Yes — I know this is a old review. But I decided to take out my 50 f/1.4 lens and I forgot how much I love it. The great thing is I purchased this in 2008 for $125 new at B&H. I can’t believe that it is now nearly $500…..
RamesesThe2nd
October 29, 2018 7:49 am
You know it. You keep 1.4 for bragging rights and subjective Bokeh. “Oh, yours is just f/1.8? I guess that’s OK” and “Background could be more blurry”.
Magpiedom
September 3, 2018 3:15 am
Hi, Great article! I compared the sample photos on 1.4g vs 1.8g. 1.8g does look a little sharper, and maybe it’s lighter. However I prefer all the 1.4g photos for some reason. I don’t know what it is, but the colours just look a little nice and more vibrant! Maybe it’s the editing or something else, but I have both lenses and I tend to prefer the 1.4g. Not sure why!
Thanks Dom
Rodrigo Rodrigues
February 28, 2018 6:24 am
Thank you for the extreme detailed analysis, I am looking for a 50mm and was trying to decide between the 1.4g and 1.8g, I am now convinced the 1.4g is what I want.
Dave Belcher
December 13, 2017 7:48 am
Sorry for the necro comment…
I don’t quite understand, Nasim: I’ve carefully reviewed the sample images of the 1.4G with the sample images in your review of the 1.8G and the 1.4G look vastly superior. What am I missing here? I’m viewing at full resolution on a calibrated 1440p ISP monitor…just can’t see what you describe above. The very first, f8, image from the 1.8G review you mentioned (of the boat dock) looks soft even in the center, whereas the f7.1 image above of the two women lying on the gray background (stunning image!) is tack sharp even in corners. You have real-world experience with the lens and so I believe what you’re saying, but I can’t see it and that gives me pause. Thanks for the review.
Peace,
Dave B
Jonathan Everit
March 10, 2016 8:05 am
Thank you for such a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated review of this lens. Your photographs are incredible. I bought this lens originally with my D3S and the pairing of the two resulted in a large number of photographs, especially in BW, that I was quite proud of. The low-light capability is very very good and as someone who wanders the city streets in the early morning hours, a big plus. I bought my second copy this morning to go with my DF and I know some great adventures are waiting…
Mike D
October 6, 2015 9:20 am
Hi there and thanks for your website i find it very useful.
I am finding conflicting opinions regarding the 1.4G and 1.8G though, and i am in the market for a 50mm and undecided on which to buy.
I’ve found three articles stating the 1.4G is the better lense up to about F 5.6 with more uniform and greater sharpness and the 1.8G then takes over, however your findings (and many opinions elsewhere) contradict that. I am swaying towards the 1.4G after doing a few shots with both just due to the larger aperture.
I currently shoot with a d750 and a Sigma 24-105 F4 and would like a faster prime for shots of the kids at home, and would like a lightweight lense so i can keep in my bag when i’m on holidays. The Sigma 50mm ART is a bit too big and heavy.
I guess its hard to go wrong with either lense,
Valentine S
November 29, 2013 7:19 am
Dear Nasim, Thank you very much for your reviews, especially for paying attention to some of the legendary manual focus Nikkors! In fact I own AFS 50 f/1.4G, which together with my D3200 were already checked by NIkon Service and, as they said, the focusing system of the camera had to be tuned to perform better, and that was done by them. Unfortunately I do see obvious focus shift still, for example, when making portrait shots at f/2.5 and focusing on the person’s eye, the photo shows that eye blurred and one of the ears of the person perfectly sharp. The only way to overcome this problem is to focus through LiveView, the method I don’t really like. Can you please tell me have you ever had similar experience with that particular lens? Is there any solution to that problem? And, do manual focus Nikkor 50 f/1.2 and Nikkor 50 f/1.4 AI or (AI-S) suffer from similar focus shift as well, as I am considering to substitute my plastic capricious lens with one of those old school legends?
Valentine, what you are seeing is not focus shift – it is called backfocus (since the focus shifts back). If it moved to the front, it would have been called “frontfocus”. Either way, this does happen quite a bit and can happen to any camera / lens combination. What you need to do, is take several pictures that can illustrate this, then open a case with Nikon and send them the images as proof. Then, ask Nikon to take in both your camera and your lens. What they will do, is they will put both in a test lab environment and fine tune the setup, so that the focusing is within the “standard specs”. But do make sure to send both – since misalignment could be on the lens, on the camera or both!
