I started watching this on Saturday evening, confident that I could tell them apart, the cooler hues of the Nikon pallete. the super sharpness of the Olympus, the enriched Canon colours. I didn't get a single one right!! I was looking forward to seeing the Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 - the radioactive one - because I thought I could pick that one out of a crowd, it being my favourite 50mm vintage, and one that I've taken thousands of images on. I'm pleased that Nigel didn't include it because I'm sure I'd have got that one wrong as well! A very interesting review, Nigel, more please. George

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it George. I guess it would have been interesting to see the super tak here - I'll try to take it out for a spin soon! Thanks for looking in sir!

Love the hair being down!

Great video. In practice, shooting conditions will nearly always trump any minor differences in lenses of this quality.

Many moons ago was Zenned into the Olympus OM 50mm f/1.4 & am still one with it. Cheers!

Thank you for the video! I would also like to mention the Pentax 50mm 1.4 for the K mount. Just a great lens! It has some of the best bokeh and a comfortable minimum focus distance.

Surprisingly, Olympus lenses didn't get more attention in the '70s and '80s when considering the quality involved. Perhaps because the competition was fierce at the time. Several brands were fighting for the market (Gone are, among others, Contax, Konica, Topcon, Rollei, Minolta, Yashica, and Mamiya). Olympus OM lenses from the 70s, 80s and beyond are still some of the best. In my opinion, the Olympus lenses are also among the best for digital photography.

It was between #1 and #3 for me! Great video, as always, thanks!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for looking in mon ami!

I'd like to have been a fly on the wall at the meeting where they decided to make a 57mm lens. "I think we should make a 56mm." "Nah, too short." "58mm then." "BORING" "57mm then?" "YES. GENIUS."

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

:) thanks, that made me smile!

@77appyi

Жыл бұрын

i think the reason that almost all early SLR fast 50s were often 55mm plus was the extra focal length was needed for the optical designs of the day to clear the mirror... so the flange distance of the body would also play a part..rangefinder cameras of the day tended to have 50mm standard lenses as no mirror to compromise optical design

Thank you, very enjoyable content.

Gratifying to learn your conclusion confirms my observations too. I find in some ways you can relate lenses to audio equipment. eg valve amplifiers may not produce extremes of frequency nor measure well in a laboratory but can produce tonal colour, body and dimensionality that is desirable to those that appreciate and value such qualities. Same applies to lenses, as you have observed.

the FD lens shot of brick fence/wall at f1.4 has a nice 3D effect and very pleasing colours, overall the Zuiko lens is the stand out here, fantastic lens.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

That zuiko is indeed a lovely lens. Thanks for looking in!

Love these vintage tests ! I take it these were all using an adapter on your Sony A7 ? I know it has no optics but I would imagine tiny tolerance errors possibly might affect the result🤔. It might have been fun if you had borrowed a modern digi 50mm f1.4 Sony and showed the progress or possibly lack of 😳

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

A modern lens for comparison would have been a good idea - I'll remember it for next time!

got a md50 1.4 and a md35 2.8, my dad brought them new in early 80s, just got them serviced and now I need a ff mirrorless body.

I have a slightly earlier version of the Nikon, it's a SC. Definitely a love or hate. Picked mine up fairly cheap before vls went totally mad. Only problem is i usually grab the tiny 50 f2 but nice to have both.

It is frustrating to me that so many vintage lens people talk about 50mm so much of the time. 50mm is my least liked focal length (along with 40 and 28) and yet there is so little discussion on 24mm, 35mm, and 85mm. I would love to know opinions on Russian lenses in those focal lengths but they rarely get a mention. A video on favorite Russian lenses from 24mm to 135 would be fabulous, but I don't think that exists. If anyone has info like that I would love to know.

@jensknappe2485

8 ай бұрын

For 35mm look after the russian Mir-1b or Mir 1-v, which is a 37mm f2.8 lens. The handling is a bit unusual, but the optics is great and comparable to the nice CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.8.

Filter on the Olympus looks a little hazy, excellent test well done.

Nigel You missed my favorite 50mm 1.4 lens my Super Takumar 50mm1.4 M42 mount with the radioactive rear thorium glass

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I'll try to include it in another test soon!

