I just received some old lenses and two older Nikon 35mm film cameras. The lenses are all Nikkors, and the oldest produced from 1965 as the first F model.

A classic, also referred to as “dream lens”, is the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2. It´s known for its ultra-fast aperture and unique optical characteristics. It was designed for the Nikon F-mount and later updated to AI (Automatic Indexing from 1977).

It´s a 7 seven-element blade lens, built with a robust all-metal chassis, making it quite durable but also relatively heavy and big, at around 0,40 kg /12.6 ounces.

Shooting wide open at 1.2, this lens produces a soft-contrast effect with a dreamy bokeh, which can be desirable for certain artistic applications and especially for portraits. It´s a great lens for this, especially, but I also fancy that old school look for other types of shooting.

The bokeh is great, but also the vintage softness it renders is something I appreciate for certain situations and look forward to trying out.

If you are looking for this lens, know that they are produced in different versions. It´s possible to use those exclusively with an adapter on your modern mirrorless camera, you can also get one of the pre-AI ones. They often come cheaper. If you are looking at using it on a Nikon DSLR or analogue Nikon cameras, you should get the latest Ai version.

Nikkor 55mm f1.2 photographed with the Sony A7rIV.

Using vintage lenses

Using vintage lenses adds a certain character to the pictures. They do not have the same coatings and often produce a unique bokeh (out of focus rendering), flares, and color renditions, with some optical imperfections like softness and chromatic aberration.
Modern lenses are designed to minimize optical imperfections, offering sharper images with better contrast and color accuracy than the older lenses.

Using vintage lenses offers the opportunity to create a certain look of the old days even on a modern digital camera. 

A Nikon F1 35mm film camera, which is part of the package I received having two cameras and four lenses.

I have ordered adapters for both the Leica M and Sony A7R models. Each with its pros and cons, which I will address in a later post when I also put them to a test.
The cameras following this package, bought privately, included some lenses and two old film cameras, the Nikon F1 and F2.
A few of the lenses seem to be working perfectly, while some need a cleaning from dust and or fungus.

These lenses are a fine addition to my Leica and Sony equipment, adding more fun to the choice of lenses and expression. Surely something brought to the street workshops as well. Speaking of:

Workshop prices reduced

European Summer Time is celebrated (by me, because we get those beautiful long light evenings back).

Workshop prices are lowered, so now you have a chance to take two-day workshops for a limited time at a reduced price.

Join me for a weekend shoot in the streets of Rome, Copenhagen or Paris, and learn more about camera settings, choosing the best lenses and finding light and motives. Read more at the workshop page and sign up soon to get a spot.

Vintage digital versus vintage film camera.