Dear Nasim, thank you for your kind reply! Still, as I mentioned earlier, the camera together with AF-S 50 f/1.4 G were already checked and fine tuned by Nikon Service this summer. That is why I think the lens does have that backfocus issue. In fact it focuses just right if used at f/1.4, as well as through live view at every chosen aperture. As my other Nikkors (including three 35-year old manual focus lenses) don’t show this behaviour, I think I will take a closer look at the Nikkor 50 f/1.4 AI lens still available at some camera shops here next week…
Well, I have to admit I was wrong and your statement was absolutely correct, thank you, Nasim! About a week ago I took my AFS 50 f/1.4G to Nikon Service once again, and three days later I received it with properly tuned focusing. I may only wonder why that had not been done first time they took my lens with camera in for checking and tuning. Now it performs very nicely. Tested it side-by-side with 50 f/2 AI, 50 f/1,8 E, 50 f/1.4 pre-AI K and pre-AI K New (the last one has the same optics as 50 f/1.4 AI, AI-S and AF D), and the newest G lens shows the most pleasant bokeh at f/1.4, f/2, f/2.5 and f/2.8. The cheapest of them all, my sample of Nikon Series E 50 f/1.8 pan-cake lens is also the sharpest wide-open (with the most distracting bokeh at the same time). NIkkor 50 f/2 AI proved to be the sharpest at f/4 and f/5.6, although the differences are very subtle, but still visible. What’s interesting, the 50 f/1.4 pre-AI K (direct successor to Nikkor-S 50 f/1.4) shows more real-life depth and 3D-like rendering than AFS 50 f/1.4G stopped down to f/8, f/11 and f/16, and is on par with 50 f/2 AI at f/5.6 and f/8. So I feel there will be a lot of work for those 35 year old optics next year, as it can be truly breathtaking to see the photos with that particular 3D quality, although AFS 50 f/1.4G is possibly still the best option for some applications…
Richard T
November 20, 2013 10:48 pm
Hello Nasim,
Will you be doing a review on the Nikon 58mm f1.4G? And if so would you compare it to its predecessor the Noct?
Yes, I am working on it this week. The problem is, I don’t have the old Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 NOCT – couldn’t find it. If you have one that you can send me for a comparison, let me know :)
Merog
April 5, 2013 8:55 pm
Hello Nasim,
I’ve been a big student of your tutorials. I have D3000 and am planning to buy a 50 mm f/1.8 FULL MANUAL FOCUS (due to low budget of course). Can I go for it? and Can you please teach me some practical merits and demerits of it?
Yes — I know this is a old review. But I decided to take out my 50 f/1.4 lens and I forgot how much I love it.
The great thing is I purchased this in 2008 for $125 new at B&H. I can’t believe that it is now nearly $500…..
You know it. You keep 1.4 for bragging rights and subjective Bokeh. “Oh, yours is just f/1.8? I guess that’s OK” and “Background could be more blurry”.
Hi,
Great article! I compared the sample photos on 1.4g vs 1.8g. 1.8g does look a little sharper, and maybe it’s lighter. However I prefer all the 1.4g photos for some reason. I don’t know what it is, but the colours just look a little nice and more vibrant! Maybe it’s the editing or something else, but I have both lenses and I tend to prefer the 1.4g. Not sure why!
Thanks
Dom
Thank you for the extreme detailed analysis, I am looking for a 50mm and was trying to decide between the 1.4g and 1.8g, I am now convinced the 1.4g is what I want.
Sorry for the necro comment…
I don’t quite understand, Nasim: I’ve carefully reviewed the sample images of the 1.4G with the sample images in your review of the 1.8G and the 1.4G look vastly superior. What am I missing here? I’m viewing at full resolution on a calibrated 1440p ISP monitor…just can’t see what you describe above. The very first, f8, image from the 1.8G review you mentioned (of the boat dock) looks soft even in the center, whereas the f7.1 image above of the two women lying on the gray background (stunning image!) is tack sharp even in corners. You have real-world experience with the lens and so I believe what you’re saying, but I can’t see it and that gives me pause. Thanks for the review.
Peace,
Dave B
Thank you for such a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated review of this lens. Your photographs are incredible.
I bought this lens originally with my D3S and the pairing of the two resulted in a large number of photographs, especially in BW, that I was quite proud of.
The low-light capability is very very good and as someone who wanders the city streets in the early morning hours, a big plus. I bought my second copy this morning to go with my DF and I know some great adventures are waiting…
Hi there and thanks for your website i find it very useful.
