This is an in-depth review of the new, much anticipated Nikon 58mm f/1.4G professional prime lens that was announced on October 17, 2013 along with the Nikon D5300 DSLR. Similar to the legendary classic, the NOCT Nikkor 58mm f/1.2, the AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G is a specialized lens for such needs as portraiture, street, event / wedding photography and astrophotography. Thanks to its fast aperture of f/1.4 and a complex optical formula using aspherical elements, nano crystal coat and super integrated coating, along with a fast silent wave autofocus motor, the lens is also ideal for low-light photography needs. Unlike many of the Nikkor lenses that are optimized for maximum sharpness, the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G is the first modern lens of its kind that focuses on producing aesthetically pleasing images, rather than purely focusing on sharpness. I had a pleasure of shooting with this lens for the last 3 months and I wanted to get a full understanding of its strengths and weaknesses, especially when compared to the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G and f/1.8G lenses that I have been relying on for my photography needs. In this review, I will not only provide an in-depth analysis of the lens, but will also compare it head to head against Nikon’s 50mm prime lenses and the Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 lens that I have been testing in parallel.
As I have stated above, the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G is a specialized lens like the much older NOCT Nikkor 58mm f/1.2. Due to the high price tag, limited production and eventual discontinuation, the NOCT Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 has become a classic that is hard to find in good condition. Most used copies auctioned off on sites like eBay go for $3K and up, depending on their wear and tear. The reason why the NOCT rose to such popularity, was because of its distinct look in images and a fast aperture of f/1.2 that rendered exceptionally good-looking images. Nikon has not updated the lens for many years, so the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G is meant to replace the long discontinued NOCT 58mm f/1.2. Although Nikon could not deliver the same fast f/1.2 aperture lens due to mount size constraints (electronic contacts for lens / camera communication and autofocus operation take up the already tight space), Nikon’s goal was to produce a lens with sharper wide open performance than the NOCT, while maintaining the distinct three-dimensional look that the NOCT was so famous for. Unfortunately, although I really wanted to do a head to head comparison between the new 58mm f/1.4G and the NOCT, I was not able to find a good sample for proper testing. Hence this review will primarily focus on comparing the 58mm f/1.4G against the two 50mm Nikon primes and the Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 manual focus lens. Let’s take a look at the lens in more detail.
1) Lens Specifications
Main Features:
- High reproduction capability of point light sources even at the maximum aperture
- Sharp, high-resolution images can be reproduced even at the maximum aperture
- Delivers natural depth of subjects utilizing smooth and beautiful bokeh characteristics
- Controlled light falloff retains natural brightness across the entire frame even at the maximum aperture
- Nano Crystal Coat effectively reduces flare and ghost
Technical Specifications:
- Mount Type: Nikon F-Bayonet
- Focal Length: 58mm
- Maximum Aperture: f/1.4
- Minimum Aperture: f/16
- Format: FX/35mm
- Maximum Angle of View (DX-format): 27°20′
- Maximum Angle of View (FX-format): 40°50′
- Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 0.13x
- Lens Elements: 9
- Lens Groups: 6
- Compatible Format(s): FX, DX
- Diaphragm Blades: 9
- Distance Information: Yes
- Nano Crystal Coat: Yes
- Aspherical Elements: 2
- Super Integrated Coating: Yes
- Autofocus: Yes
- AF-S (Silent Wave Motor): Yes
- Minimum Focus Distance: 1.9ft.(0.58m)
- Focus Mode: Auto, Manual, Manual/Auto
- G-type: Yes
- Filter Size: 72mm
- Accepts Filter Type: Screw-on
- Dimensions: (Approx.) 3.3×2.7 in. (Diameter x Length), 85x70mm (Diameter x Length)
- Weight: (Approx.) 13.6 oz. (385g)
Detailed specifications for the lens, along with MTF charts and other useful data can be found in our lens database.
2) Lens Handling and Build
The Nikon 58mm f/1.4G is built similarly as other recent AF-S prime lenses like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G. The barrel of the lens, the lens hood and the front extruded part of the lens are all made of plastic. The only metal component is the rear lens mount, which is protected by a rubber gasket to prevent dust from entering through the lens mount. The lens barrel is pretty thick, similar to the thickness of the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G lens, but not as tall. The front element is recessed deep inside similar to other 50mm lenses, and it moves inside the lens barrel by about 10mm when the focus ring is rotated from close focus to infinity and vice versa. The front element is only about half in diameter as the size of the lens barrel. Because it sits so deep in, cleaning the front element can be rather painful, especially close to the borders. I would highly recommend to buy a protective filter to make the cleaning process easier, especially when working in the field. Speaking of filters, I don’t understand why Nikon chose a 72mm filter size for this lens. For a professional lens like this, the filter size should have been 77mm. The barrel is already quite large, so I don’t think adding 5 more millimeters would have made much difference. As always, I would recommend to buy a high-quality filter like the B+W 72mm MRC clear filter. Since the rear element does not move too much in, you do not have to worry about rotating the focus ring to infinity when changing lenses.
