Nippon Kogaku 50mm f/1.4 Auto Nikkor-s Manual Focus Lens

The Nikon Nikkor-S Auto 50mm f/1.4 is a single-coated, fast normal lens introduced in 1962 for the Nikon F-mount camera system. The lens features a 7-element, 5-group Double-Gauss optical design with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 and a minimum focus distance of 2 feet, making it well-suited for portrait and general-purpose photography. This pre-AI lens is constructed with chunky, well-machined metal components including scalloped focusing and aperture rings that operate with exceptional smoothness and precision.

The optical performance is characterized by reduced coma flare and improved sharpness compared to its predecessor, though it exhibits some spherical aberration and softness at maximum aperture. The lens renders backgrounds with smooth bokeh that complements subject isolation without noticeable vignetting, and it includes distance markers in feet and meters plus an infrared focus index for precise manual focusing. Due to its pre-AI design, this lens requires stop-down metering on modern camera bodies and is not compatible with post-AI Nikon cameras without modification.