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Nikon 50mm Lens Comparison
© 2006 KenRockwell.com

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COLD WEATHER

Lens lubricants get stiff in cold weather. This can lock the focus ring and make the lens useless.

I put these in a Ziplock bag in a temperature chamber at -20C (0F) for 12 hours to see what would happen.

Zeiss ZF 50mm f/1.4

Zeiss-branded ZF 50mm f/1.4: Worst. The lubricant got stiffer. You could focus, but with effort. I wouldn't dare touch the bare metal focus ring, either, unless you're the sort of person who likes to lick light poles in freezing weather. Your skin (or tongue) could freeze to it.

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-D

Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D: Worked fine. Nikon uses very little, if any, lubricant in their AF lenses. It's all plastic, so lick away.

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF: Worked fine. Nikon uses very little, if any, lubricant in their AF lenses. It's all plastic, so lick away.

Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI

Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI: A little bit stiffer, and much better than the Zeiss. It worked fine. Nikon uses special all-temperature lubricant in their lenses, and then uses very little of it. Nikon's focus helicoids are made to very tight tolerances and that means less slop-space to fill with grease. All metal except for rubber focus ring.

Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8

Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-s: A little stiffer. The Micro has a lot of long helicoids to allow the lens to focus over such a wide range of distances. All metal except for rubber focus ring.

Nikkor-S Auto 50mm f/1.4

Nikkor-S Auto 50mm f/1.4: A little bit stiffer, and probably best of the manual focus lenses. All metal: don't lick.

SUMMMARY

All work OK at 0F / -20C.

The Zeiss is the worst and I'd pass on it if you work in the cold.

The two AF lenses are the best. They were almost unphased, because Nikon uses little if any lubricant in them. They are also all plastic, making for less embarrassment if wet skin touches them.

The Nikon manual focus lenses are all fine. They got a little stiffer, but not enough to notice without direct comparison to other lenses at room temperature.

PLUG

I spent almost two months shooting and writing this comparison of 50mm lenses. No one pays me for this. If you find this as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me write more with a donation.

Thanks for reading!

Ken

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