I am finding conflicting opinions regarding the 1.4G and 1.8G though, and i am in the market for a 50mm and undecided on which to buy.
I’ve found three articles stating the 1.4G is the better lense up to about F 5.6 with more uniform and greater sharpness and the 1.8G then takes over, however your findings (and many opinions elsewhere) contradict that. I am swaying towards the 1.4G after doing a few shots with both just due to the larger aperture.
I currently shoot with a d750 and a Sigma 24-105 F4 and would like a faster prime for shots of the kids at home, and would like a lightweight lense so i can keep in my bag when i’m on holidays. The Sigma 50mm ART is a bit too big and heavy.
I guess its hard to go wrong with either lense,
Dear Nasim,
Thank you very much for your reviews, especially for paying attention to some of the legendary manual focus Nikkors! In fact I own AFS 50 f/1.4G, which together with my D3200 were already checked by NIkon Service and, as they said, the focusing system of the camera had to be tuned to perform better, and that was done by them. Unfortunately I do see obvious focus shift still, for example, when making portrait shots at f/2.5 and focusing on the person’s eye, the photo shows that eye blurred and one of the ears of the person perfectly sharp. The only way to overcome this problem is to focus through LiveView, the method I don’t really like.
Can you please tell me have you ever had similar experience with that particular lens? Is there any solution to that problem? And, do manual focus Nikkor 50 f/1.2 and Nikkor 50 f/1.4 AI or (AI-S) suffer from similar focus shift as well, as I am considering to substitute my plastic capricious lens with one of those old school legends?
Valentine, what you are seeing is not focus shift – it is called backfocus (since the focus shifts back). If it moved to the front, it would have been called “frontfocus”. Either way, this does happen quite a bit and can happen to any camera / lens combination. What you need to do, is take several pictures that can illustrate this, then open a case with Nikon and send them the images as proof. Then, ask Nikon to take in both your camera and your lens. What they will do, is they will put both in a test lab environment and fine tune the setup, so that the focusing is within the “standard specs”. But do make sure to send both – since misalignment could be on the lens, on the camera or both!
Dear Nasim, thank you for your kind reply!
Still, as I mentioned earlier, the camera together with AF-S 50 f/1.4 G were already checked and fine tuned by Nikon Service this summer. That is why I think the lens does have that backfocus issue.
In fact it focuses just right if used at f/1.4, as well as through live view at every chosen aperture. As my other Nikkors (including three 35-year old manual focus lenses) don’t show this behaviour, I think I will take a closer look at the Nikkor 50 f/1.4 AI lens still available at some camera shops here next week…
Well, I have to admit I was wrong and your statement was absolutely correct, thank you, Nasim! About a week ago I took my AFS 50 f/1.4G to Nikon Service once again, and three days later I received it with properly tuned focusing. I may only wonder why that had not been done first time they took my lens with camera in for checking and tuning. Now it performs very nicely. Tested it side-by-side with 50 f/2 AI, 50 f/1,8 E, 50 f/1.4 pre-AI K and pre-AI K New (the last one has the same optics as 50 f/1.4 AI, AI-S and AF D), and the newest G lens shows the most pleasant bokeh at f/1.4, f/2, f/2.5 and f/2.8. The cheapest of them all, my sample of Nikon Series E 50 f/1.8 pan-cake lens is also the sharpest wide-open (with the most distracting bokeh at the same time). NIkkor 50 f/2 AI proved to be the sharpest at f/4 and f/5.6, although the differences are very subtle, but still visible. What’s interesting, the 50 f/1.4 pre-AI K (direct successor to Nikkor-S 50 f/1.4) shows more real-life depth and 3D-like rendering than AFS 50 f/1.4G stopped down to f/8, f/11 and f/16, and is on par with 50 f/2 AI at f/5.6 and f/8. So I feel there will be a lot of work for those 35 year old optics next year, as it can be truly breathtaking to see the photos with that particular 3D quality, although AFS 50 f/1.4G is possibly still the best option for some applications…
Hello Nasim,
Will you be doing a review on the Nikon 58mm f1.4G? And if so would you compare it to its predecessor the Noct?
Yes, I am working on it this week. The problem is, I don’t have the old Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 NOCT – couldn’t find it. If you have one that you can send me for a comparison, let me know :)
Hello Nasim,
I’ve been a big student of your tutorials. I have D3000 and am planning to buy a 50 mm f/1.8 FULL MANUAL FOCUS (due to low budget of course). Can I go for it? and Can you please teach me some practical merits and demerits of it?