FD 55 1.2 Is One Big Chunk of Glass

LOL! you should try using the soli 90-230mm w/o a tripod

 

That's an awesome piece of glass.

How's it at aperture 2 and above? I would think it should be quite sharp.

 

A monster, all right. Try mounting one on a Pen, lol. It sits a bit like a chopper: bum down, nose up. This one is sharp though, once you get to f/2 and smaller.

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Had the same experience with the Nikkor 50/1.2. Big chunk of glass that needed to be stopped down to f/2 to get sharp; in practice a good 50/1.4 will do the same job for less money, less weight and less bulk. I sold my 50/1.2 in favour of a 50/1.4 for those reasons, it freed up 300+ euros :smile:.

 

Chunkier even still...

 

The Nikkor on a Pen always reminds me of the Gee Bee -

 

Yes, it's a fairly "plane" lens, one has to "prop" it up. I'm just winging it here folks.

 

Sharper than Rokinon 85mm f1.4 wide open?

 

Yeah, I usually favour my 50/1.4 Canon or Zuiko lenses over this one due to the size. The 55/1.2 is a wonderful lens, and at f/4, f/5.6 it is super sharp, but the two 50s are very good as well at probably half the weight. I was lucky to pick my 55/1.2 up from a bric-a-brac seller on eBay for $70 so it doesn't owe me a lot, and it's a beautiful, collectable lens that I still might occasionally use from time to time.