The rubber focus ring is easy to rotate and does not feel too loose like on some of the Nikkor lenses. Similar to modern Nikkor AF-S lenses, the focus ring continues to rotate beyond infinity and close focus. There is a single switch on the side of the lens to go from Autofocus with Manual Focus override (M/A) to Manual Focus only (M). As with other pro-grade lenses, the lens has a gold ring on the front of the barrel and the engravings are also done in gold colors. There is a large letter “N” on the right side of the distance scale, which indicates that the lens is equipped with Nano Coating technology to reduce ghosting and flare.
Here is how the lens compares against the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G, Nikon 50mm f/1.8G and Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 (from left to right):
As you can see, the 58mm f/1.4G is the biggest of the group. At 385g, it is also the heaviest. As a comparison, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G is twice lighter at just 185g, the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 is 105g lighter at 280g, while the Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 is a tad lighter at 320g.
The lens comes with a new petal shaped “HB-68” bayonet lens hood, which mounts easily on the lens and locks in place pretty tight without wobbling. To save storage space, the hood can be mounted in reverse position.
3) Autofocus Performance and Accuracy
The autofocus speed of the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G is about the same as on the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G lens, so it is not a speed demon like some of the professional f/2.8 lenses. Being a slower lens with a smaller aperture, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G acquires focus much faster and takes less time to travel from close focus to infinity. Focus accuracy is pretty similar to what you would get with the 50mm f/1.4G, which is average. The lens starts to suffer in very dim lighting conditions. While the lens does not necessarily hunt for focus, it can result in slightly missed focus, especially when shooting at large apertures that result in very shallow depth of field. To be honest, I cannot see much difference in accuracy between the 58mm f/1.4G and the 50mm f/1.4G lens. If you have challenges with autofocus in dim light, make sure to switch to AF-S mode, which will turn on the AF-assist lamp and make it much easier to acquire accurate focus. Using an advanced Nikon speedlight like Nikon SB-910 can also help quite a bit, since the speedlight will fire red beams that can be used by the AF system to lock focus.
I primarily used the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G on the D600 and Df camera bodies. Both were dead accurate, which indicates that the lens did not have any front or back focus issues. If you have autofocus accuracy issues, make sure to perform AF accuracy tests and calibrate your lens, if necessary.
4) Lens Sharpness, Contrast and Color Rendition
When the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens was released, Nikon specifically pointed out that the lens was of a different optical design, one that was not concentrated on sharpness alone. The 58mm f/1.4G was optically optimized to yield a three dimensional look with beautiful bokeh and that’s its main selling point. Through these words, Nikon wanted to point out upfront that one should not expect to see tack-sharp images that we are so used to seeing on such expensive and exotic lenses, but rather concentrate on aesthetics. After I looked at the MTF chart of the lens initially and compared it to the 50mm f/1.4G, I came to a conclusion that the lens would be a little sharper than the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G and would have more consistent performance across the frame, with better corners. Here is the comparison of the MTF data between the two:
Please see my detailed guide on how to read MTF charts if you need some guidance with understanding the above.
As I have said a number of times before, MTF charts provided by manufacturers are mostly simulated and do not represent the real picture. In addition, such simulated tests typically show performance at infinity, which is not very valuable, especially when looking at macro and portrait lenses that are rarely ever used at infinity. In the case of the 58mm f/1.4G, the above MTF does not show its biggest optical issue – curvature of field at short distances. As you can see from the below Imatest chart (tested on the Nikon D800E), the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G yields pretty good sharpness in the center, but its mid-frame performance is not good – worse than the corners at close range. The big reason for this is the wavy field curvature of a “sombrero” type, where the center is sharp, mid frame falls off quickly and the area towards the corners pick up again. As you get closer to the subject, the curvature changes in shape and it negatively affects the corners, making them appear even softer. Take a look at the below sharpness test results:
As you can see, there is a huge difference in performance between the center frame and the rest of the image. At the maximum aperture of f/1.4, the wavy / sombrero field curvature is pretty evident, since the corners are sharper than the mid-frame. As the lens is stopped down, the effect of the field curvature diminishes significantly and the mid-frame picks up to good levels at f/2.8. By f/5.6, the mid-frame reaches excellent levels. However, the extreme corners never really improve to good levels, even when stopped down to f/8.
A very important fact to point out here, is that the above test was captured at a distance of about 11 feet. As I have indicated above, the field curvature issue of the 58mm f/1.4G actually worsens at closer distances. As you move away from the subject, the effect of field curvature diminishes and gets to acceptable levels towards infinity, which explains why the MTF chart looks pretty consistent. Unfortunately, it is impossible to test lenses at infinity using test charts – they are simply not large enough to handle such distances. An expensive optical bench setup is required to see what the lens is capable of achieving at infinity.
