50mm f1.2, 55mm f1.2, 58 f1.2 comparison photos

These are old photos, I will at sometime produce more interesting comparison photos.

The photos are taken with a tripod and manually focused using a D2X with all sharpening turned off. The photo is in lower light conditions. These lenses with more optimal lighting conditions and of course with internal sharpening set to normal will produce much sharper images. These camera setting are easier to see the differences than with normal settings. The lenses are 50mm f1.2 Ai, 55mm f1.2 S, 58mm f1.2 Ai. All lenses are in great shape. Pay particular attention to the background painting. Look at the texture of the paint out of focus and you will see the clear differences between the 50/55 vs the Noct. Also look at the specular highlights of the flames and the reflections on the stones and you will see how the Noct has a larger circle of confusion. You can also note that the 55mm has a slightly more propensity to flare compared to the other two lenses by looking at the forground candle in the gold dish. Note the 50mm f1.2 has a slightly harsher ring to the specular highlights on the stones to the left. Note also the 55mm f1.2 is the sharpest of the three if you look at the egg in the center and look below at the glass blob you can see the differences. Also, note I believe it is the field curvature that causes the glass paper weight to the right in the Noct photo to be out of focus more than the other two lenses. The camera is about 4 feet away from the subjects. You can also see by the coin on the right, the slight differences in FOV.

Zoom out these photos one click and zoom in again to see the full detail. These are full size unaltered D2X files.

50mm f1.2

55mm f1.2

58mm f1.2