.

Introduction:

The Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct is a proof-of-concept of what Nikon’s new Z-mount can do. It was announced around the same time as the new Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7, it created a lot of buzz online and people were divided on how and why it doesn’t have autofocus and why it has to be so big and all. It is also controversial because it’s so expensive, costing almost $8,000 each. It is now on back-order due to the “demand” but I think that it’s just so hard to produce that Nikon can’t make more of these even if they wanted to. This is a true exotic lens that surpasses what Leica has to offer according to people online who were lucky enough to compare. The optical design is a complex 17-elements-in-10-groups one which is totally-new for Nikon, the elements are huge which makes this a really heavy lens and we’ll find out if the hype about this lens is real in this article.

The barrel is fat with most of the surface being covered by the focusing ring which has a really long focus throw with a minimum focusing distance just a bit below 0.5m or so. This is handy for shooting really blurry backgrounds for little things such as wedding rings or the dolls at the top of the cakes for those of you who shoot wedding photos or videos.

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Repair: Nikkor 35mm f/2 Ai-S

19 Jan 2020 2 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Nikon,museum,classic lenses,, Uncategorized

Hello, everybody! My head hurts due to stress at work so I am taking some medications to help me with this problem. I’m looking for a better option and I was advised to use CBD (cannabis oil) which you can buy from many wellness stores here. I was told that it’s great for a lot of things so I’m doing some tests to see if that’s true. I assume that it is less harmful than the pills, I have always wanted the natural option because nature knows best, cannabis is nature’s gift to man. While we’re on the topic of alternatives to mainstream option I would like to introduce to you an amazing alternative to the electronic lenses that are mainstream these days, it’s old but it’s not a bad lens at all even by current standards, it can also teach you a thing or two about patience that photographers these days forget about.

Introduction:

The Nikkor 35mm f/2 Ai-S is a favorite of many photographers. The practical features of this lens makes this perfect for everyone. The decent speed will cover everything from low-light photography to landscapes. This is a really popular lens and it remains in production from 1981 to 2005, an eternity as far as lenses go. It replaced the venerable Nikkor 35mm f/2 Ai, making this a viable lens for the Ai-S generation, allowing you to use full-automatic modes with it using compatible cameras. This lens incorporates Nikon’s better coating technology, SIC or Super Integrated Coating which helps quite a bit.

The build is typical of Ai-S Nikkors. It’s mostly all-metal, it will outlast all of the plastic lenses made today. This is a professional tool that’s made for abuse in the field. The only thing I don’t like about it is the rather shorter focus throw compared to the older Nikkor 35mm f/2 Ai. I prefer a lens with a slightly longer throw but this is all due to preferences.

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Repair: Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 Ai-S

04 Jan 2020 7 Comments

by richardhaw in nikon,lens repair,lens maintenance,nikon repair,, Nikon,museum,classic lenses,, Uncategorized

Hello, everybody! This is my first article in 2020! 2019 started off great for me career-wise but it quickly turned sour by the end of the last year, it was difficult for me and I had to take things slow in this blog. 2020 is a new year, it brings with it new hopes and opportunities, I have high hopes this year so please send me your well-wishes and let’s all have a fantastic year. Since we are on the topic of something fantastic, I’ll show you a fantastic lens in this article. Something that I think every landscape photographer should own if they shoot with Nikon or mirrorless.

Introduction:

The Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 Ai-S debuted in 1981 to replace the aging design that was pioneered by the then-ground-breaking Nikkor-N 24mm f/2.8 Auto. The optical design didn’t change from that point until the Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 Ai. The older design is great but it is clear that it had to be given a new optical formula in order to keep this lens line competitive in the years to come and they have succeeded. This is still being produced today, you can buy it new. This is how good this lens is and a testament to the engineers’ efforts.

It’s a compact lens, not much bigger than the Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Ai-S but it’s packed inside. The build quality isn’t as good as the older Ai series but it is a lot better than what we’re used to seeing these days. It will withstand plenty of beating from professional use and it will outlive any plastic lens.

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