What does this all mean? Does it present a huge problem for photographing portraits or the night sky? No, not really. Field curvature is not always a bad thing. It simply means that the lens cannot bring everything on the flat plane into focus. In the case of the 58mm f/1.4G, the subject that you focus on will be very sharp, but the area around the subject on the same plane won’t be. So if you need to photograph something flat, like a picture or a painting at distances closer than 15 feet, the area where you focus will be sharp, but everything around it will be blurry. Hence, this lens is obviously not a good candidate for that type of photography. However, if you photograph people, you will rarely ever notice the effect of field curvature, because you will be concentrating on a single area to bring into perfect focus. In fact, this optical issue can be an advantage for portraiture, as it effectively helps to blur the outside area even more. As reviewers, we tend to praise lenses that perform well in the corners and do it even for portrait lenses, over-emphasizing something that actually often does not matter for portraiture. I am guilty of this myself! There are some great lenses out there that do not do well in tests, but yield very pleasing images. A number of Zeiss and Leica lenses fall into this category.
If you are wondering what sharpness looks like at pixel level at f/1.4, take a look at the below 100% crop from the Nikon Df camera (unsharp mask applied in Photoshop):
The above crop is from the same image of the model from earlier. As you can see, the detail level one is able to get from the lens is very good. You just have to make sure that you focus accurately on the subject. The Nikon D800 does not yield the same sharpness at pixel level, but it is still plenty enough for most needs.
Another important factor that you need to keep in mind, is that field curvature affects the image differently depending on where you focus. In the above case, the lens was focused in the center. If you were to focus in say mid-frame, then the mid-frame would appear sharp, while the center and the corners would lose their sharpness. So when you see such poor corner performance in lenses with field curvature problems, the corners are not necessarily as bad as depicted in these charts. Some reviewers focus in the corners separately from the center or mid-frame and provide such results, but I always only focus in the center of the frame. If I were to employ the same practice of focusing in different areas, then Imatest numbers would look too good for all three and I would never be able to show optical issues such as field curvature.
What about astrophotography? Well, since the field curvature issue on the 58mm f/1.4G is greatly diminished towards infinity, photographing the night sky at large apertures should not be a problem. I would recommend to stop the lens down a little to yield maximum sharpness – even f/2 will make a huge difference.
5) Bokeh
Bokeh is a very important characteristic of the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens and one of its main selling points. As you can see from the many image samples in this review, the lens has exceptionally good subject isolation capabilities and beautiful bokeh. One of the main requests that I have been getting from our readers, has been to compare bokeh performance between the 58mm f/1.4G, 50mm f/1.4G and 50mm f/1.8G lenses. Since I also have the Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 lens, I decided to include it in the below comparison as well. Let’s take a look at how the four lenses compare at their maximum apertures:
When judging the quality of background highlights, it is often said good bokeh does not have well-defined rings around highlight shapes. In that regard, the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G definitely delivers – it practically has no rings and very smooth transition. This smooth transition is what results in exceptionally beautiful background rendition that transforms one background element into another. If the rings are too defined, it can lead to something commonly referred to as “nervous bokeh”, where background elements have sharper edges. Take a look at the below image that demonstrates the smooth transition of background elements:
From my experience, the only other modern prime in the Nikon line under 100mm that is capable of producing bokeh that looks this pleasing in images is the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G.
The second factor in bokeh quality is the cleanliness of the inner area and that’s where the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G suffers the most. Since the lens design includes aspherical elements, the inside of the highlight has a ring pattern known as “onion bokeh”, which can look rather distracting. Note that the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G also has these inner rings, because it contains an aspherical element as well. Since the 58mm f/1.4G has two aspherical elements, its onion rings are more defined than on other lenses in the group. Please note that these onion rings are only typically visible in very bright circular background highlights. They are never visible when looking at out of focus areas or when the out of focus highlights are less bright. Take a look at the below photographs of Christmas lights, where onion shapes are practically invisible in highlights:
Please keep in mind that the above comparison only shows one side of bokeh, which is just defocused highlights. I highly recommend to refer to the many image samples used in this review for understanding the bokeh characteristics of this lens.
6) Vignetting
Nikon also specifically pointed out that the 58mm f/1.4G has very low vignetting levels. Let’s see what Imatest was able to measure at different apertures:
Indeed, vignetting levels are impressively low for this lens. While there is some visible vignetting wide open at about 1.8 stops in the extreme corners, vignetting drops significantly at f/2 to below 1 stop. Stopped down to f/2.8, vignetting disappears almost completely and stays that way all the way to f/16. As a comparison, the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G has strong vignetting even at f/2.8.
