Cameras, Digital, Lenses, Photo History, Photography
by Vince Curletta

Vintage Lens: Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 AI


I was interested in comparing this Nikkor to a more modern lens – and the only modern-ish lens I have is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L, so I thought I’d compare the two.

First, this is not super scientific, it’s a pretty simple comparison. I’m going to shoot the same subject with both lenses, then show the original photos, plus the same image zoomed to 100%. The reason I’m even interested is that I’ve read some reviews of the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 lens that are less than flattering, saying the lens is not very good. When I’ve used the lens, I never thought it was that bad – in fact, I liked the sharpness that I saw from the lens, and the bokeh was pleasing as well. And, the lens is not that expensive to aquire on eBay… I see (as of today) you can get a mint version of this 1.2 lens for around $225 USD, and if you don’t want a mint lens, you can find them for lower – which isn’t that expensive for a 1.2 lens.

The Nikkor lens is mounted on my EOS R body with an RF to Nikon adaptor. The Canon lens is mounted directly on my EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400 on both bodies – and I tried to keep everything else equal.

I was actually quite impressed with the comparison, and how good the Nikkor appeared. Now, I should say, I don’t think the Canon lens is one of their sharpest, but it’s the newest 1.2 lens I have to compare with.

Canon 50mm f/1.2L
Nikkor 55mm f/1.2
Canon 100% on left, Nikkor 100% on right

So, there you have my results – even though they aren’t super sophisticated, it should provide some idea of how the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 lens performs. I didn’t have any controlled environment, no special equipment. Just handheld for both lenses – photographing a ketchup bottle. Now, I will say, focusing with these vintage lenses is a bit tricky – especially with a fast lens since the depth of field is so shallow, my old eyes struggle to get sharp focus (even with peaking on). The Canon lens on my 5D Mark IV was much easier to focus (since the camera focuses for me)!

Testing and trying some of the vintage lenses out there is fun. I love the various effects that you can achieve with old glass. I’m hoping to get some old Canon FL lenses to test – and I’ll try to post some of my results and thoughts in the future.