A question for the Zenog King and all Zenogs everywhere. I just picked up a Ricoh Rikenon XR (Pentax Mount) 28mm f2.8 and when I got home I discovered it is the 24mm version!!! It is absolutely stellar and fabulous for street work...but no info anywhere on the in traverse.I have gleaned it is about 40 years old and possibly make by Samioka (or is that semolina) and often labelled the poor mans Summicron (a likely story) thats all I can find. Any input would be brilliant. But remember, the proof of the pudding is in the jPegs from my X-E2 and this one is delicious. Thanks all you wonderful followers of this exceptionally amazing channel.

I used Nikkor A-IS 50mm f1.4 lenses for well over a decade on FM2s and an F3 and for me the biggest advantage was the much brighter image in the viewfinder. With hindsight I now realise I used it at maximum aperture far too often, presumably to get my money's worth out of the much more expensive f1.4. Obviously the viewfinder brightness isn't a consideration with mirrorless cameras but I've heard people say giving the AF more light to play with increases it's speed and accuracy in low light. Sounds reasonable. High ISO quality is getting better all the time to the point where I'm wondering whether the loss in quality at f1.4 over f2 isn't worse than doubling ISO. (Obviously it's a different type of quality, but you know what I'm getting at.) I don't have any 1.4 lenses at the moment but it might make a subject for future experiments and a video.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I must say I often find myself stopping down very wide aperture lenses just a bit, just to squeeze a little more sparkle out of them. But as you say, what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts! Thanks for looking in.

I do really like this format! I own 2 of the ones you tested and I got those right. I was a little surprised the Nikkor came out on top. My guess was that it would be the Canon.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I thought so too, but what swayed me in favour of the Nikon was the unique colour pallette. The zuiko beat it for sharpness, but overall I liked the Nikon better. Thanks for looking in!

I would like to see some tomioka lenses mixed in and maybe some contax/yashica ones as well.

Interesting comparsion,it would be more juicey if you would compare about the picture mood of the lens.

The Hexagon gave itself away, but The others were fun to guess and I got them right. I own the Olympus and the Nikon 50mm f1.4 lenses so it was easy to figure it out. 😎

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for looking in!

Liked them all, but my favorite was the FD. Thanks for all your work and effort!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

No worries, glad you enjoyed it!

@thomaseriksson6256

Жыл бұрын

Difficult to use on my DSLR but I'm learning. I need to use the focus dot in the camera. Good at aperture 5.6 to 8. I got it for creating a Pictorialism portfolio. The macro is for old infrastructure and woodland. I like your channel its good to use older equipment as I do. I slowly saving for a used D850 for my Nikon Flenses and a used Fuji GFX 50S for my old analogue MF lenses.

My guess was the order in which you showed the lenses , grey pink blue yellow. Even tho I spotted the focal length I thought it might be a red herring. The Canon was a surprise as I was expecting the konika to out colour the group.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Me too, but those FD lenses do give nice colour!

I bet you were surprised to see that Nikkor lens come out on top (or even close to it). You're not a Nikon-hater, but you have (understandably) steered clear of the brand over the years. I've always thought this was because you are looking for value. Identifying Nikkor lenses from the 1970's can be tricky. I use the serial numbers. Many of the non-ai lenses were modified. You used to be able to buy the AI'd back plate as a factory-direct replacement and lots of them have been AI'd by hand. I have a non-AI 1.4 50mm that looks and performs very similarly on mirrorless. I have always found my Zuiko to give more pleasing red hues while the Nikkors tend to have richer greens. who knows... shoot what helps you enjoy the journey! That's what it's all about anyways... Peace.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I was very surprised at this result, but credit where it's due! I think further exploration of Nikon optics is required at this point. Peace to you mon ami!

All donations for Gillete razors welcome.

@jimvim4086

Жыл бұрын

Yoda Judge me by my five o' clock shadow do you? Funny last name homage to Pentax. Smiley Face.

@philipslighting8240

Жыл бұрын

@@jimvim4086 Funny last name VIM keeps things clean though. 🧐

@mikepxg6406

Жыл бұрын

I think home help bringing them round.

@ronaldsand3000

Жыл бұрын

Donations for a new chair as well 😅

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

:) That made me smile!

I have been looking for quality and budget vintage f1.4 ~50mm lenses for astrophotography. Everyone recommends the cannon nifty 50, but surprise, surprise to me that's neither budget nor vintage. Astrophotgraphy mercilessly reveals all lens defects as it aims to record point sources of light across the entire field of view. My point is would these lenses be worth a try in this regard or maybe best used for their artistic merits.

