Nikon Nikkor 55mm F/1.2 Lens Review – The Fast and the Spurious

Nikon Nikkor 55mm F/1.2 Lens Review – The Fast and the Spurious

3000 1688 Josh Solomon

After shooting the Nikon Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 fast prime for the past month, I’m reminded of my old, high school jazz instructor. He would always tell our band, ”Speed isn’t everything.” Our problem was that we young whippersnappers could play fast, but we never sounded good doing it. The solution, according to the instructor, was to practice slowly until familiarity with the material let us play not only faster, but with more control.

Unsurprisingly, telling a bunch of hyperactive sixteen-year-olds to slow down and practice self-discipline wasn’t effective, and the band continued to fail at faster tempos. It became clear that, to us, the physical rush of playing faster was the only thing that mattered, even if our sound suffered for it.

The Nikkor is big, glamorous, and features that seductive “f/1.2” marking on the aperture ring. This alone makes it a lens to conjure choruses of Oohs and Aahs at the local camera meet, and posting a shot of it on Instagram racks up massive numbers of likes and reposts. People love this lens. Because of that fast aperture it automatically gets lumped in with some of Nikon’s best lenses. Yes, the numbers say it should be a great lens. But after spending time with it for the past month I’m starting to agree with my old jazz instructor; speed isn’t everything.

But I should slow this review down; the reputation and fanfare surrounding the Nikon 55mm f/1.2 does indeed come from a place of real reverence. When introduced in December of 1965, this lens was the fastest lens on offer for the Nikon SLR system (although not the fastest in their entire catalog – the Nikon rangefinder 50mm f/1.1 takes that credit). The combination of a Nikon F or F2 with the 55mm f/1.2 represented the premium package from the brand, the best of the best in the heyday of the 35mm mechanical SLR camera.

Its construction was state of the art – a seven elements in five groups Double Gauss-derived design with a seven-bladed aperture and, depending on the version, single-coated or multi-coated elements to provide punchier images and improved flare resistance. Mitigating that flare was crucial – a speed of f/1.2 could not be achieved without an enormous front element, and this lens had a big one. 

These huge glass elements came packaged in Nikon’s all-metal lens chassis complete with a metal focusing ring and aperture ring, bringing the lens to a hefty 12.6oz. The resulting heft and size makes the 55mm f/1.2 cut an imposing figure to this day, fitting for what was once top dog in the vast Nikon lens lineup. 

Large, fast, and technically bonkers lenses like the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 became a badge of honor for lens makers of the time. Some notable examples from the period include Canon’s 50mm f/0.95 “Dream Lens” made in 1961 for Leica Thread Mount, Leica’s Noctilux 50mm f/1.2 introduced in 1966, and Minolta’s MC-Rokkor 58mm f/1.2 made in the late ‘60s. These lenses were the feathers in the caps of each manufacturer, and the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 was a particularly colorful feather.

Though fundamentally glamorous and showy, these super-speed lenses did have a real and practical function. Film sensitivity was much lower back then, which in turn required faster lenses. These enabled shooters to get one more stop out of ultra-slow slide films like Kodachrome 25, and helped nightcrawlers pull out an extra stop for their ISO 400 black-and-white films.

When these factors are taken into account, a lens like the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 makes a lot of sense. Nikon gets a lens that keeps them relevant among lens manufacturers, and shooters can enjoy improved performance on slower films and in low-light.

But we must remember that while these super-speedy lenses were dancing on the bleeding edge of optical technology, they were doing so in the mid 1960s. Manufacturers at the time still hadn’t perfected many of the techniques that make super fast lenses so exceptional today.

Modern lenses are constructed with a much higher number of glass elements than their ancestors. These advanced elements correct distortion and field curvature, increase corner resolution and help to mitigate optical aberrations. That’s why older lenses are so much smaller, lighter, and more elegant than modern glass. Good news for legacy lens lovers, but it’s also true that the early super-fast lenses suffer when it comes to image quality. This is especially true when shot wide-open (as the f/1.2 Nikkor so often begs us to do).

