Same situation, different lenses, what's going on??

RitterSport wrote:

Thanks, everyone!

I'll try and answer all the questions I remember here.

It's a really old lens -- it was an old used lens when I got it for my Nikon FM2 back in my film days. So, it could certainly be fogged or have some fungus inside (eww. Is that a thing?)

It was auto white balance for both pictures.

I have DR set to auto, I think.

I don't have any raw files. I gave up on raw processing way back in my Minolta A1 days, and never really did it for my Nikon D90, and maybe once or twice on this Fuji.

When I adjust the contrast, the picture looks much, much better. I'll post a sample later today. I guess fog or fungus (ew) could affect the contrast.

I'm sure the lens is not as sharp as a modern lens -- it's a portrait lens from years ago, and I don't think it was ever meant to be sharp anyway. Modern lenses are razors compared to the old stuff.

The Nikon 105mm f/2.5 is one of their most loved and legendary lenses. Historically, one their most sought after lenses.

That said, the lack of contrast is surprising. Nikon's been making this lens since the 1960's - thus a very old lens would be expected to produce less contrast. If it's a newer lens e.g. 1980's, perhaps haze/mold as someone suggested. However it'd need to be a pretty severe case of mold/haze to render that result. If it's a fairly clean lens, I'd suggest more testing.

Don't worry if you see dust- you will. I have large collection of film lenses and most have some dust which is to be expected for lenses of that age but dust has minor impact on IQ. Heavy mold/haze though can soften the image. Use a flashlight to send a concentrated beam of light through the lens for best viewing results.

Of your two images, I prefer the one from the 105.  It's more subdued, less harsh and overall renders a more "classic" image.