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Product Reviews:
Great lens!, February 23, 2006
Reviewer: R. Marotz
Based on so many reviews praising this lens for its ability to render
smooth out-of-focus elements (boke or "bokeh"), I picked one up with high
hopes. Sadly, I was pretty disappointed when trying to shoot flowers and
finding the background harsh and distracting, even moreso than my 50mm
f/1.8D. I was told by a few people that my lens was likely a lemon, though
after some investigation, I determined that much of the praise for the
boke came from the rounded aperture blades, which produce a rounded
out-of-focus highlight rather than a heptagonal one (as in the case of the
50mm Nikkors). Apart from this, the background smoothness is limited by
the same limitation inherent in the 50mm primes, which is the correction
for spherical aberration.
However, stopping the lens down to f/4 overcomes most of the harshness in
out-of-focus blur you see wide-open.
I thought I would get that bit of information out in the open as the vague
praise of its boke is a bit misleading (tessars aren't really known for
their boke anyway). However, that is not all there is to the lens (we
can't obsess only about what's not in focus!), so let me mention a few
more things!
The 45/2.8P can produce amazing colors. I would say the color saturation,
while natural, is the highest of any lens I've used. This is the main
reason I like this lens so much. Further, contrast, tonal gradations, and
shadow detail produce a very pleasing overall image.
When in focus, the 45/2.8P is very sharp, even at wide apertures. Some
will say it's sharper than the 50s, some will say it's not as sharp as the
50s. I would say they're roughly comparable.
Distortion is very low, flare and ghosting are tame overall, and light
falloff is noticeable at wide apertures but often contributes to the
relatively undefined "look" people like so much from this lens.
The 45/2.8P is, I think, the smallest 35mm lens Nikon makes (or made, they
are discontinued now). It is built better than the AFD 50s, its
compactness and relatively good build quality inspires a sense of
confidence. The manual focus ring feels very nice and is enjoyable to use,
as long as you don't need AF.
On the whole, I think this is a fantastic lens, even though it's not the "boke
lens" I was originally expecting. Many photographers will say that the
best lens is the one you have with you, and the 45/2.8P, with its
combination of compactness and superlative image quality, can be a hard
lens to not have with you. Is it worth the price compared to the 50s? In
truth, for many people probably not. The differences in image quality are
seen in subtleties, which may not compensate for the relatively small
aperture and lack of autofocus. However, although I am not made of money,
I don't consider purchasing it a mistake at all!
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Great lens ... bad price., December 19, 2005
Reviewer: Jerry Jackson Jr.
The 45mm f2.8P is one of the best primes you can get for the Nikon mount.
That said, the lens design is old (cheap) but yet Nikon expects you to pay
more for this lens than the 50mm f1.8D?
The bokeh on the 45mm is great ... but you can argue that the bokeh on the
50mm f1.8D is just as good ... and the 50mm f1.8D is MUCH cheaper.
Sure, it's manual focus unlike the 50mm F1.8D which has autofocus ... but
that's just another reason that this lens should be priced at less than
$100.
Anyway, if you LOVE manual focus prime lenses and feel the urge to buy
this you probably won't be disappointed ... but you will be paying more
than you need to for a fast lens.
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I love it, but do I need it?, July 31, 2003
Reviewer: raboof
I got this lens as the companion for my FM3a. The lens was especially
designed for the camera and they make a beautiful silver pair. As far as
aesthetics goes, these two are a match made in heaven.
So what's right about it? Lots.
The lens is 45mm which is only 2mm longer than the 'true' normal of 35mm
film which is 43mm. That means that it is more normal than your standard
50mm lens.
It is stylish. The pancake design is sleek and tight. The silver matches
the silver of the FM3a (will they make one in black to match the black
FM3a?). The provided filter and inverted lens hood also add to the lens'
attractiveness. It is also light, which makes it an easy choice to take
along as your normal lens.
The lens is very sharp throughout its focal range. It is a snap to focus
the lens and the focus ring is solid and sure. The aperture blades are
rounded so that the final aperture is almost a circle. If bokeh is your
thing, this lens delivers awesome blur.
There are drawbacks, of course.
It would be nice if the lens was a little faster. The 50mm Nikkon lenses
come in f1.4 and f1.8. They are more than twice as fast, allowing you to
gather more light when you need it. The 45mm is restricted to f2.8, which
is plenty fast for everyday shots, but in lower light a faster film may be
necessary.
I found the focusing ring and the aperture ring a little too close for
comfort. Sometimes when trying to adjust the focus, I ended up adjusting
the aperture instead. It's not a huge deal, as it's simply a twist of the
ring to change it back, but it happens often enough that there may be a
user-design issue that needs to be addressed (redesign the user? :-)
The price. It is too high. That's the biggest complaint I have with this
lens. With a 50mm f1.8 available for bargain basement prices, is it worth
it to spend this much on a slower, only slightly more normal lens? That's
up to you to decide.
In all, I'm very happy with this lens. It is a treat to use and the
picture quality is outstanding. I don't know if I would have bought it if
I hadn't been swept up in the FM3a purchase, but I'm glad that I have it
now. It is my primary lens and it hardly leaves the camera body. Of course
it doesn't have auto-focus, so you may not find it terribly useful on your
N80 or N75, but if you are getting the FM3a, take a look. You might find
that the price is justifiable.
Back to Nikon 45mm
f/2.8 Nikkor AI-S Manual Focus Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Silver)
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