Like many of its contemporaries, the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 is a product of its time and of those industry-wide growing pains. Though it sports an obviously incredible top speed of f/1.2, optical performance at that aperture leaves a lot to be desired. At f/1.2, contrast decreases and sharpness becomes a moot point. Bright sources of light suffer from large amounts of coma (smearing), and color images show plenty of chromatic aberration (color fringing in high contrast areas).

The tradeoff for this lack of technical quality is an added functionality in low-light (f/1.2 being a full stop faster than f/1.8) as well as razor-thin depth of field, dream-like rendering and, you guessed it, heaps of bokeh. It should be noted that the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 does all of these things extremely well. Shooters who prefer dreamier photos as well as bokeh addicts will be absolutely in love with this lens. It renders subjects with an ethereal quality, has an uncanny ability to dissolve backgrounds and foregrounds, and lends itself well to a more interpretive composition. This lens is an art lens.

[Black-and-white sample shots made with Ilford HP5 and a Nikon F2]

However, shooting at maximum aperture in situations where fidelity is the ultimate goal is hard, and shooting must-capture subjects this way is risky. I do a lot of shooting in low-light and I find that if my subject is anywhere besides the center of the frame I won’t come away with anything resembling a usable image. The razor-thin depth of field afforded by a 55mm lens at f/1.2 also makes shooting moving subjects at close to mid-focusing range as difficult as bullseyeing womp rats in a T16 back home (without using the Force). In other words, it’s really hard to do. 

Users of super-fast sub-f/1.4 lenses may be familiar with these characteristics, and enjoy them while also championing the stopped-down performance of such lenses. The Nikkor 55mm f/1.2’s performance does improve a lot when stopped down, but its stopped-down performance doesn’t outshine the other Nikon standard focal length lenses of the era. The slower Nikkor 50mm f/2 and f/1.4 lenses perform about the same as this Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 when stopped down, and wide open they offer a slightly deeper depth-of-field which makes acquiring focus in low-light much easier. In fact, the only advantage the 55mm f/1.2 has is that it exhibits less vignetting at f/2 and is slightly sharper at that aperture.

Considering that Nikon’s slower, cheaper lenses of the same era perform just as well as the 55mm f/1.2, the lens seems impractical. If given the choice, I’d still take any of Nikon’s slower standard focal length lenses over the 55mm f/1.2 simply because they’re lighter, and easier to use when shooting wide-open. Sure, the 55mm f/1.2 has a dream-like character that bokeh lovers go crazy for, but beyond that the lens’ image quality is par for the course. Add that to the fact that this lens sells for three to four times the price of those slower, but sharper, lenses and the prospect of buying one suddenly elicits fewer Oohs and Ahhs, and a lot more Hmms.

[Digital sample shots made with a Sony a7]

Prospective buyers should consider if a lens as specific as the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 fits in with their personal vision and photographic style. People who love bokeh and enjoy dreamier, softer images will want to own this lens. It does make dreamy, ethereal portraits better than most fifties on the market. But for shooters for whom bokeh and softness aren’t the ultimate goal, the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 or f/2 will be a far more practical choice. They do the simple things well, and are just as capable of making great images loaded with vintage Nikkor character.

Shooting an early super-speed lens Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 reminded me a lot of being a young musician wanting to play too fast, too quickly. Playing fast feels good, but if the fundamentals aren’t there, the music will just end up sounding rushed and one-dimensional. Similarly, the Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 might be fast and feel great to shoot, but its images wide open can be one-dimensional and almost uncontrollable.

In an era where legacy lenses are as likely to be fitted to a modern mirrorless camera (with their incredible high-ISO performance) as they might be to a classic Nikon, these ultra-fast primes just have less relevance than they did fifty years ago. I hate to admit it, but speed really isn’t everything.

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Josh Solomon

Josh Solomon is a freelance writer and touring bassist living in Los Angeles. He has an affinity for all things analog. When not onstage, you can find him roaming around Southern California shooting film and humming a tune.