Here is the worst case scenario, shot at f/1.4:
7) Ghosting and Flare
None of the Nikon 50mm lenses have Nano coating, so the 58mm f/1.4G is unique and the first of its kind in that regard. While Nikon says that Nano coating reduces ghosting and flare, over years I discovered that Nano coated Nikkor lenses also greatly enhance colors and overall contrast. This is especially true when working with back-lit subjects and high-contrast scenes. While Nano coating certainly reduces internal reflections, it cannot fully cope with direct sunlight, especially at longer focal lengths. When the light source is very strong, it is expected that some ghosting and flare will appear in images. To reduce direct exposure to the sun, Nikon already moved the front element deep inside the lens. Let’s see what happens with ghosting and flare when the lens is pointed directly at the sun without a lens hood (shot at f/8):
As you can see, the lens seems to handle ghosting and flares well, even when pointed directly at the sun. Stopping down to very small apertures like f/16 can introduce blue streaks of light at certain angles, but it is not a huge problem, since you can eliminate them by re-framing the shot or opening up the aperture. Shooting directly at the sun while taking portraits can yield results like the following:
8) Distortion
Unfortunately, the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G has a visible amount of barrel distortion. When photographing straight lines, it will be noticeable to the naked eye. Imatest measured a barrel distortion of -1.45, which is pretty close to distortion on the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (-1.42). In comparison, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G suffers from less distortion at -1.02, while the Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 has the least amount of barrel distortion at just -0.60.
Is distortion a problem? No, not at all – it can be easily fixed in post-processing software like Lightroom and Photoshop without losing much of the original image. Adobe already has a built-in lens profile in the Lens Corrections module for the 58mm f/1.4G, so you can easily take care of the problem with a single click.
9) Chromatic Aberration
Lateral chromatic aberration is controlled very well, even in high-contrast situations. Below are the CA levels measured by Imatest:
Anything below 1 pixel is considered to be very good and the Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G surely does not disappoint here. Averaging around half a pixel, the lens outperforms both the 50mm f/1.4G and the f/1.8G lenses.
“LoCA”, or longitudinal chromatic aberration (which is the effect of color fringing in front of and behind the focused area) is very similar to what the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G yields, which shows a noticeable change in color in front and behind the focused area.
Let’s now move on to the good stuff – lens comparisons.
10) Compared to Nikon 50mm f/1.4G
Let’s see how the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G compares in terms of sharpness to the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G lens, which has been in production for many years now:
The Nikon 58mm f/1.4G looks a bit weaker in the center and in the mid-frame when compared to the 50mm f/1.4G. However, in the extreme corners it comes out a bit sharper than the 50mm f/1.4G at large apertures. Stopped down to f/2.8, the 58mm f/1.4G is visibly sharper than the 50mm f/1.4G, but at f/4 the latter takes over with a huge jump in performance. Stopped down to f/5.6, the 50mm f/1.4G delivers better center and corner performance. Let’s see how the new 58mm f/1.4G compares to the 50mm f/1.8G.
11) Compared to Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
Without a doubt, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G is one of the most valuable lenses offered by Nikon today. Its overall performance is better than what the 50mm f/1.4G has to offer and at just half the price, it is an amazing buy even for professional needs. My wife loves this lens and it is her primary tool for photographing weddings and events (see this article on its use for wedding photography). Let’s take a look at how the two compare side by side:
Here we can clearly see that the 50mm f/1.8G is optically superb – it is sharper at every aperture, from center to the corners. The only exception is mid-frame performance when stopped down to the f/5.6 range, but the corners make up for the loss here. Due to the field curvature issue discussed earlier, the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G does not do well in the corners, even when stopped down.
12) Compared to Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4
Let’s take a look at how the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G compares to the Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 at similar apertures. Here are the Imatest results from the two:
The Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 is slightly sharper in the center and much better in the mid-frame, but not in the corners at f/1.4. Stopped down to f/2, the Nikon 58mm f/1.4 leads the way and by f/2.8, it is sharper across the frame. The Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 reaches its peak performance in the center at f/4, but takes more stopping down to get to more even performance in the mid-frame and the corners. Similar to other 50mm lenses though, it does improve in the corners significantly at small apertures, while the 58mm f/1.4G never gets there. Once again, this is due to the fact that the 58mm f/1.4G has wavy field curvature issues that diminish its performance at close distances. As you move away from the subject, its performance evens out and gets to very good levels towards infinity. The Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 has a typical field curvature, where the performance quickly decreases from center to corners. The effect is more pronounced at closer distances and it certainly diminishes towards infinity, similar to the Nikkor.
An important difference here is autofocus vs manual focus. While modern DSLRs provide guidance for focusing manually, it is extremely difficult to get accurate results at large apertures between f/1.4-f/2. This is especially true for photographing dynamic subjects that constantly move.
13) Summary
As I have already pointed out, the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G is a very specialized lens that is targeted at a specific group of photographers. With its price of $1700 MSRP, it surely raised some questions from the photography community regarding its value and use, since the standard 50mm f/1.4G lens from Nikon costs almost four times less, while the f/1.8G version is almost 8 times less in comparison. What makes the Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G so special? And the main question is – is it really that much better than the 50mm lenses Nikon makes today? To answer these questions, one must first understand why some lenses are so expensive and what makes exotic lenses so special.
