Old Nikon

Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AI. +

A Forgotten Classic in the Digital Age

In the age of smartphones, cameras are slowly losing their significance. Many people now take photos with their smartphones, often without paying much attention to how they are capturing the world. It’s all about the quantity of photos taken and the message each photo conveys. This, of course, has its advantages.

One could say that this approach to photography leans towards a more documentary style.

50mm 1.2 1/1000s 1.2 Iso 100

However, there is still a group of people who continue to use traditional cameras. The digital technology that has transformed the world of photography also left a gateway that allows us to use old analog lenses in the digital world. Many digital cameras still allow us to attach old lenses directly or via adapters, some of which are older than most of us.

As an older person fascinated by Nikon technology, I wanted to present and for some, remind them of an old analog lens that is different from most lenses used by photographers, regardless of their experience level.

Manual lenses are not very popular these days, although there is a group of enthusiasts, myself included, who use them to varying degrees. Manually focusing is not something that helps in quickly capturing the moment. However, after a few hundred shots, we start to get the hang of it, almost as if our eyes and brain have developed a new ability to predict how to set the lens to get a sharp image. We start doing this intuitively, as if we were one with the camera. Old photographers probably chuckle to themselves, as they mastered this skill in times when no one even thought of digital cameras. For those who started with autofocus cameras, manually focusing seems like a waste of time.

The Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 is one of those lenses that is iconic for a group of enthusiasts. I don’t even know exactly why that is, as it’s not without its flaws. Its shallow depth of field can be overwhelming when trying to photograph moving subjects. Even those who are experienced and use manual lenses often have to take a few shots before getting one that is perfectly sharp.

Some say this lens is actually two lenses in one. At f/1.2, it’s primarily suited for photographing stationary subjects or objects. However, when you stop the aperture down to about f/2, the lens starts to behave almost like a normal manual lens. The depth of field is large enough that it becomes easier to use without stressing about it.

The brightness of this lens was once what mattered most. In analog photography, we didn’t have the luxury of changing the ISO to 6400 to shoot at night without a tripod. Back then, the lens’s brightness was one of the key parameters.

So why use this lens now, when its exceptional brightness is no longer as significant? Is its bokeh so unique that it can’t be replicated in modern editing software?

That’s one of those questions, similar to

“Why even use lenses without autofocus?”

The answer is not straightforward, and everyone has their own take on it.

My only answer, which I will stand by, is the time we spend with ourselves. The moment we dedicate to contemplating how the photo should look. Our process of reviewing the image is only meant to confirm that the photo is exactly how we envisioned it, rather than being surprised by the result.

Below are two photographs that show the difference between an aperture of 1.2 and 5.6.