All stories by:Josh Solomon
18 comments
  • Wonderful review.

  • I have a 50 mm 1.2 ai nikkor that I like using. I got some particularly good portraits with delta 3200 at an outside bar at night using it. but after using my 50mm planar f2 on my m3 all summer and fall I have been contemplating selling it and buying the 35mm 1.4 nikkor. I remember reading there is a version of this lens 58mm 1.2 ais (The Noct one) that is suppose to be excellent but at a heavy price tag of 3000$ or so.

    • Hi Robert. The Noct-Nikkor 58mm 1.2 is a different and much higher-performance lens than this one (this 55mm 1.2 was a very early fast prime, after all). It uses an aspherical hand-ground element to essentially eliminate coma and spherical aberration. It’s Nikon’s sharpest lens at 1.2 and 1.4, with very little corner softness compared with other primes of similar speed. The price tag, as you say, is pretty high. The Ai-s version was made in higher quantities than the Ai version, so there’s less rarity there. Anyway, we’ll get one of those and show some sample shots in a review sometime.

      • true true I guess I was generalizing the fast 1.2 aperture and Nikon F mount lenses. Probably shouldent lump these lenses to gather I guess. I would like to see some example photos on film of that Noct lens for sure. fun fact on the 50mm 1.2 ai and ais lens – the rear element had to have a slight shaving on the edge of one side to allow room for the aperture lever to work. Not sure if the 55mm has that though.

  • Josh, my understanding is that the original Canon f0.95 was produced in an exclusive breech-lock fitting and not L39 or LM mounts. Those that are, have been modified later. I suspect your confusion may be down to the fact it was introduced for the Canon 7, which does have an L39 screw mount for more conventional screw lenses, but it also has a breech-lock mount surrounding the L39 mount just for this lens.

  • Great review. Thanks.

    As a side note I’d like to mention that you can still buy this special lens brandnew from your dealer.

    Cheers,
    Stefan

  • But the 55 1.2 just looks so cool on my beat up Nikon F Josh!

  • Thanks for the review. My f1.2 is sharper than the 1.4s at every stop through 5.6 or so-but by now the quality/condition of individual examples will vary considerably and some 1.2s will be in less than great shape. I’ve only had two , but half a dozen of the slightly slower model, and that observation has held true for every one. The 1.2 is indeed more expensive, but nothing like ‘in the day’

  • I got an AI-s 55/1.2 (and Nikon F2) essentially for free when buying a family friend’s Hasselblad set up…and I love it dearly. I’ve used it adapted on my Canon 7D and now my Fuji XE3 setups, where the APS-C sensor keeps me in the sweet spot of the lens. On film though, you’re completely right about the rendering – it’s certainly not super sharp wide open, but at least my copy has wonderful character that I personally think looks great for portraits on most film (but especially Ilford Delta 400 and Kodak Portra).

  • A good and fair review- I have the 55/1.2 Ai and Nikkor-SC 55/1.2, sold the earlier version. Some history- the 55/1.2 was Nikon’s first production lens to have multi-coated optics, in 1969 Nikon coated the surfaces of the rear elements. The 55/1.2 was “tweeked” optically through the years to improve performance, and to cut the minimum focus distance. The Ai version is probably the best to look for. The 1976 Pop Photo tests showed what many photographers at the time knew: sharpest over the center 2/3rds of the image, “what’s in the corner does not matter”. The size of the lens, particularly the front section made it prone to “hard knocks” and the front element being knocked out of alignment. I’m lucky with my pair, both are quite good on the Df and on film. I picked up a late 50/1.2 recently- better corner to corner, but I like the 55mm focal length enough to keep all three lenses.

    I also have the Canon 50/0.95 for the Canon 7. These days, I would advise someone to get the 7Artisans 50/1.1 or Voigtlander Nokton rather than converting the Canon to Leica mount.

  • I have one of this.. (used to have two :D) a great low contrast lens, best used with slide films

    • Stefan Staudenmaier April 24, 2022 at 12:19 pm

      Stoppen down to 2.8 your „low Contrast“ Lens turns into a reazor sharp beast
      that outperforms a lot of modern constructions today with its character !