In the case of the 58mm f/1.4G, it is not made to be a general-purpose lens like the 50mm primes. As you have seen from this review, the Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G does not shine with exceptionally good optical performance and its general optical characteristics do not make it anything special in comparison to other similar lenses. In fact, considering how bad it is at close distances outside the focused area (thanks to its wavy field curvature issues), the lens could be regarded as a poor performer, if one were to look at it purely based on lab tests. But as I have always said, lab tests only reveal part of the story. One has to look at other important factors such as craftsmanship, colors, depth and other often non-quantifiable features. One of those non-quantifiable features is the three dimensional look that the Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G is able to produce in images. Nikon specifically used these words in its marketing materials and even called the 58mm f/1.4G “three-dimensionally high-fidelity lens”. The three dimensionality is a very subjective factor. For some, it is a very important characteristic of a lens that gives images a distinct look, while for others it is simply a myth. Having shot with a wide variety of lenses over the course of the last 7 years, I have come to a conclusion that some lenses just never do well in lab tests and yet are able to achieve beautiful results. Aside from the 58mm f/1.4G, many of the old Nikkor classics and some modern Zeiss and Leica lenses are designed in such a way.
For me, the three dimensionality is a combination of a number of optical features or sometimes even problems that contribute to yielding aesthetically-pleasing images. Sometimes it is a combination of lens coatings, aperture blades, field curvature and vignetting that make images look different; sometimes it is optical aberrations such as field curvature and distortion that cause subjects to be “wrapped around” in two dimensional photographs. In the case of the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens, strong field curvature, Nano + Super Integrated Coating, distortion, moderate vignetting and optimized optical design collectively contribute to rendering of images with perceived depth, beautiful colors and superb bokeh. In fact, I specifically chose not to use any of the lens corrections in Lightroom for images in this review, because I found the corrections to be too strong for my taste. As soon as optical problems were corrected, images became too flat and too “ordinary”. I only used distortion correction on a couple of architectural images to make straight lines, but aside from that and some cropping, they are basically how they came out of the lens.
The 58mm f/1.4G is now one of my favorite portrait lenses next to the equally excellent 85mm f/1.4G Nikkor. What sets the two apart, however, is the field of view difference. The 85mm f/1.4G is much longer and therefore can be considered a more specialized lens for portrait photography, while the 58mm is more suitable for general and everyday photography. Those, that shoot weddings and own the 85mm f/1.4 know very well that the lens can be limiting when photographing indoors in tight spaces. My wife loves 85mm lenses for their subject isolation capabilities and exceptional bokeh, but she often ends up using her “nifty fifty”, since it is more versatile on a full-frame camera. So the 58mm f/1.4G would fit her needs much better in that regard.
Overall, I am very impressed by what the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G can deliver. Taking into account everything I have said above, it is surely the finest Nikkor lens in the standard range that is capable of producing beautiful images that stand out with a distinct, three dimensional look and feel. I am glad that Nikon chose a different path for optical design this time around and concentrated more on aesthetics, rather than on pure optical performance. I believe that was much needed for the 58mm f/1.4G to stand a chance against its predecessor, the NOCT 58mm f/1.2.
One last thing I want to point out, is that I did not want this particular review to focus just on optical performance and features. I believe images that accompany this review illustrate the capabilities of the lens much better than words…
14) Where to buy and availability
B&H is currently selling the Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens for $1696.95 (as of 01/04/2014).
15) More Image Samples
All Images Copyright © Nasim Mansurov, All Rights Reserved. Copying or reproduction is not permitted without written permission from the author.
Nikon 58mm f/1.4G
- Optical Performance
- Features
- Bokeh Quality
- Build Quality
- Focus Speed and Accuracy
- Handling
- Size and Weight
- Value
Photography Life Overall Rating
Stunning photography Nasim and Lola. Looks like the 58mm f/1.4 is a real winner. Now need to convince the better half to let me buy it, haha!
Thank you for your feedback Dave!
Thank-you for this Nasim. Wonderful photography. I thoroughly enjoyed your review and hope that people pay more attention to your images than some of the criticism levelled at this lens by those who don’t know how to use it!
Had the lens for two months an adore its rendering totally agree with you that Nikon went for character with this lens.
Hi,
Really found your review of the 58mm 1.4 thoughtful, fair & convincing (and the sample photos are vivid). One question for you: that 3 dimensional quality you speak of will it only or mainly be apparent only when the lens is wide open?
Thanks
Thanks for a fascinating review. One question: the 3 dimensional quality you speak of will it mainly be apparent only when the lens is wide open?
Thanks for the review.
I have had roughly the same experience with this lens. My only difficulty has been the usual ensuring good focus at 1.4.
