What is a "DC" lens?

What is a "DC" lens?

"DC" stands for Defocus Control. DC allows the photographer to change the distortion characteristics of the lens so the "look" of the out-of-focus elements in the foreground or background can be changed to produce more pleasing photos, particularly portraits.

For example, when shooting a night time portrait of someone with the lights of an amusement park in the background, the lights normally appear as round colored disks. Using the DC feature, the photographer can change the shape of the disks. Similarly, when shooting a daylight portrait against a leafy background, the shape of the out-of-focus highlights on the leaves can be changed. The DC effect is usually very subtle and not readily visible in the viewfinder.

With the DC control set at zero, a DC-Nikkor lens operates in the same way as a non-DC Nikkor lens with the same focal length and maximum aperture.