Manual Focus and the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S
An old Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S adapted to a Fujifilm X-Pro2 with a K&F Concept Adapter
Back To Manual Focusing
A couple of weeks ago I had a very good experience manually focusing a Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AI-S on a Leica SL2-S and it reminded me that I should use my own Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S more often with my older Fujifilm X-Pro1 and X-Pro2 cameras.
I mostly use the 50mm f/1.4 on my Nikon F3 HP film camera but also did a review of it a couple of years ago and mounted it on my digital Fujifilm camera.
Despite the fact that it probably was one of my favorite lenses to adapt to the Fujifilm X Mount, I have pretty much left it on the film camera which is a mistake.
Perhaps distracted by new lenses and countless other reviews that I have done I often forget to go back to the things that work well. So here I go again digging out the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S for Fujifilm X mount.
Focus Peaking to the Rescue
The EVF (electronic viewfinder) on my X-Pro1 is not entirely sharp and I use an additional diopter to fit my eyesight. With this scenario manual focusing is a challenge but focus peaking comes to the rescue and works quite well. I did miss a few shots but mostly did okay.
Life is easier with the X-Pro2 where my viewfinder is fully sharp. For this test, I still used focus peaking as it does help to obtain critical focus.
The viewfinders on these cameras are nowhere as good as on the Leica SL2-S but I found that both worked okay and clearly better with the X-Pro2.
Looking Back
Nikon has an almost endless line of vintage lenses to explore and there are a few that I would love to test and review. Lenses such as the Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AI-S, Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 AI-S, and 105mm f/2.5 come to mind but it doesn’t have to stop there.
Jump to the later autofocus models and the 28mm f/1.4 35mm f/1.4, 58mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4, 105mm f/1.4, and 180mm f/2.8 could be interesting to take for a spin. And I am only naming a few.
Looking Ahead
It is fun to factor in old lenses that are readily available but what about current manual focus options and what if we look ahead?
I am looking to Voigtländer for Nikon F mount lenses that are released within the last few years and I will stress that this article is not sponsored by Voigtländer in any shape or form.
Voigtländer Color Skopar 28mm f/2.8 SL IIs
Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL IIs
Voigtländer Nokton 58mm f/1.4 SL IIs
Voigtländer APO-Skopar 90mm f/2.8 SL IIs
One of the newly announced lenses that I am very keen to get my hands on is the Voigtländer 55mm f/1.2 SL IIs (link to B&H Voigtlander options - the lens is announced but there is no pricing yet).
I expect that this 55mm f/1.2 will be worthwhile on my Nikon film cameras, Fujifilm X Series, as well as GFX 50R, and hope we will see more lenses as such down the line.
I was initially introduced to Voigtländer lenses via the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL IIs which I have three articles about here if you are interested:
Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL IIs on Nikon SLRs
Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL IIs on Fujifilm X Mount
Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL IIs on Fujifilm GFX
The Art of Focusing Manually
When I started out with photography there was no other way. You quite simply had to manually focus your lens and then snap the photo.
Sure it was challenging but look at the amazing photos captured over decades where the last thing on the photographer’s mind was the autofocus algorithm, number of AF points, or deep learning AI adjustments.
Autofocus has its place and I use it all the time but it can feel rather liberating having to do it yourself and I find it wonderful that you adjust to a scene in a different manner and you are free to compose your photo without fiddling with a joystick to move the AF point or making sure you have the right tracking mode.
Final Thoughts
This has been a nice little exercise for me and if you have any manual focus lenses kicking around I would encourage you to try and adapt to your digital camera regardless of lens or camera brand. Adapters come in all shapes and sizes, meaning almost no matter which brand of camera or old lens you find, there is a way to adapt it.
I am currently researching above mentioned Voigtländer lenses and predict there may be more “manual focus” content coming up on this site before long. M-mount lenses are also an option opening the door to Leica, Zeiss, Voigtländer, and budget options from TTArtisan and 7Artisans.
The photos in this post are made using the following photography gear and editing tools.
Links to my reviews and sources:
Fujifilm X-Pro1
Fujifilm X-Pro2
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI-S
Fujifilm Film Simulation Samples
