Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 S.C. – Excellent Quality

The 50mm f/1.4 lenses with F-mount are among Nikon's most classic lenses, with production beginning as early as 1962. The popular "nifty fifties," still appreciated today, were designed by the well-known engineers Yoshiyuki Shimizu and Zenji Wakimoto. According to various sources, they worked on the design for around three years. The lens was well received and became the standard lens for Nikon F cameras.

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 S.C. Auto is a newer version of the NIKKOR-S Auto 50mm f/1.4, which was produced between 1971 and 1973. The main change was the addition of multi-coating on the lens elements. Some users claim that the S.C. version is better suited for color film and more resistant to lens flare. Others argue that the differences between the S and S.C. versions are rather subtle. I don’t feel qualified to take a firm stance on either side, but logically, multi-coatings should perform better in certain conditions compared to the slightly yellower single coatings of the Nikkor S.

• S in the lens name comes from Latin Septem, referring to the 7 aperture blades.

• C indicates that the lens has multi-coated elements.

• Auto refers to the automatic aperture mechanism.

The lens barrel is very solid, made entirely of metal. Even with a slight stop-down of the aperture, the resolution can match that of most modern lenses.

Like nearly all Nikon lenses made before 1977, these are Non-AI (or Pre-AI) lenses, which do not work with digital SLRs unless converted. I was fortunate to find a copy that had already been converted to AI, allowing me to use it with modern F-mount DSLRs.

I don’t have experience using this lens with film cameras. Like most manual lenses on digital SLRs, it’s challenging to photograph moving subjects with this one. However, when shooting wide open, where the depth of field is extremely shallow, the real challenge begins. The lens requires a lot of practice to learn how to capture truly sharp images.