AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G

I wanted the extra f1.4 so I bought this lens. I must admit, allthough the lens have no major issues, I´m not a 100% happy with it either.

My issues -
1. Lens has a somewhat busy bokeh that doesn´t result in the creamy bokeh´s I expect from a prime lens that twice as expensive as the closest 50mm prime out there.

2. The lens is sharp in the center only at f2.8 or further. At 1.4, the lens is not all that sharp.

3. The AFS on the lens is slow and it often hunts before focussing in on the subject. I prefer to focus manually with this lens.

In the nutshell, this lens allthough a notch above in terms of build quality doesn´t have the optical performance to justify the price.

I love this lens for isolating my subject and throwing distracting backgrounds into a very smooth bokeh!

The lens has very good optics in terms of sharpness, colors, contrast and bokeh. The Auto Focus feature is not accurate to a point that I do all the focusing manually. Despite the f/1.4 aperture it would have been nice to have a VR feature to enhance the lens performance under taxing light conditions.

Reasonably priced, light and compact lens that is exceptionally versatile on FX bodies, where it can be turned to landscape, portrait or general walk-around photography. The lens can be used wide open with care and has perfectly usable central sharpness, combined with a somewhat dreamy peripheral contrast/softness, that makes for atmospheric images with great perspective. Stopped down even a fraction it becomes bitingly sharp. The build quality is fine without being tank-like, but the AFS motor is rather slow compared to other lenses, though in reality its rarely a problem. Manual focus is relatively easy to tweak as the ring has quite good feel.

Overall a must-have for FX shooters

This lens is super sharp, even wide open. Focus is very quiet. Also, this lens is great for shooting the kids. I use DX format D300S, so longer equivalent focal length gives me the extra distance for candid shooting.

This is a great lens to just leave on the camera. For anyone who is switching from Film to Digital, this is the perfect bridge lens to help make the leap between formats. It is a very sturdy lens which provides perfect versatility under any kind of lighting. I use the lens for High School Basketball. The 1.4 aperture is great for the dark or strangely lit gyms. The only thing I would change about this lens is I would speed up the auto focus if I could, otherwise it is a great lens.

It is the fastest AF-S and gives EXCELLENT images from f:2 onward. but i get colour fringes at f:1.4 and f:1.8 ( of course i search for it!) . AF is not quick as I anticipated and it does makes noise(sound not camera noise!) compared to my other lenses with the SWM feature ,BUT after all that its so light , sharp and fast that I just ignore two aforementioned problems.

Preliminary. Will try again in a month or so. Whilst lens is good, it is no match for the 50mm F/1.4 AF-D. The latest AF-Ds are very good. Always disappointed with Nikkor 50 f/1.4s in one way or another the problem was solved with the ones built from mid 2000s to date. This G Lens does not have the color luminousty, saturation or brillance of the AF-D. But it is reasonably sharp, and sharper than the AF-D at 1.4 and 2.0. Equal at 2.8. From 4 on... well back to the AF-D which is sharper, snappier and possessing that fantastic film like luminous glow for which Nikon is famous. Also this G has noticably more distortion.

Handling orignally felt good, utimately to boxy and not as good as AF-D. Which is more nimble and flexible.

Also, cannot use it on film or renegade video due to G type design which rules it out for many.

Though I don´t think this any challenge for the AF-D and at this moment will use sparingly, if at all personally, I would recommend it, even highly if you are going digital only at f/1.4 - f/2.0 where does perform excellently.

And of course, it is still better than most zooms.

And note. Will test later samples. It is relatively new. And we have noticed that historically Nikkor have gotton better with each batch.

Great lens for most photos, up close, portrait, general photography. Gives a blurred background if you want or full focus. It stays on my D90 - 95% of the time.