Nikon Series E 50mm 𝒇1.8 Lens Review

Nikon Series E 50mm 𝒇1.8 is one of the most compact vintage Nikon F-mount lenses. The all-black version tested here weighs just 137g/4.8oz and protrudes about 2.5cm/.98” from the mount.

Costing an average of $50 (depending on condition), it’s also an affordable one to try. In this review: Specifications. Build quality. Image quality. Where to buy your Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 lens. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

Specifications.

The 137g 50mm Nikon Series E lens, which protrudes 2.5cm/.98” from the mount, uses a 52mm filter thread; its outer diameter is 63mm for the all-black version. A slightly heavier variant was later made with a metal ring.

Some photographers refer to this lens as a “pancake,” which means it’s exceptionally portable — for the F-mount. Note that there are SLRs with thinner lenses that can truly be pocketable.

The 50mm Nikon Series E uses six single-coated elements in five groups via the Double Gauss/Planar design, which was a modified (slimmed) version of the earlier, bulkier Nikkor 50mm 𝒇2.

Its seven-bladed aperture diaphragm stops down to 𝒇22 and opens up to 𝒇1.8. There are two sets of aperture numbers, the smaller one is used by the Nikon SLRs’ viewfinders to read the values out in the eyepiece.

This lens’ nearest focus is .6m or about two feet, which is enough for most applications — including some product photography. There’s about 75° of focus throw.

Compatibility. Series E lenses do not have bunny ear metering prongs, but they do come with the AI ridge and AI-S indent; thus, they should work with automatic metering on most cameras except the Nikon F, F2, and Nikkormat (but they can still work fine with those cameras in a manual mode).

Build quality.

Nikon Series E lenses were a budget line made to complement the mid-range SLRs. They have several plastic external components, including the aperture ring and the depth of focus guide.

It appears that some of the internal components on these lenses were simplified or replaced with cheaper parts, as the focus throw does not feel nearly as smooth as on Nikkor lenses of the same age.

While the design and components of the Series E lenses are less refined than those of the flagship Nikkor glass, they are still well-made instruments with a “Made in Japan” stamp on the bottom. The plastics allowed the designers to reduce the number of components, simplify lubrication, and make the overall package lighter (i.e., a 50mm 𝒇1.8 Nikkor of the same age weighs 148g — which is 11g/.4oz heavier).

Image quality.

The 50mm Nikon Series E is a fairly sharp lens, and it appears to still be sharp when shot wide-open. Extreme enlargements will show that it may lack some definition compared to other Nikon lenses, like the Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 AI-S, for far-away objects — but to notice that you’ll need a fine-grained film and a high-resolution scan.

Despite having single-coated glass elements, instead of the multi-coated ones many competitors (including the Nikkor lineup) have adapted at the time, I didn’t find this lens particularly prone to flaring or loss of contrast. Somewhat surprisingly, it renders medium-high contrast photos, which suggests that it has a good way to prevent internal reflections.

The Double Gauss design of the 50mm Nikon produces a smooth, non-swirly bokeh that can quickly melt the background at close distances and its widest aperture.

Chromatic aberrations are well-corrected by this lens as are geometric distortions. The product photo I made with this lens of the Nikon F2 titanium shutter curtain above illustrates this 50mm Series E’s ability to take detailed shots without any significant bulging, loss of contrast, or loss of sharpness at its widest aperture and closest focal distance.

In fact, this lens would’ve been nearly perfect if not for its tendency to show strong comatic aberration (coma) when shooting wide-open against the light.

Lens coma is the tendency of the glass to render a comet-like tail that points away from the image center next to bright points of light. The image below illustrates this effect (I think you may notice it even on a mobile device, but you may need to flip it horizontally for additional resolution). Notice how on the right, a crop of the photo shot at the widest aperture, there are comet tails next to all bright lights at the docks and the ships. Stopping down (left) solves this.

Lens coma doesn’t just manifest next to specular highlights. The same sunset scene (above) appears to render the trees and silhouettes as if they have motion blurring, whereas there is none (you need to view it on a larger screen). This is not an uncommon flaw on lenses of this age and design, and it’s easily preventable by either avoiding certain scene contrasts or stopping down the aperture — but it’s one of the strongest I’ve seen. The only other lenses that are prone to it to such a degree in my collection are the 38mm 𝒇2.8 Revuenon on the ultra-compact Revue 35XE (a.k.a. Balda CA35, a.k.a. Voigtländer Vito C) and Nikon L35AD2 (L35AF2). It’s quite possible that the flattening/miniaturization of the lens elements is to blame.

Nevertheless, I wouldn’t hold that against one of the legendary Nikon F system’s lightest, most compact, and cheapest lenses.

 ☝︎ Further reading: “How to Make Sharper Photos on Film.”

Where to buy your Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 lens.

The Nikkor 28mm 𝒇3.5 lenses are easy to find, and they are cheap. You can get one shipped from Japan, but there are many copies available in the US and Canada. Most copies look to be in very good condition, but if this is your first time shopping for vintage glass, see this guide.

❤ By the way: Please consider making your Nikon Series E 50mm 𝒇1.8 lens purchase using this link so that this website may get a small percentage of that sale — at no extra charge for you — thanks!