where there’s smoke there’s fire

Nikon NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens review by Dré de Man (additional information on the lens can be found here, for pricing and availability check B&H Photo):

The new Nikon Z mount is all about the possibility to design excellent fast lenses of medium and shorter focal lengths. The unique combination of a very small flange distance and very large mount diameter makes it all possible. It was no surprise then, that soon after the first rumors about the Nikon Z system surfaced on NikonRumors, a patent of a super-fast 58mm lens was discovered.

Since many years, Nikon-aficionados were dreaming of a true heir to the Noct Nikkor 58mm f/1.2. The 58mm f/1.4 G was in a couple of ways better than the old Noct-Nikkor, but it was not called a Noct by Nikon for a reason. The F mount limited the design too much to make it as revolutionary as the Noct once was when it was introduced in 1977. Designer Haruro Sato called the 58mm f/1.4 G a three-dimensional hifi-lens and he was right. At infinity (where it matters) the 58mm f/1.4 G is really excellent, even larger apertures, but at f/1.4 up close not so much. A true heir to the Noct should be about bokeh *and* sharpness wide open *and* it should be fast; faster than f/1.2.

Enter of the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct. It is fast, no doubt. But the million-dollar (ok, eight thousand-dollar question) is: will it be sharp and still have a great bokeh? You can buy other f/0.95 lenses like the Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 and even lenses that have a much lower price, but they have all one thing in common: they are soft wide open certainly away from the center and have bad corners that never get really good. Besides that bokeh is also often not as beautiful as you’d like. Yes, you have a blurry background wide open, but it is not always really pretty. Bokeh is not related to the depth of field, after all.

So the first thing we’re going to look at is bokeh and center sharpness.

I tested the lens in a place with a Z of course, to be precise in the studio of Hans Kreuzekamp in Zwolle, The Netherlands (thanx!). Hans Kreuzekamp was one of the first shops to order one and you can still buy it there, you can be sure you’ll get a good copy 🙂 I used a 58mm f/1.4 G along the Noct, to be able to compare it, especially with regards to bokeh.

Noct at f/0.95, complete image. The image looks contrasty and sharp, but is it really?

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