Nikon Nikkor SW 90mm f/8 vs. 90mm f/4.5?

[Nick_3536]

Nikon brochure (8807/B) code 8CE60100 was printed 6 years later and lists the image circles at f8 for the 90 f8 as 154mm and the 4.5 as 200mm and lists both at f22 as 235mm (f8 version) and 312mm (4.5 version).

312mm? Is that right? I may need to fix that 8x10 ground glass now -)

[Chuck Pere]

Nikon brochure (8807/B) code 8CE60100 was printed 6 years later and lists the image circles at f8 for the 90 f8 as 154mm and the 4.5 as 200mm and lists both at f22 as 235mm (f8 version) and 312mm (4.5 version).

Aren't 200 and 312 for the 120mm lens?

[Bob Salomon]

Aren't 200 and 312 for the 120mm lens?

Yes,

Should be 235mm for the 4.5.

Sorry about that.

[dh003i]

Depends on which Nikon brochure you are looking in. Nikon lens brochure 12481-100-5/82 lists them as you state. That one was printed in the USA.

Nikon brochure (8807/B) code 8CE60100 was printed 6 years later and lists the image circles at f8 for the 90 f8 as 154mm and the 4.5 as 200mm and lists both at f22 as 235mm (f8 version) and 312mm (4.5 version).

As a former employee of EPOI at the time that the Nikkor lenses were introduced I would strongly suggest that you follow the specs in the brochure printed in Japan rather then the USA printed brochure.

Bob,

Any idea what the image circle for he 90/4.5 is @ f/4.5? I think it doesn't quite cover the diagonal of the 4x5 GG.

In any event, the larger image circle of the 90/4.5 @ f/8 is a benefit.

[Steve Goldstein]

I'm not Bob, but I do have a PDF of Nikon brochure 8CE60100, which appears to be of April 2001 vintage, and printed in Japan (thankfully, in English). Interestingly, at the top right of the back page it says it's copyrighted 2002-2004, which is somewhat at odds with the print code at the bottom of the same page. Whatever.

This brochure says the 4.5/90 has a 154mm image circle at f/4.5 and 235mm at f/16. It also lists the 4.5 as having 7 elements in 4 groups.

The 8/90 is stated as having a 154mm image circle at f/8 and 235mm at f/22. It also says 8 elements in 4 groups.

The cutaway pictures are consistent with these element counts as long as one assumes that Nikon have inadvertently colored in an airspace in the front cell of the f/4.5 (OTOH, the 4.5 could be 8 elements if they've mastered the technology of making a double-concave element with zero-thickness at its center).

I don't recall where I got this PDF, but it's a fairly high-quality scan, slightly over 2Megs. Send me an email if you'd like a copy.

steve

[Armin Seeholzer]

This brochure says the 4.5/90 has a 154mm image circle at f/4.5 and 235mm at f/16. It also lists the 4.5 as having 7 elements in 4 groups.

The 8/90 is stated as having a 154mm image circle at f/8 and 235mm at f/22. It also says 8 elements in 4 groups.


The same is stated in the german and french version, which where printed in Holland from around 1991!

Cheers Armin

[Edlog]

first post on this forum, hello everybody :-)

The Nikkor-SW 90mm f/4.5 is both huge and excellent but I sold mine a while ago, I found it too big to carry around..
Edward

[dh003i]

I was testing out my 90/4.5 today in the field with a railroad bridge I was photographing at sunset from an angle on the side. I did some focusing at f/8, and the f/4.5 makes a significant difference to me as lower-light situations -- and image-corners -- are encountered, so I'm going to stick with the 90/4.5.

[shadowleaves]

The 154mm wide-open image circle is so conservative that it's almost misleading, similar to what Nikon said about many other their lense (e.g., M 300/9). I have a Nikkor-SW 90/8 and I can confirm that wide-open at f/8 it covers 5x7 easily with plenty of extra shifting space. I believe what Nikon mean by 154mm is the maximum circle without an oval-shape exit pupil, which causes additional fall-off. Note that this is NOT the elliptical exit pupil that has already been corrected via tilting exit pupil design. It's the oval-shape exit pupil you'll get at wide apertures and it will be gone by f/22. You want to avoid it when taking actual pics, but for focusing purpose it's totally fine and it's what you'll get with any other 90mm lense with 235mm image circle at f/22.

I'm not Bob, but I do have a PDF of Nikon brochure 8CE60100, which appears to be of April 2001 vintage, and printed in Japan (thankfully, in English). Interestingly, at the top right of the back page it says it's copyrighted 2002-2004, which is somewhat at odds with the print code at the bottom of the same page. Whatever.

This brochure says the 4.5/90 has a 154mm image circle at f/4.5 and 235mm at f/16. It also lists the 4.5 as having 7 elements in 4 groups.

The 8/90 is stated as having a 154mm image circle at f/8 and 235mm at f/22. It also says 8 elements in 4 groups.

The cutaway pictures are consistent with these element counts as long as one assumes that Nikon have inadvertently colored in an airspace in the front cell of the f/4.5 (OTOH, the 4.5 could be 8 elements if they've mastered the technology of making a double-concave element with zero-thickness at its center).

I don't recall where I got this PDF, but it's a fairly high-quality scan, slightly over 2Megs. Send me an email if you'd like a copy.

steve

[dh003i]

The 154mm wide-open image circle is so conservative that it's almost misleading, similar to what Nikon said about many other their lense (e.g., M 300/9). I have a Nikkor-SW 90/8 and I can confirm that wide-open at f/8 it covers 5x7 easily with plenty of extra shifting space. I believe what Nikon mean by 154mm is the maximum circle without an oval-shape exit pupil, which causes additional fall-off. Note that this is NOT the elliptical exit pupil that has already been corrected via tilting exit pupil design. It's the oval-shape exit pupil you'll get at wide apertures and it will be gone by f/22. You want to avoid it when taking actual pics, but for focusing purpose it's totally fine and it's what you'll get with any other 90mm lense with 235mm image circle at f/22.

I wonder if, when stopping down enough, the 90/4.5 can cover 8x10. That'd be sweet considering how great a performer the 90/4.5 is (and considering the enormous wide angle you'd get). It's already at 235mm at f/16, and that's probably a conservative estimate too.