I have some sample images and advice here:
vigorotaku.blogspot.com/2013/…m-14g.html
Nikon 58mm f/1.4g at Vigorotaku.com
I hope that you find this helpful – and thanks again.
Dan at Vigorotaku.com
Thanks for sharing! I was lucky with my copy of the 58mm f/1.4 – it did not have any front or back focus issues. Focusing with large f/1.4 lenses is always tricky though!
Really nice review, and as you said, the 58 produces stunning images, not stunning charts.
That was also my first thought when seeing your images. They are rendered simply beautiful.
Maybe there’s a chance to stumble across one with a cheap price on my asia-trip later this year :)
But one question: you wrote that the lens is almost full-plastic; i have read it’s rather magnesium with a plasticy coating, that’s why it’s lightweight and sturdy, you know anything about that?
Sebastian, thank you for your feedback! Unfortunately, there is no way for me to see what’s inside the lens, so I write about what I see on the outside :) I am sure there are plenty of metal components inside the lens – those are necessary to hold some parts together. The exterior is mostly plastic though, similar to what we have been seeing on other prime lenses. Plastic has its own advantages compared to metal, such as better handling in cold temperatures and much lighter weight. However, if you compare the build quality / craftsmanship of old Nikkor lenses to the new ones, the former seem much more durable and longer lasting. Considering how thick the 58mm is, if it was all metal, it would have probably weighed 3x more and hard to handle!
Well, i guess you’re partially right ;)
if you take a magnesium-alloy as basis (and that’s what i’ve heard is used as barrel for the lens) it’s as lightweigt as plastic. the combination from both – plastic and magnesium – should be quite sturdier in any case and under any influence than either alone.
maybe one can confirm or deny it for sure :)
but as always, extremely nice work!
Hi Sebastian,
I examined my copy of the lens after reading your comments. The outer casing doesn’t feel like metal. I am sure it’s plastic. It feels quite differently from touching the metal camera body.
Arguably one of your finest lens reviews net.
I wish you and your family a happy new year with lots of work to do.
Xpanded
Nasim, what a lovely review !
It just goes to show that it isn’t all about corner to corner sharpness if the lens was designed to fulfill a certain role, which it does beautifully, judging from those mesmerising photos! They really do seem to pop out of the page! Although we have to give some credit to the talented photographers :)
Really enjoyed reading it!
Daniel
Do not believe everything that Ken writes ;-)
look also here:
www.slrlounge.com/new-n…ing-bokeh/
shotkit.com/nikon-58mm-1-4g/
this lens is fantastic!
Regards,
Axel
sorry, I placed this comment wrong…. please delete.
Hi Nasim,
Great review, as always!
I had that lens for a while. Unfortunately my copy had very strong front focus on D800, and because it was very new yet and B&H didn’t have another copy, I had to return it.
I totally agree with you, that beside the non-excellent sharpness, there is something magical in the look of the photos made with this lens. It also sits more balanced on D800 than the 50mm little brothers.
I may try another copy soon.
The 3d look I think comes from the softer corners – it seems this was done very intentionally from Nikon. From another side I see samples from the Zeiss Otus and it has even more 3D look and it is sharp corner to corner.
Even more. I had the new 55mm 1.8 Zeiss lens for my A7r and it also have amazing 3D look and colors, plus it is extremely sharp lens – probably the sharpest I ever had.
What are your thoughts about the 3D look and corner sharpness?
Thanks for the review again!
Stefan
Thank you for this in-depth review!
Agree with you, the bokeh 58/1.4g is very similar to that of the 85/1.4g. To my eyes, the low light & back-lit pictures from the 58 are cleaner. These were the justifications for me to buy it three month ago, and they still stand — the 85/1.4 bokeh, the cleanness of back-lit pictures, the colour rendering.
Sometimes, I struggle when trying to focus in very dim light without a flash. The built-in AF-assisst light on D800 will only fire when central focus point is being used. Any suggestions please? using the central point to focus and re-compose?
Thanks for the great review of the 58mm F1.4. It was really refreshing that your review of this lens centered on how it performs in the real world instead of how it performs in the lab. If I would have just looked at the lab tests before I bought this lens I would have missed out on the great creative opportunities that this lens offers. In the end all that counts is how the prints turn out; not what the lens can do in the lab taking pictures of test charts.
When this lens came out I had my doubts that the high price was justified until I rented it and had a chance to explore what this lens is all about. For me it opened a new way of expression that was impossible to reach with other lenses. After a few days of use I purchased the lens and never looked back.
I would suggest that if you’re interested in this lens to go out and rent it. You might be pleasantly surprised. Now if Nikon would come out with a VR replacement for the 300mm F4 my lens wish list would be complete.
Regards
Art
What a great review and excellent images. Thank you very much.
Love your images and yes it does seem like a nice lens for portrays but I will still keep my 85mm 1.8g you just can’t beat this price/performance.
