Nippon-Kogaku Nikkor-HC 5cm f/2 Rigid

Nippon-Kogaku Nikkor-HC 5cm f/2 Rigid

Beneath the chromed brass barrel of this Nikkor sits an optical pedigree that traces back not to Wetzlar but to Dresden. The lens is a six-element, three-group design built on the classic Zeiss Sonnar layout, and Nippon Kogaku adapted it for Leica thread mount from the Nikon S-mount version that the company already produced [1][2]. After the Second World War, Zeiss optical patents fell out of force outside Germany, and several manufacturers, Nippon Kogaku among them, built Sonnar-type 50mm lenses that were affordable and in some cases highly refined. The "H" in the Nikkor-H designation marks the six-element count and the "C" indicates that the glass is coated.

In LTM the lens screws into the standard 39mm thread and couples to the rangefinder, and reviewers note its handling feels unusually modern for its era because the front does not rotate as it focuses. The barrel is dense for its size owing to the brass components, and collectors generally rate its machining and finish above the contemporary Soviet Sonnar clones. Internally the design follows the Sonnar arrangement, with a cemented group of elements that a repairer describes as a triplet, the kind of bonded multi-element unit that gives the Sonnar family its characteristic high contrast and resistance to flare. The "Rigid" name distinguishes this fixed-barrel version from the earlier collapsible LTM lens that shares the same optical formula.

Across its production the lens appeared in a few cosmetic variants. An earlier all-chrome version was followed by a later one with a black focusing ring, the two sharing the same optics, with the black-ring example tending to command a small premium. Nikkor 5cm f/2 lenses in screw mount were frequently sold as a kit with bodies such as the Nicca 3S, since Nicca did not manufacture its own optics, making chrome Nikkor-and-Nicca pairings common on the used market.

Optical qualities

Rendering The lens shows the Sonnar signature: smooth out-of-focus rendering and a gentle transition from sharp focus into the background, a trait one reviewer found renders particularly well on digital sensors. It also offers good flare resistance, a known strength of the Sonnar design.

Sharpness One reviewer reports the lens is soft wide open at f/2, as is typical of lenses from this period, but tightens to crisp, corner-to-corner sharpness from about f/2.8 onward, resolving fine textures well.

Bokeh and transitions Backgrounds are described as very smooth, without distracting outlining or geometric highlights, with only a mild swirl appearing wide open.

Distortion and vignetting Light fall-off is noted as heavy at f/2, lending a central glow, easing by f/2.8 and effectively gone by f/4.

History

Development and Launch The Nikkor 5cm f/2 originates in the prewar Zeiss Sonnar 5cm f/2, one of the most admired fast normal lenses of the early 35mm era. With the German patents void abroad after the war, Nippon Kogaku Tokyo produced its own version of the design, first for the Contax-derived Nikon S bayonet and then for Leica thread mount, the two sharing identical optics.

Production Evolution The LTM line moved from a collapsible barrel to the fixed Rigid version examined here, all built around the same Sonnar-type formula. Within the Rigid run the most visible change was cosmetic, from an all-chrome barrel to a later black focusing ring, with no documented change in the optical design.

Special editions No major factory special editions of the Rigid LTM version are widely documented beyond the chrome and black-ring finish variations and its frequent pairing with Nicca bodies.

Collector Notes Buyers should be aware that the "rigid" name separates this lens from the collapsible LTM version and the S-mount sibling, all of which share the same optical formula and can be confused in listings. As with most lenses of this vintage, the bonded glass elements are sensitive to solvents and to cement separation, so the cemented group should be checked for haze and separation, and the coatings inspected, before purchase. Some sources describe close-focus behavior in which the barrel can be turned past the rangefinder-coupled minimum into a de-coupled near-focus range; the rangefinder-coupled minimum focus recorded for this lens is 0.7 m.