Nikon Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 AI-S Review

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Introduction

The Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 is a special lens made for night-time photography. The "special" part comes from an aspherical glass element to combat Coma* which is a common problem with fast lenses. The normal way to fight coma is to stop down the lens. Since the Noct-Nikkor was corrected for coma it is possible to shoot with a much wider aperture and hand-held shooting is possible with very little coma. The Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 was manufactured in a pretty small quantity, the production started in the late 70's and in total less then 12.000 lenses was made before they discontinued the lens in 1997. The Noct-Nikkor reviewed here was the last type to be made, the AI-S version. The AI-S version has 9 aperture blades compared to 7 blades on the AI version.

*Coma is a lens aberration restricted to off axis image points, the inability of a lens to render point sources of light near the edges of the frame as circular. Basically Coma is a distortion of the outer edges of the image preventing round points of light to be round, instead they look blurred/distorted.

Specifications

Lens Construction: 7 elements in 6 groups. 1 aspherical element

Picture Angle: 40°50 (35mm)

Minimum focus distance: 0.5m / 1.7 ft

Filter Size: 52mm

Lens Hood: HS-7 or HR-2

Included accessories: Front & rear cap.

Size: 74mm dia. x 63mm long

weight: 480g

Diaphragm: 9 straight blades

Price from: $ Discontinued

Positives

• DOF/IR markings. As usual with older optics Depth Of Field and Infrared markings are provided.
• Coma correction. Far better then any other lens I've seen, although perfect results are only achieved around f/2.8.
• Wide open performance.
• Build quality.

Drawbacks

• Price. Selling for a ridiculous second hand price of $3000 + USD, I've seen this lens for sale on ebay for as much as $ 7000 USD.
• CA visible un till f/2.8. Rather disappointing if you consider the price of the lens.

Verdict

The Noct-Nikkor definitely has the best Coma control I've seen so far in any "normal" lens I've tested. However perfect Coma results are only achieved @ f/2.8. The same result on f/2.8 can be seen on the Nikkor 50mm f/1.2. Wide open the Noct definitely performs better for night time photography, but the price difference is insane. The amount of CA was really disappointing, which is visible until f/2.8 and that's with the Nikon D3. The Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 actually perform better against CA then the Noct-Nikkor does.
Sharp pictures can be taken wide open. Focusing correctly is crucial tough. On the Nikon D3 the Noct showed increased sharpness all the way to f/16 on close focus. On infinity, increased sharpness could be seen un till f/8, ending up with usable sharpness at f/16. The Noct-Nikkor is a great example that MTF testing can't always be trusted . On an MTF basis this is a really bad lens, however in real photographic conditions this lens is really good. Unfortunately Nikon discontinued this lens in 1997 which has caused this lens to reach an astronomical second hand price of usually $3000 + USD. In general the Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 is equally sharp at apertures from f/1.2 - f/4 the downside of the 50mm f/1.2 is that it has more light falloff and Coma is far less controlled then the Noct-Nikkor wide open. The Noct-Nikkor does hot-spot on IR, small traces can be seen @ f/8, not really a problem un till f/11 tough.
Whether or not this lens is worth it's money to you, really depends on the shooting you do. If you are addicted to night-time shooting and you need the best coma control available in a "normal" lens, the Noct-Nikkor is the lens for you. On the other hand if all you want is a fast lens to use in available light shooting I'd go with the Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 instead.

Alternatives

Nikkor MF 50mm f/1.2 AI-S. From: $499.95 USD

Nikkor MF 50mm f/1.4 AI-S. From: $299.95 USD

Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.4D From: $264.95 USD

Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D From: $104.95 USD

Zeiss MF 50mm f/1.4 ZF Planar T* Price: $517.00 USD

Sample Pictures

Coma Comparison

Compared to Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AI-S

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