Vintage-style lenses for the Nikon Zf and Nikon Z fc are few and far between, especially if you’re looking for an optic with an aperture ring. So I mean it when I say, I’m mighty interested in Hong Kong-based Artralab’s cheekily-dubbed Nonikkor-MC 35mm f/1.4. Sure, Voigtlander makes some gorgeous retro-style Z-mount lenses – like the D23mm f/1.2 Nokton Z Aspherical – but at roughly $380/£300, Artralabs (@artralab) has cooked up a more affordable option.
Interestingly, there are two internally identical but aesthetically different lens variants, in the form of a 1960s and 1980s edition. The differences – as far as I can tell – regard the focusing ring and filter thread, with the 1960s variant displaying a chunker ring and silver thread (think F-mount’s original non-AI lenses), while the 1980s version has a more modern rubber focusing ring and black filter thread (indicative of Nikon’s AI-S era of optics).
Internally, the Nonikkor-MC 35mm f/1.4 is able to deliver a minimum aperture of f/16, seven elements in five groups, a 63.2-degree angle of view, a ten-bladed aperture, 0.35m minimum-focusing distance, and a 52mm filter thread. Each lens boasts what Artralab is calling a Low Reflective Multilayer Coating, weighs 285g, and is built from an aluminum alloy.
Artralab says the optics are “specifically designed to complement the Nikon Zf,” but they’re also available in Sony E and Leica L mounts, with the 1960s variant also available for Fujifilm X mount.
I have to say, I love the idea of releasing the same lens in guises to suit different decades. The most authentic option for both the Nikon Zf and Zfc is the 1980s variant, since both cameras are heavily modeled on the legendary Nikon FM2, which was released in 1982.
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