{"id":95393,"date":"2025-01-08T11:36:14","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T16:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/?p=95393"},"modified":"2026-08-29T16:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:01:45","slug":"nikon-18-5mm-f-1-8-samples-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/nikon-18-5mm-f-1-8-samples-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8 Samples + Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Hello everyone Happy New Year. (The first of many if you cover enough different cultures as I do here in Atlanta!)<\/p>\n

In cleaning up work and old photos I think I\u2019m going to start off with posting random camera gear thoughts and \u201creviews\u201d that have been sitting on the back burner for so long. Again, I\u2019ve never claimed to be an internet new media gear reviewer, just a creative that gets great joy out of being the end user of a piece of imaging technology. You can find the technical specs elsewhere, as I mainly focus on the pictures, isn\u2019t that what is most important?<\/p>\n

My old Nikon 10mm f\/2.8 samples page (Link Here<\/a>) actually ranks on the first page on the ol\u2019 Google search results oddly enough. What did I do with all those internet points? Absolutely nothing! \ud83d\ude42 So here\u2019s a follow up with another review + random image post of the:<\/p>\n

Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8 1 System CX lens<\/h2>\n
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Nikon J1 + Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8<\/p><\/div>\n

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Nikon J1 + Nikon 10mm f\/2.8 and 18.5mm f\/1.8 Size Comparison<\/p><\/div>\n

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What is this lens?<\/h2>\n

A 50mm equivalent prime for the Nikon small camera CX 1″ system<\/h4>\n

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Way back in late 2011 when the 1 system was new Nikon also had some primes you could buy. Since I\u2019d spent a good bit on the kit combo, I forget about these lenses until a few years ago. In this photography open world multiplayer RPG, there\u2019s always something else that diverts cash\/runes, consumables like computers, hard drives and memory cards. The 10mm f\/2.8 was the 28mm FF equiv FOV street and landscape lens, and the 18.5mm f\/1.8 was the 50mm FF equiv portrait\/normal lens. I didn\u2019t get either of these lenses until much after Nikon killed the system and this series of cameras was also abandoned by consumers due to the shoddy build quality of the kit zoom lenses and other imaging related things like horrible in low light, etc.<\/p>\n

Like most everything camera related though, you have to find what that specific tool is special at and work within those strengths.<\/p>\n

A Nikon J\/V series camera with the 18.5mm f\/1.8 is about the equivalent to a FF 50mm f\/5 lens. It\u2019s small, light, and doesn\u2019t scream professional camera. With most of the ones on the used market being the White color, if anything it screams toy digicam.<\/p>\n

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Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8<\/p><\/div>\n

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Why would you want one?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s small and light. It focuses pretty close for arm length camera shots.\u00a0 It’s sharp and usable at f\/1.8 all day.\u00a0 The light falloff vignette can be purposely accentuated, making the images look like they were shot on larger sensors.\u00a0 Mounted on a 1 series camera it\u2019s a silent minimum ~5 fps setup that delivers RAW .nef files that are some of the best in the industry. Don\u2019t just take my word for it. Both hobbyists and professionals know the power of a Nikon raw file when shot in good light at base ISO.<\/p>\n

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Nikon V1 + Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8 + OEM Leather Nikon Brown Strap! | Shot with a Fuji X-E1<\/p><\/div>\n

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How much does it cost in 2025?<\/h2>\n

Today the Nikon 1 series cameras is unwanted and unloved by the masses and not as trendy as vintage digicams and Fuji cameras. This lens normally goes for $175+ used and the bodies range in price from $70-300. So you could luck out and only spend $250 for this combo. Truly a bargain in today’s increasing prices because you get a camera setup that delivers raw files as good as a D200, D90, D7000, K10D, Rebel T series, etc.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to take an internet photographer\/youtuber\/influencer way more popular than me (which isn\u2019t hard at all) to drive up the prices and make this cool. Nikon tried to make this a thing with Ashton Kutcher on release and that didn\u2019t go so well. So crazy how fortune 500 companies are beholden to and at the mercy of folks on youtube running empires out of their spare bedroom.<\/p>\n

Again Nikon missed a golden opportunity in actually making this a Coolpix Pro series, and sticking the electronics in a vintage shell.<\/p>\n

The only thing I see somewhat being a rare pokemon in the point and shoot Nikon world is the Coolpix A, with its D7000 level APS-C sensor and 28mm equiv lens. If I can find a cheap one online I\u2019d definitely think about getting one.\u00a0 We also missed out on the announced but never released DL series of fixed lens 1″ sensor cameras.\u00a0 I can only imagine the prices.<\/p>\n

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What types of images can I create with it? Do the files hold up in editing? What\u2019s the CA like? What\u2019s the dynamic range of the files? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

