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Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s : Specifications and Opinions

Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s

The Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s is a standard lens for FF and APS-C, manufactured from 1979 to 2015 (discontinued). The focus is done by Manual Focus, it does not have image stabilization. The list price, when it was announced (1979) was 745 €;

48 users have given it an average vote of 9.6 out of 10.

Specifications
Focal lenght	50 mm
Angle of view	46.8°
Format	FF, APS-C
Max. aperture	f/1.2
Aperture blades	9
Lenses/Groups	7 elements in 6 groups
Min. focus distance	0.50 meters
Reproduction ratio	0.13x
Features
Stabilization	No
Focus	Manual Focus
Internal Focus	No
Built and notes
Tripod ring	No
Extenders	No
Filters	52 mm
Lens hood	Yes, supplied
Weather sealing	No
Weight	380 g
Dimensions	68 x 47 mm
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Reviews

What do you think about this lens?

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Airy

sent on February 20, 2021

Pros: Sharpness from f/2.0, dreamy pics wide open, size and weight, manual focus, "3D pop"

Cons: Coma, modest sharpness and contrast wide open, distortion, vignetting wide open

Opinion: Probably the most interesting "50" in the Nikon lineup. This lens is schizophrenic : dreamy wide open, very sharp from f/2. The rendering, when stopped down, seems to present this elusive "3D pop" effect. The AI (7 blade diaph) and AIS version (9 blades) are equivalent; I use the AI version more often, for some reason. The coatings are pretty good and the lens does not flare much, which is remarkable given its age. Barrel distortion is stronger than with other Nikkor fifties, but regular and easily corrected if need be. Vignetting is a bit annoying wide open ("clipped corner" effect). If you want low coma at wide apertures, get a Noct instead of this one. This is a low light lens rather than a night lens. The 50/1.2 AI happens to be my favourite for street shots (esp. demonstrations or similar events), where its relatively small size does not attract attention, and the "lively" rendering is very contributive.

The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Crobert

sent on August 18, 2025

Pros: Vintage lens that still knows its stuff. Excellent performance.

Cons: I can't find any.

Opinion: I have this lens inherited from my father's kit who used it with the Nikon FM film, of course. I mounted it on the Nikon D7100 (it makes it like a 75mm) and then on the D800 and I was amazed. Sharpness and softness of the images, this is what I thought as soon as I saw the results. In my opinion, you need to have a minimum of experience behind you to manage it properly. Very fun to use, a lens with which you work manually as in the old days and therefore makes you "think" about settings, light, times and diaphragm ... with the advantage that today with digital photography you see the results immediately. I myself put into practice what I had learned with analogue photography. In my backpack there is always a place for this wonder.

FotografiaDigitale

sent on May 28, 2025

Pros: Exceptional quality, sharpness, bokeh

Cons: Not user-friendly

Opinion: What if you've always driven a small car and they suddenly put you behind the wheel of a racing car? Here, the effect of using the 50 f/1.2 for the first time is the same... At the beginning you drive slowly and try to figure out how not to go off the road! But once you get the hang of it.... forget the bokeh of the other lenses, this one is unparalleled... the differences with the 1.4 model are mainly on sharpness, this one at f.1.8 is already perfect, the other one is not... it suffers a bit from flare but does not disturb the effects it gives on the blur. The focus of the digital cameras from one hand (on the D700 it is fine) and the difficulty of management is precisely on this aspect... Great colors and overall naturalness, good contrast.... in my opinion a step lower in optical quality than the Angenieux 35-70 but it is another world... However, it must be tried at least once to appreciate it.... after learning how to drive it!

Aval

sent on February 21, 2021

Pros: Pastel color rendering, images that look like 3D, amazing blurry. Lightweight and compact like all CPU-free targetses. No flaws.

Cons: It's not a lens for everyone.

Opinion: After owning and using for decades the 50mmf2 AI and the micro 55mmf3.5 AI (which I still use), I embarked on the search for this jewel of technology. I found it used (semi new) in Japan via eBay. I've been using it for about three months, and I've been bewitched by it. Mounted on the Df allows you to wander the streets at dusk and steal wonderful photos. To take full advantage of its features, even better on the D800. I dare not think of the surrender on the D850 (I will borrow it from a dear friend). I've read the other reviews, and they say pretty much everything already. I also have the 85mmf1.4 AF D, and in some ways they are very similarly rendered optics. Too bad they stopped producing it. To those who are giving us a thought, I say: hurry because they will soon no longer be found.

Luca Gentile

sent on September 14, 2019

Pros: TA yield, mechanics, character, Bokeh

Cons: TA focus, coma, backlit

Opinion: If I were to venture the classic cliché comparison, I'd say it's a thoroughbred stallion. Difficult to "mount", nervous and unpredictable (especially because on the D750 -but I read that it is a general problem- what you see in the crosshairs at f/1.2 is NOT what you will see in the photo). But if with practice and perseverance you can tame it, then a world opens up. I use it almost exclusively at 1.2 (let's make one thing clear: if one invests 350-450 euros for a fifty, it does it for that quid in more than a 1.8 or a 1.4 do not give you), and after the various 85mm (at least three), the 105 f/2.5 and the 135 f/2 , I finally found my portrait lens. Eye (!) to the eye: only one can be in focus, and you still have to choose between the iris and the eyelashes: at f/1.2 you can't have both in focus. For the rest, closing becomes very engraved (Although it is not true - as some say - that is the fifty sharper than the Nikon from 2.8 and up, indeed), but the chromatic aberrations due to the extreme slathery of the lenses are felt (and see, above all). I wouldn't use it for astrophotography...

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Reviews » Lenses » Lenses Nikon » Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s

Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s : Specifications and Opinions

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Reviews

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Photos taken with Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s