Nikon 1 18mm f/1.8 - 25 Dec 2012
Glenn Kincaid posted a nice review of the new 18.5/1.8 lens on his blog site, and reported a 2-stop improvement in shutter speed compared to the 10-30mm lens. I'm hoping to put the lens to the test as soon as I get a new adaptor put together - but I have to wait 'till tomorrow to go the hardware store.
Hand-holding the new lens against the Zeiss 40X W eyepiece showed no vignetting. Unfortunately, since it is a fixed focal length lens, there is no protruding lens barrel, so it will not fit my current homemade adaptor. I'll need something wider to fit the entire lens.
I tried it with the Zeiss 20-60X Zoom eyepiece, and again, the 18.5mm/1.8 does not show vignetting, even at 20X. There is slight shadowing at 40X on the zoom, but even this hardly noticeable. It disappears at 60X, providing a very nice magnification range. It appears that I'll be going back to the zoom eyepiece, assuming that I'm able to build a stable adaptor for it.
As much as like the 40X eyepiece, I'm actually happy to be able to use the 20-60X zoom eyepiece again. It'll give me versatility of a zoom magnification eyepiece for scoping near and distant birds, and the fixed focal length lens means that I don't have to worry about repositioning the lens-eyepiece distance to maintain optimal focus when I zoom the eyepiece.
First thing tomorrow I'll be off to the hardware store...
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