      People complaining about gear somethimes don’t use it properly.
      To get the best result I use this Lens with a monopod – Nikon F3 and DW-3 finder
      and the incredible Ilford Pan F 50 – digital with Nikon to Sony E adapter at my Sony A7
      and focus peeking !

  • Thank you soooo much for this review. This may be YEARS old, it is still relevant. I picked up the Nikkor 55 1.2 and debating selling my Zeiss 50 1.4 zf….side by side….they look extremely similar. (adapted to micro 4/3s with a speed booster).

  • How interesting. I didn’t know this lens existed and it’s great to know that it does. I have the much more modern (but still old) 50mm f1.4 AF-D. I think for similar money I would opt for the Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 if I were after a manual focus lens.

  • I have this lens the last year it was single coated . I just also saw a great deal on an ai version and may just grab it . I’m or maybe was not much of a 50mm fan . I’m really loving this 55 mm f/1.2 and shoot it wide open most of the time .
    Thinking of grabbing the ai version to keep on my d810 instead of the single coated one. I can keep the single coated version for my black n white film cameras.
    I really love the different looks of black n white film . I also usually convert most of the stuff I’ve been shooting on the d810 and the 55 f/1.2 to monochrome.
    When I get my next Nikon mirrorless Z9 I believe I’ll retire the d810 or d850 and have it converted to a monochrome camera by Max Max I believe they are called .
    Sure wish I had the 58 mm f/1.2 .

  • I have a 55 f1.2 but never loved it. The idea of focus control and windowpane thin plane need a particular task. I came across it at a camera shop next to the Oakland Tribune, mostly because it was there and I thought it would be cool. My work went digital so I didn’t use it much at all. That said, if I were less worried about working and just shooting for fun, it might have been different.

    I pulled it out this evening, thinking to use it on a Dance shoot I’ve lit for the occasion. I had some fantasy of shooting wide open, thin DoF, sharp and blurred. But as I handled it tonight I realized that there was no wayI could manually focus that well and tech the class at the same time. It takes a lot of ready skill and I don’t live by manual focus anymore except for Tabletop and Macro.

    But I still like the focus control of 1.2. I shoot digital so I look at the current 50mm 1.2S at 1100 grams. Fuji’s is half the price, at 440 grams, more in the ballpark of the one I’m holding in my hand. Fuji also has a 16-55 2.8…

    This review has been helpful. It hit me when I was playing with the Nikkor 55mm 1.2. It reminded me why I bought it and why it failed for me. But I do want the capabilities such a lens expresses. Bang for buck, though, that means Fuji.

  • I had a garbage spiratone fisheye lens that my friend wanted. He offered to trade me this 55mm 1.2 non-ai because it was “un-usable” on his Canon 5D with an adapter. I jumped on the offer and fell in love with this lens. Your review is fair and there is something to be said about what you mount it on. My friend bought it for the “wow, 1.2” factor. The softness paired with difficulty focusing on ground glass left him with a lot of blurry photos. Using it on a Canon DSLR, it is the single most challenging lens to focus that I’ve ever touched.

    I have taken thousands of photos with it on my Canon 5D and hardly a few of those were close to being in focus! I have shot a few hundred shots with it on my Nikon FE/FM and almost every single one was in focus. I’ve shot several weddings on film with this lens and got many incredible shots. I would never count on it for a paid contract on a digital camera though. Something about the Nikon split screen rangefinder in the FE/FM prisms is just right on.

    It has a sweetness to it in the f/2-2.8 range that makes me happy. Anything else I get out the 55mm 3.5 Micro Nikkor which you have also reviewed. I agree with your observations of that lens too.

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Josh Solomon

Josh Solomon is a freelance writer and touring bassist living in Los Angeles. He has an affinity for all things analog. When not onstage, you can find him roaming around Southern California shooting film and humming a tune.

All stories by:Josh Solomon