The only one I got right was the Canon. I was convinced #1 was Konica, #2 was Zuiko, # Nikkor and #4 Canon. btw that Nikkor IS an Ai. Wouldn't work too well on that FM / FE if it wasn't. Cheers and thanks for the great content!

Thanks for your run-down. Canon DSLRs have the shortest flange distance, and therefore can mount most vintage lenses EXCEPT for FD! Ironic. Thanks to this video, I now have a much better idea of which 50mm lens to go for next! PS I like the way you talk to your lenses and pet cameras! This could be one reason more people are signing up to your channel!

@77appyi

Жыл бұрын

thay also cannot mount Minolta SR mount

@campbells0ups

9 ай бұрын

CANON EF do not accept Minolta M or Konika AR mount, but should accept most other SLR mount lenses

@numbersix8919

9 ай бұрын

@@campbells0ups Thanks for the heads up!

Whilst watching this very interesting comparison test Nigel, I was wondering how my Jena Prakticar 50mm f1.4 lens would have stacked up against this group.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Hi Peter, good to hear from you again. I remember the Prakticar as a very nice lens indeed and often wondered how it might compare while doing this test. I think it would have done pretty well!

i wish you could include my Carl Zeiss Planar or the Zeiss Jena Pancolar 1,4/55 mm or the Prakticar 1.4/ 50mm in this test.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Oh my gosh, so do I! I've shot the Prakticar but would love to shoot the CZJ, and the Planar too! I'd be happy to shoot and compare them, if you'd like me to!

I like the Olympus, but I enjoy the Minolta Rokkor MC PG 50mm F1.4 as well.

@HumanClouds

Жыл бұрын

Agree, the Minolta should have been the 5th contender!

@Mouxbar

Жыл бұрын

Tested my new old MC 1.7 today for the first time. Just about as sharp as I've seen in any lens at f8. Decent wide open as well.

@sclogse1

Жыл бұрын

I recently put it on a helicoid adapter and now have macro on it. Very magical stuff going on in the out of focus areas wide open..and killer sharpness at f5.6 in closeups. Especially shooting pics of other lenses like my Bausch and Lomb on my 16mm Keystone. Easily magazine grade stuff.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I've shot that lens but don't own one - unfortunately! One of the nicest 50 1.4s I've shot.

I thought they all suffered a lack of sharpness until I realised my computer had set the video resolution to "Auto 360p"! So I watched again at HD and think they all aquitted themselves well. Nice one!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Glad you got the tech sorted out, thanks for looking in!

i think the Canon lens seam to have a better 3D pop and to me the nicest overall look .i think the FD lens would of shined on a bright contrasty day with its newer coatings.i have the FD lens but at the moment prefer to use a Fujinon 55mm F1.8..its as sharp or Sharper but has nicer Bokeh ..i have been keeping my eye out for a Fuji 50mm F1.4 EBC but when i do see one they go over my budget

II got a Zeiss Planar 50mmF1.4 that I use on a D700 digital camera. Not sharp at F1.4 but its build like that for portrait. I use it for ART photo else I have the Zeiss Milvus 50mmF2.0 Macro. My best lens was a Nikon 50mmF1.8 for Nikon FM/FE/F3 (and 105mmF2.8). I sold them when I went digital and Analogue MF.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

That Planar sounds nice! Thanks for looking in.

I never shoot lenses wide open for astrophotography, it makes the stars look like footballs. Always shot at one stop down.

You forgot the Takumar 50mm F1.4. The SMC variety is my favorite. While nice on the Fuji, it's amazing on a Canon M5 or M50. The Takumar color profile filtered through Canon color science ticks all the right boxes for me.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I'll try to include it in another test soon!

Not sure if someone else mentioned it but the Nikon 50mm 1.4 based on serial number is a late Ai version probably around 1980/(early)81. Nikon never identified lenses as Ai or Ai-S, at least prior to the late 80’s.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info!

3 & 4 (Oly and Canon) all the way through for me until image 4 when the FD scored some fatal 3D punch. As I have far too many 50's now, might try the same exercise myself. You never know, I might just sell one 🤣

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Be careful with selling lenses - experience has taught me that they often end up being bought again!

