Nikkor-S Auto f/2 5cm: highly underrated?

So I feel like this lens gets reduced to a footnote on the Nikon F's story, as the earlier and lesser of it's two kit lenses. But this is hands down the best lens I own, and I own a number of lauded Canon and Minolta lenses. I compare it favorably to the slightly longer and slightly faster 50's Meyer Primoplan that I briefly owned.

I've always found this to be a razor-sharp lens with a very distinctive warm color response, that gels well with fast color film like Superia. I've heard that it's actually a retrofocal lens like an SLR wide, and that may have something to do with the truly unique look.

My only criticism of this lens is that literally all the controls are backwards from the Canon lenses I learned on, and that is of course subjective and trivial.

I have no experience of the Nikkor-H that replaced it, but when I hear the Nikkor-S mentioned it's always to compare it disfavorably to its successor. Can the Nikkor-H really be that good?

So what do you think? Has this lens been criminally underrated? Can anyone share a comparison of the S and the H?

Canon and Nikon lenses are opposite in all their controls, so if you're using it adapted, it may feel backwards, but if you use it on a Nikon with all your other Nikon lenses, it is perfectly normal (as are most Pentax lenses, and Bronica lenses. Not sure about other brands. I've never had the Nikkor-S 5cm ƒ2. I have a bunch of the other ~50s and the Nikkor-H is generally the nicest, though I've not done any actual testing.

abruzzi said:

Canon and Nikon lenses are opposite in all their controls, so if you're using it adapted, it may feel backwards, but if you use it on a Nikon with all your other Nikon lenses, it is perfectly normal (as are most Pentax lenses, and Bronica lenses. Not sure about other brands. I've never had the Nikkor-S 5cm ƒ2. I have a bunch of the other ~50s and the Nikkor-H is generally the nicest, though I've not done any actual testing.

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Hmm... I didn't know that about Nikon. It's the only OEM lens I've ever had for either of my Nikons, in fact the only lens at all except for a Soligor T-mount preset lens with a mounting ring for Nikon.

I will note that the Meyer m42 lens was the same in regards to the direction of the focus ring, and I'm not sure about my other lenses.

I am wholly of the opinion that, while lenses have advanced in terms of technical perfection, the real character lenses were designed early. 30's, 40's and 50's, perhaps. It is notable that many lenses with cult followings were made in Kraznogorsk and Kharkiv in the 50's through the 70's to earlier, German patterns.

I think it should stand to reason, then, that you like your Nikkor-H better than later Nikkors.

I own several 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H (and the -H.C. and the AI cousins) - they're all fantastic!
I've never owned the 50mm f/2 Nikkor-S...never even seen one in person...but, I've never read or heard any body poo-poo them either. I have read that the -H performs better than the -S wide open.
Since it was replaced by the -H so shortly after its introduction, it is certainly inferior to the -H in some respect....but it may simply be that the -H is/was simpler and less expensive to manufacture.

BradS said:

I own several 50mm f/2 Nikkor-H (and the -H.C. and the AI cousins) - they're all fantastic!
I've never owned the 50mm f/2 Nikkor-S...never even seen one in person...but, I've never read or heard any body poo-poo them either. I have read that the -H performs better than the -S wide open.
Since it was replaced by the -H so shortly after its introduction, it is certainly inferior to the -H in some respect....but it may simply be that the -H is/was simpler and less expensive to manufacture.

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Wide-open... you know, I don't think I've used mine overmuch wide open. Perhaps I should see what that looks like. Certainly I like most of my Minolta lenses when wide-open, though my PF Auto Rokkor 58/1.4 or whatever it's called is definitely a technically poor performer wide open. I like the effect but it is definitely very soft and a little aberrant.

When you say you've heard that the Nikkor-H is better wide open, do you know if they mean sharpness particularly or overall performance?

It's one of the very few Nikon SLR lenses that seems genuinely interesting to me - I think one of them & a plain prism Nikon F could be quite a fun combination.

Lachlan Young said:

It's one of the very few Nikon SLR lenses that seems genuinely interesting to me - I think one of them & a plain prism Nikon F could be quite a fun combination.

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Well, I'll tell you that it's a fun combination on a Nikkorex F, which is a plain-prism camera from the same time. With a split-image focusing screen, you can get incredible sharpness.

I have the 50mm Nikkor-S and it lives on my F. I really like the lens and it has produced some really nice images. I don’t think it gives up much to the later 6-element versions (I own a K version 50mm f2) but I haven’t tested. That said I don’t think it is underrated, it just wasn’t made in large numbers and is less known among users.