Nikkor 210

[evanbaines]

As I continue to muddle around and try to figure out how to make a decent simple portrait, I've decided to dust off my old Cambo monorail and get it into the game. I was only lacking a lens for it, and on a whim picked up a 210mm 5.6 Nikkor W, which is roughly the sort of perspective I'm enjoying on my 'Blad and 35mm lately for portraits. However, I can't find out much about the lens, other than vague references to it being about the same as the other 210mm lenses from the other manufacturers. Specifically, I'm curious about how the performance comes out at larger apertures, since I'll be shooting portraits. I'd love to see the MTF curves etc, just to anticipate some of the lens's characteristics before I start shooting. I'd also be interested in what anyone who has shot the lens thinks of it. At $200 shipped I figured it was worth a gamble.

Anyway, cheers all and thanks for any info you have!

[BradS]

I ti s a fine lens. Assuming the one you have purchased is in decent condition, I do not think you will be dissappointed with it.

[Oren Grad]

As it happens I was doing some tinkering earlier this afternoon, which included some comparisons of a 210 Nikkor W with a 210 Apo-Sironar-S. I'll attach here a couple of crops from raw captures made with a Canon EOS 6D mounted on a Sinar F2; both of these crops are not far from the center of the field, at f/5.6. I didn't apply any sharpening or resizing was anywhere in the processing chain for the digital captures. They have evidently been downsized by the uploader here but I think what you'll see here is qualitatively still pretty faithful to what I'm seeing at 100%, just with the effects a little attenuated.

Anyway, the first file (1895) is from the Nikkor W, the second (1905) from the Apo-Sironar-S. It's pretty obvious that the Apo-Sironar-S is better corrected at open aperture; look not only at the crispness at the plane of focus, but also at the axial color (compare the rendering of the black characters in front of and behind the plane of focus). Whether this would make any difference for the sorts of pictures you want to make is a different question.

BTW, I did an aperture series down to f/22, and the Nikkor W largely catches up with the Apo-Sironar-S on this comparison as it's stopped down. This is as you'd expect - it's a good lens. One of the things you get for paying the extra $$$ for a state-of-the-art lens like the Apo-Sironar-S is a level of correction that's beyond what's needed for many applications.

120974
120975

[Oren Grad]

OK, since I'm sure somebody's going to ask, here's f/22. Again, the first file (1899) is Nikkor W, the second (1909) is Apo-Sironar-S.

120979
120980

[Oren Grad]

I'd love to see the MTF curves etc, just to anticipate some of the lens's characteristics before I start shooting.

FWIW, MTF curves are not generally available for Nikkors. Rodenstock's data sheets for the Apo-Sironar-S series do have MTFs, though I suspect these are calculated from the design rather than measured from actual samples. Anyway, the evidence that counts is in the pictures.

[StoneNYC]

It's a very modern lens, you really won't be able to tell the difference even shot on a 4x5 and enlarged to 20x24 you won't be able to see any issues shot wide open ... Just shoot and enjoy it...

[evanbaines]

Thank you all for the info, and particularly to Oren for the comparisons.

So it looks like for $200 shipped, given the lens is mint with tested and guaranteed shutter speeds, my incompetence will be the only thing holding me back from making decent portraits. ;)

[mdarnton]

I will be looking forward to seeing what you do.

[Greg Y]

Despite the #s, and stellar reviews, The Apo-Sironar S wouldn't be my first choice for a portrait lens. When it comes to portraits, characteristics other than sharpness are at the top of my list. The Nikkor will be just fine.

[Oren Grad]

So it looks like for $200 shipped, given the lens is mint with tested and guaranteed shutter speeds, my incompetence will be the only thing holding me back from making decent portraits. ;)

It's a good lens at a good price, and could turn out to be the only lens you'll ever need. If it's not, your experience in using it will help you figure out what you're missing and what else you need to look for. So go make pictures... and enjoy!

[Ari]

So it looks like for $200 shipped, given the lens is mint with tested and guaranteed shutter speeds, my incompetence will be the only thing holding me back from making decent portraits. ;)

Now you're just like the rest of us. :)