Interesting comparison, and surprising results, Nigel. But, not VERY surprising. Personally, I like the Olympus overall. Even though it's noticeably veiled and soft wide open, it seems to deliver a bit more dimensionality, a touch more of the 3d effect that I always enjoy, and when stopped down to f/2, it's got all the detail one can expect from vintage optics. Sharpness is one thing, and we do always enjoy making these sorts of comparisons, but to me, the final arbiter is always the 'feel' of the image, and to my eyes, the Olympus pulls ahead a little for that. I rather like the coolish colour shift it presents, as well as the more pastel look it offers wide open, which I suppose is why it's one of the faves in my own kit. The Nikon, though, impressed. It's got a unique rendering that is pleasant, and the bokeh is lovely, quite pronounced if perhaps a bit nervous. To my eye, the Canon lens felt just a touch harsh for some reason. All nice, all different! My top pick may remain the Olympus, interestingly, partially because of its unique slightly soft colour rendering, but the Nikkor is giving it a run, and I may just have to hunt down a nice copy. Right. As if I really need yet one more 50mm in my already too vast kit.

@caw25sha

Жыл бұрын

For many years I had a sneaking suspicion that Olympus lenses were a bit of a compromise, trading image quality for smaller size. It's only since I've been watching Nigel's videos that I realise I was wrong. Something else I've come to realise over the past few years is that there is such a thing as too sharp. If an image is sharper than it would look in real life it's not realistic and looks "false" for want of a better word. For the same reason I don't like HD TV and BluRay.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely, the final arbiter is the feel of the image. I think if we rely too heavily on technical test results we sometimes can't see the wood for the trees, so choosing between images such as these is really quite subjective, all other things being more or less equal. Thanks for looking in mon ami!

I’m avoiding the vintage lens market at the moment… prices have got ridiculous. A few nice 1.4’s already in the kit.

i recommend the SMC PENTAX-A 50 mm 1:1.4 k mount.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tip!

As a Nikon/Nikkor lover I like to see how this Nikkor 50/1.4 performs against the Canon 50/1.4 LTM ? my feeling says probably it'll beat the Nikkor... what are your thoughts?

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Very difficult to say without testing side by side - and I don't have a copy of the Canon lens!

I thought the #4 was the Nikon, and #3 the Canon, and I don't really know about the other two to have an approximate reference. Oh, I was quite off with the Nikon & Canon!!!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I guess two out of four ain't bad!

I have the famous Nikkor 35mm /1.4 AIS and the 35mm /2.0 AIS. The 1.4 is double the price of the 2.0. But the 2.0 outperforms the 1,4 variant at f/2.0. Strange, but at f/2.8, then the 1,4 is shining and is marvelous. Which one is best? It depends on which aperture you use it.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Older lenses often have quirks like this - getting to know them means you can get the best from them I guess. You have two very nice optics there - enjoy!

@protestagain

Жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 No, I'm not selling either of them. The same as with my 85mm. I have the Nikkor 85mm/1.4 AIS and the Mitakon 85mm/1.2. The Mitakon is as sharp at 1.2 as the Canon 85mm/1.2, but at 2.8 or 4.0, the Nikkor is glorious. It all depends on what you are looking for. That is perhaps what makes photography so exciting. Different systems, formats, lenses, media, yes, absolutely everything. Being able to create what you want and want others to appreciate it as well.

Is there a dirty UV filter In front of the Zuiko ?

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

There's a filter on there, but it's pretty clean!

@Aviopic

Жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 yet it shouldn't be there when comparing lenses as most of them are crap and even the less crap don't come without a cost, there's no free lunch in science 😉

If you shoot video lens that often look bad for photos look cool on video. Perhaps we are used to lenses in old films. Moving images hid some flaws but real show up some flaws. CA in the blur really looks strange sometimes especially when there is movement on screen.

Too many photographers need a brand name and logo before they feel comfy with a like. Doing tests without names to lead/mislead is the way to free the mind and the assumptions.

I got the Nikon immediately: I hate that lens, that horrendous CA and the Hexagons in the bubbles as soon as it slightly stops down The terrible onion stripes it produces in the boubles. I hate that lens and it's the worst of bunch with its washed down colours at 1.4 I love konika and Canon for the decent colour rendition and lack of CA. Actually I much prefer the Zuiko 1.8 to the 1.4

I think the fence was producing some flare with those slats. I noticed the lower left of all four lenses on the fence shots was lighter than the rest of the images. I thought you were sporting some chromatic aberrations until I realized you took the day off from shaving...