I\u2019ll answer all that with: the differences in cameras is pretty slight, the differences in the people that use them are vast. Here are some pretty pictures to look at so you can decide yourself. All these taken over the years and seasons with the 18.5mm on a J1 or V1. The sensors are exactly the same. The V1 has an EVF so that is good for some situations.<\/p>\n

Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8: Portraits Landscapes Food Product Samples<\/strong><\/p>\n

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(\u25d5\u203f\u25d5)\u2661<\/p><\/div>\n

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Again, with almost all Nikon cameras I\u2019ve found that you can get best results by shooting raw and editing it in the native Nikon software. Nikon has the latest Capture NX-D, and it\u2019s not bad. It\u2019s still the best, most pure way to access the color that was meant from the manufacturer. You can turn off NR completely to access the pure acuity of the files, and see the exact Auto white balance. You can choose to accentuate the vignette light fall off that this lens has, or get rid of it completely. You can lower the sharpening, contrast, and saturation to 0, giving the files a slight filmic LOG look that you can export and edit in your software of choice.<\/p>\n

You can also auto correct the slight barrel distortion that this 18.5mm lens has.<\/p>\n

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The Nikon 1″ CX sensors has plenty of good stuff in the raw file to take a photo into whatever creative editing style you want.\u00a0 Whether it be the default Vibrant look Nikons are known for, or the muted soft film like low contrast look.<\/p>\n

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This 18.5mm and the 10mm are probably the best food camera lenses I have<\/p>\n

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Garlic Naan<\/p><\/div>\n

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Chicken 65<\/p><\/div>\n

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Banh Mi<\/p><\/div>\n

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This is what I mean by arm length photo.\u00a0 It’s a 50mm FF equiv FOV but the working distance of the 18.5mm means you can take pictures of stuff you are holding or pictures of back LCDs of cameras<\/p>\n

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Lao Long Bean Salad<\/p><\/div>\n

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Fish Cake<\/p><\/div>\n

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With good hot lights, the Nikon 18.5mm is even capable of producing the “super panavision” type of look that is currently popular with AI trailers<\/p><\/div>\n

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Canon RP shot with the Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8. I often use this lens to capture my BTS shots of my camera setups too. It’s small, light, has a great minimum focus distance, and can be edited to look like APS-C or larger sensors<\/p><\/div>\n

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Different camera systems are like bands. Some get extremely popular for whatever reason. Others don\u2019t get popular until after the band broke up. Some musicians put out high quality work and don\u2019t get the recognition they deserve, like shoe gazing bands that make lovely music but would never pack out festivals. This lens and the 1 system is quite capable, but it was a sales flop.\u00a0 It draws different enough from a phone to be very usable today and perhaps collectable in the future.\u00a0 After all, can you or I make a point and shoot interchangeable lens camera of this quality on our own? Definitely not. Will the big companies ever make anything like this again? Probably not, the profit margins are too slim, they moved their product line to be very high end, and anything would get beaten up by the smartphone anyway.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s another unwanted, not very popular camera combo that I honestly highly suggest, a Nikon J1 or V1 with the 18.5mm f\/1.8 prime lens! The equiv 50mm is a focal length that many, including myself, trained on in the “FF” 35mm film days so it’s a natural fit.<\/p>\n

\u0e05(^\u25d5\u1d25\u25d5^)\u0e05<\/p>\n

(I would like to own and test the other Nikon 1 series lenses, but sadly I’ve read too many horror stories of failures like the 10-30mm kit lens.\u00a0 $650+ for the 32mm f\/1.2 (85mm equiv) that has a dwindling life bar with every click is a bit much.<\/p>\n

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As a product photography lens, I think this combo is king. I\u2019ve used this lens to shoot almost all the shots of cameras and gear on this website\/blog. f\/1.8 on a smaller sensor gives adequate depth of field so you can actually shoot wide open all the time. With diffraction you might not even need to stop down past f\/2.8 on this. This is a situation where a full frame camera might not be the optimal tool if you\u2019re going to stop down the lens to f\/16 or f\/22 anyway.\u00a0 The raw files from the 1 series cameras are super small too and it takes no time to edit and export them.<\/p>\n

I shot all these camera product shots with the Nikon 18.5mm f\/1.8:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you enjoyed this post, please check out the professional work on my website frontend.\u00a0 If anyone has a need for Event Coverage, Documentary work or Photojournalism around the Atlanta metro area and SE US let me know!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello everyone Happy New Year. (The first of many if you cover enough different cultures as I do here in Atlanta!) In cleaning up work and old photos I think I\u2019m going to start off with posting random camera gear thoughts and \u201creviews\u201d that have been sitting on the back burner for so long. Again, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[320,151,7],"tags":[37,293],"class_list":{"0":"post-95393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-gear","8":"category-photography","9":"category-photos","10":"tag-nikon","11":"tag-photo-gear","13":"post-with-thumbnail","14":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t