I was expecting to see night shots and see how it fared compared to it’s older brother in that regard cause Nikon claimed that it was a night king and such…. any thoughts on that ?
And it would have been nice to get a side by side portray with the amazing 84mm 1.4 :) Cause the 85 is still cheaper than that new lens…
Cheers
Very nice review, Nasim. Lots of great pictures to demonstrate your points.
It looks to me the the “three-dimensionality” is most evident when the subject is much closer than the background, and the background is out of focus. You may be able to demonstrate the three-dimensionality more forcefully if you could publish a side by side photo comparison using the 58mm f1.4G and the 50mm f1.4G. IMHO, the second photo shown in the SUMMARY section might show the “three-dimensional” effect the best.
Regards,
Harold Weber
This review has side by sides…. the bokeh, is remarkable.
www.slrlounge.com/new-n…ing-bokeh/
Thanks Nasim!
You’ve done it again. I agree with your closing statements about the review being more about the images than the test charts. Ordinarially, I would dismiss this as the cognitave dissonance of luxury bling. But then you have the images to back it. I’m very impressed with the portraits that you were able to achieve. The examples really do show how a contrast in perfection from center (subject) frame and corners do draw your attention to the subject and create the illusion of thre dimensionality in the images. Too much concentration on corner performance is misguided. I guess I’ll just have to save up for this one as a replacement for my 50mm F1.8 G
The review has not come with a clear conclusion for me. Too long to read to figure out whats going on
For a reference only, here another conclusion from other reviewer. so i need to read 3 lines only in the beginning of the conclusion to get the idea
“This new 58mm f/1.4 G is one of Nikon’s best 50mm-range lenses, but no better than the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G for one-quarter the price. This 58mm is a poser lens, intended to fill a vacant price point at the top of Nikon’s lens line”
Max, thanks for letting me know. The conclusion was in there, but it did not save on my last edit (that’s what happens when I write at 4 AM in the morning). You should see the summary on the very bottom now.
Interesting read as always Nasim.
You wrote ” I believe images that accompany this review illustrate the capabilities of the lens much better than words” and you’re right. But the thing I would really liked to have seen was the same portrait, same light etc taken with each of the lenses…that way we’d have a direct comparison, not just graphs and the bokeh balls.
You put a lot of effort and time into these tests so thank you for that.
Take care,
Harv.!
Nasim,
As always excellent review and sample photos. I will seriously consider purchasing when my budget allows.
Your sample images always have excellent color reproduction that looks natural and not overcooked. What color profile do you use in Lightroom? Would it be possible for you to share your sample image workflow in a future post? I know that many corrections are image/subject specific but if you could cover the basic corrections and downsampling process I would love to read it.
Josh
Sierra Blanca… :)
I applaud this review, and everyone like it. Why? Because photography is about taking (and viewing) pictures.
This also shows that Nikon’s engineers are thinking outside of the box (I’m sure to the chagrin of the propeller head MTF lovers). I hope that they continue to place more emphasis on the aesthetic qualities of lens performance.
Nasim, great review for this fantastic lens. I have been using mine since its release, but have been getting terrible back focus (-18)! I’m wondering if I have a bad copy… I can’t do much about it anymore, since I believe it’s past the exchange policy. Regardless, fantastic review for a fantastic lens. I use mine on a D800 and it is tricky to get a precise focus at f1.4. Have you tried the 58mm f1.4 on your D800 bodies?
Disappointing that the AF speed is “about the same as the 50mm f/1.4” and much slower than the 50mm f/1.8.
The 58mm is further proof that the 50mm f/1.8G offers really good value for money.
Dear Nasim,
Very nice review, I must admit I waited for this review sitting on a fence and hoped finally to decide to buy or not this lens (yet final decision is not made) . And although this is one of the best review I have read about this lens so far, but there some details missing wich are absolutely necessary comparing such a difficult to review lens, because we are talking so much about aesthetics and side by side photos of people shot with regular 50mm and this lens is absolut necessity , otherwise it is very hard to imagine difference, after all we are/will be buying this lens for that aesthetic difference, so for me – too much charts and “bubbles” photos and too little photos of this lens essence in comparison photos…
If it is possible to add such pictures for comparison (same conditions, same model, different lens) it will be not the one of the best, but sure the best review ;)
Best wishes from Germany !
Kestas
Dear Nasim: Terrific review. Thank you. I bought this lens on the first day it was available and have been learning how to use it since then. Your review helped me understand it better. You are right–it is a special lens that has many fine aesthetic qualities. I was hoping you could provide some of the settings for your pictures in your review, especially f stop and shutter speed. I’m trying to see what settings result in the most keepers. I’ve been doing f 1.4 to f 2.2 with high shutter speeds between 1/200 and 1/400. Knowing what setting you used, especially for the ones with the model that got the 3D effect, would be very helpful. Thanks.
Just check EXIF, every picture here has it.