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

:) That made me smile! You're right, I think there was a little flare. It was horrible grey diffuse light that day, which didn't help.

no super tak 50mm 1.4? oh, the humanity. it would have been nice to include one.

the first thing i've noticed in this "test" is that only "lens1" was actually stopped down to f2. on all other lenses bokeh size somehow not changed between f1.4 and "f2". no signs of a diaphragm actually closing.

@zenography7923

10 ай бұрын

Look more closely. The difference is there.

I'd like to see more nifty fifties added to the mix, like the Takumar, and maybe also a generic third-party 50/55 F/1.4 to see if there is a noticeable difference between first and third party lenses from that era :)

@caw25sha

Жыл бұрын

Not sure there are many. At that time most third party lenses were at the budget end of the market, or tried to fill the rare gaps in camera manufacturer's lens ranges. There might be CZJ ones but I think they were based on Praktica lenses so don't really count.

@pres589

Жыл бұрын

@@caw25sha Chinon and Ricoh both offered 50mm f1.4 options (I think Ricoh actually had at least two, a P and XR series are different) in both K and M42 mounts. Cosina offered some as well. Samyang offers one today. I'm sure there's more and I'm only thinking of K mount.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion - quite a few viewers missed the Tak in this episode!

The FE did not have a the collapsible AI prong on the amount, so that Nikkor must be either AI or converted, I think.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I'm not a great expert on Nikon gear - thanks for the info!

@Cotictimmy

Жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 I had an FE and my Dad had an FM (back in the day.) If I remember right, Dad's FM had a collapsible coupling ridge on the lens mount, but my FE did not. I think that feature was missing on the FM2.

Lens 1 for me

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Me too!

I like the number 1 lens fully open.......in fact Nigel....

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Me too, I thought that old Nikon gave overall the nicest and most appealing image of the lot! Hope all's well with you Phil.

the Nikon 50mm 1.4 is a AI Lense. AI is normally not written on the front, in fact it isn't written anywhere.

@reinhardankenbauer3241

Жыл бұрын

AI = all inclusive? 😮

@caw25sha

Жыл бұрын

The easiest way to tell is the small holes in the rabbit's ears prongs. The functional difference is a ridge on the back of the aperture ring which tells compatible cameras the aperture set. Earlier cameras still used the rabbit's ears.

@caw25sha

Жыл бұрын

@@reinhardankenbauer3241 Aperture indicator / indication / indicated. Something like that.

@GeorgeK356

Жыл бұрын

@@caw25sha Yes, it has the additional aperture number ring close to the camera body so as to be made visible in the viewfinder prism.

@marksieving7925

Жыл бұрын

@@reinhardankenbauer3241 AI = automatic indexing

I liked number 4 slightly more than number 1

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I very much liked the Canon images too, and a choice like this is really quite subjective, at least to some extent. I chose the Nikon (lens 1) as I liked what it did with colour and it seemed best overall. Thanks for looking in!

Actually you do have a late Ai Nikkor 50 1.4. ;) It's the last version of the Ai, before the Ai-s was introduced.

This is kind of interesting, but I think a person with your sorry telling abilities would do much better by telling the story of vintage photographers. This should be your next step. Thanks for your work.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion, appreciated!

No Pentax? tut tut

@sclogse1

Жыл бұрын

The Takumar.

To be fair the Konica is a fair bit older lens.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

It's true - a generation or so older than the rest, and it shows!

Извините но ничего не понял.😆Жаль ведь у меня как раз этот зуйко.

I like your vids, but I need human subjects to judge a lens, sorry. Btw I'm still quite happy with a cheap lens I bought after your advice, the 50mm 1.8 Zeiss Jena.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I'll try to get some human subjects soon. Thanks for looking in!

@lorenzofortunati

Жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 thanks :-) Oh and, may I ask you please: do you think there is a noticeable difference at f/2, between FD or Nikkor, and the lens I mentioned? Meaning Zeiss Jena Pancolar electric 1.8/50 MC. I find it too soft wide open, but at 2.2 it gets very interesting. Love its colors, sort of natural grain, and falloff

You probably won’t be able to tell these lenses apart at f8.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

That's entirely possible - and it gives me an idea for a video! Thanks!

the second is longer so it is the 57mm

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Correct!