Comparing three 50s: SEL, Nikkor 1.4, Takumar 7e Super-Multi 1.4

For those who are interested in comparisons of 50mm 1.4 MF lenses yesterday I had occasion to continue my pairwise testing of various MF 50mm 1.4 lenses. The new entrant in the race was the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 MF. It was up against the SEL 5018, the overall champ to date, and the 7-element Pentax Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1.4, which has been the best of the MF's so far, overall, among about 15 tested.

The results are that the Nikkor is not as sharp in the center as the Takumar and not nearly as sharp and contrasty as the SEL5018. The bokeh of the Nikkor is also not as good as either of these two leaders. The edge sharpness of the Nikkor is comparable to the Takumar and neither are any good at all compared to the edge sharpness of the SEL. Given that the Takumar is smaller and lighter than the Nikkor, there is nothing to recommend the Nikkor in this comparison. Overall I'd say it is pretty good, usable, certainly not bad, but not a class leader either.

If anyone really wants to see the samples, ask and I will find a way to get them up. In the past I haven't found enough interest to justify the time. So, I thought I'd just state the conclusions, particularly since they aren't ambiguous.

wb2trf said:

wb2trf wrote:

The new entrant in the race was the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 MF.

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Which one? There have been a number of versions over the years with different formulations and coatings (e.g. early versions are 7/5 and later versions 7/6).

--
Erik

Errrm, I always like to see some comparison shots too though. Otherwise, I might just come up with conclusions too, without even owning the lens in question, but just making things up. Not saying you are doing that, but still.

I hear you but I've posted several times with comparison shots and had almost no comments, so you think. Why did I label all these things etc?

I will post them. May take me a day or two. Watch this spot. The conclusions however were not in the gray zone.

When I post I'll also get more model info on the Nikkor for the other respondent.

A question arose as to which of the many Nikkor this lenses is. It is the Nikkor-S 50mm 1.4 7/5 6-blade made between 1962 and 1965, serial 395811.

All of these were shot at ISO100 with a 5R on a tripod with self-timer at the same time, essentially, with only natural daylight. Spot exposure on the lamp was used. For the corner/bokeh shots the exposure and focus was held at the same as the center. The SEL50mm was autofocus, but comparisons of auto vs. manual with it showed no difference.

The large images are provided for context.

While I don't have any side-by-side comparison shots such as yours, I share your conclusion that the Takumar S-M-C f1.4 seven blade is one of the truly great nifty-fifties of all time. It is hands-down my favorite 50mm, and may be my favorite lens I've ever user, period.

It's sharp, nicely-contrasty, has wonderful bokeh, has a great feel to its build and operation, and has that certain special something about its rendering that almost defies description, but when you see it, you know it. (As the French say: "Je ne sais quois!")

It's a true classic!

It is worth noting that the 8 element is notably sharper at 1.4 than the 7, but the 7 has better bokeh. I don't generally shoot at 1.4 for various reason, so other than the SEL5018, the 7 is my favorite too, for the better bokeh. It is better in my testing than the SMC of later years, but not by much. A nice thing about all these Takumars is that the focus remains silky smooth more commonly than with the others.

I have the 1.2/1.4/1.8 AIS and the 2.0 AI Nikkors. The 1.4 is actually the worst 50mm I have. The 2.0 is razor sharp edge to edge, the 1.8 is quite nice, and the 1.2 is very good at f2 and up.

My favorite 50 right now is the Super Takumar 50/1.4 with 8 elements. I always loved the Sigma 50/1.4 EX but setting aperture is a pain as there is no aperture ring, only the crude adapter pin.

Jim de Kort said:

Jim de Kort wrote:

My favorite 50 right now is the Super Takumar 50/1.4 with 8 elements.

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Interesting. I have the 8-element also. If I shot much at 1.4 I might prefer it because it is notably sharper than the 7 Super Multi Coated at 1.4. But, the sharpness gap closes quickly as you stop down and the bokeh on the 7 is a little better. I tend to shoot informal portraits between f2 and 2.8 and bokeh quality is a big deal to me. I haven't had the 8 for long, so I may try it some more, but I did my more formal testing. Anyway the result of my testing is that for my use these Pentax 7 and 8 are the best for combo of sharpness and bokeh among the MF list of: Canon, Pentax, Mamiya, Minolta, and Nikkor 1.4s. Obviously I haven't tested every model of 50mm 1.4 made by those mfgs. but still, that is my current list. I would add to that that the handling of these Pentax lenses is about the best also.