The f/0.95 aperture is hallowed ground for lens makers, for many reasons. It is incredibly difficult to engineer optics with apertures this large, that can withstand scrutiny with sensors 50 megapixels or greater. In fact, very few lenses of this aperture were ever made. I thought of the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct as a lens to prove the advantages of Nikon’s Z mount (the largest diameter and the shortest flange distance among all mounts)—in effect, a proof-of-concept lens. But this could also be an indispensable lens for professionals.
Among lenses available today, apart from the Nikkor, Leica makes the Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH (twice the price, but only for the M mount), and Mitakon makes the Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III (for the Z mount, among others, for about one tenth the price of the Noct). Others, but at f/1.4, and all requiring the FTZ adaptor, are the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4, Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, and the AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G.
Let me dwell a bit on the name Noct. And the 58mm focal length. Taking after the word nocturne... musical compositions reminiscent of the romance of night... Again derived from the word nocturn or nocturnal, or ‘of the night’. 58mm is not a new focal length for Nikon. Nikon’s famous Noct Nikkor f/1.2 lens released in 1977, is also 58mm. So is the more recent AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G, released in 2013.
This story is from the November 2020 edition of Better Photography.
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This story is from the November 2020 edition of Better Photography.
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