Confidence –
I use the lens mostly at night photographing moving trains using existing light, sometimes I will add a very small bit of manual flash as this can pop some of the reflective parts.. Normally this requires a prefocus so focus speed is not an issue. This involves some dark areas and often bright lights ,the lens handles this very well. Every bit of lens speed is important so I can increase the shutter speed.
I really like the focal length and results where there are a long string of lights vanishing into the distance.
I have quickly developed confidence that if I do my job the lens will perform well and I will not waste long hours at night for nothing. I did not have the 1.4 50mm so I can not compare. There is expense and time
getting to places and waiting so I do not worry about the long term investment as it completely does what
I hoped for.
Bob
Great review, one of the few that “get” this lens, why it was made and how to best utilize it. Bookmarked, when friends ask me about this lens, I’ll point them here so they can best decide if it is for them or not.
Wonder how the 58 compares with the new sigma 50mm art in terms of flare resistance, colour, coma, chromatic aberrations, bokeh and autofocus speed and accuracy.
Is the sigma art slated for a review?
I shot this lens today. I can tell you I was NOT blown away. The lack of sharpness is definitely disappointing. There are some scenarios where the bokeh looks amazing and some where the bokeh looks nervous to me. Either way more often then not I feel it looks unnatural. I have never found the 85mm 1.4g to look strange in any condition. If you don’t have the 85mm 1.4g get that first and even consider the 85mm 1.8g. I cannot believe Nasim said the 1.4g was the only lens capable of pleasing bokeh under 100mm when the 1.8g is clearly capable. Anyways this still is an interesting lens but I couldn’t pull the trigger on buying it even though I had the money. Hope Nikon still has some more fast lenses up their sleeve I would love a 50mm 1.2 or even 85 1.2.
P.S. The 85mm 1.4g and 1.8g are both take sharp wide open unlike this lens. And yes I know sharpness is not everything however the lens still does not blow me away by the images it creates. Who knows maybe people will go on to use it in ways that surprise me.
Hello Nasim,
thanks a lot for your extraordinary review! It was a great pleasure to read.
Your findings sound to me as if the issue with the field curvature was created on purpose, to get a similar effect as with a faster lens. I understood that there is a limit of f1,4 with the Nikon mount, so the field curvature could be a solution to get more blurr into the image. A smart engineer could get such an idea, turning an effect of weakness into a strength.
My very old AF 50/1,8 must be replaced due to heavy wear and the 58/1,4 would be the perfect choice for me and my portraits on DX. But there is the very special price tag … so I will get the AF-S 50/1,8 instead. Thanks again for your comparison of the bokeh for all the 50s – it helped a lot.
Regards
Alex
Hello and thank you for this torough review. I bought that lense two months ago and i must say i’m rather disappointed, even if the lense has some nice qualities and “character”.
The bokeh is great but the not so precise AF requires more than often several shots to get the best that this lense can give. And sharpness-wise, this is an “ok” lense IF you nail the shot, but not so great.
Sharpness is of course not the holly grail but the price, even if the lense is exotic, is overrated.
Added together, the lack of sharpness, the clumsy AF and the price make this 58mm a bad choice and i sold it a few days ago to replace it with the 85mm f/1.4G.
Just my two pennies…
I had great hopes for this lens when it was announced, and rented one shortly after it came out. I did a fairly extensive comparison with this and my other 50mm lenses: Nikon 50 1.2 AI-s, Sigma 50 1.4, and Zeiss 2/50MP. My fervent hope was that the new Nikon would combine the best of the three 50s I already had into one lens.
Wrong. For me at least. The bottom line was that the new Nikon could not do anything like the other three. It did not have the personality of the 1.2, while being sharp above 2.0. The bokeh was about as good as the Sigma, but there were other image issues to contend with. And it was not even close to the Zeiss on my D800, in terms of acuity and sharpness over the frame.
Perhaps the new Sigma will be the lens I am looking for.
I simply love this site, the layout and most of all the informative and unbiased way in which you write. I’ve only recently discovered it and have bookmarked it to visit on a regular basis. Thank you for such a refreshing solution.
Amp.
Thanks for the review article. I have this lens, and I can completely agree it’s a “specialty” lens.
I love the bokeh and the hard-to-describe way it renders images, best viewed WITHOUT lens profile correction in Lightroom. If I enabled LR lens profile correction on a portrait image, it looks “flatter” instead! I love the contrast and saturation so much so that this is the only Nikkor that I have used that can almost (depending on lighting situation) nail a shot without additional post-processing needed, should I choose to.
However, at wide open, I found it very difficult to nail the focus, and it fares even worst once the ambient lighting is not daylight bright. Even when the AF metering shows a dot (which means “in-focus”) on my D600, it can still miss the focus by a slight.
The AF speed is also very slow. Forget about anything other than the subject doing a “pose-and-hold” for me. I attempted street photography with this lens, knowing fully well that its AF is slow, just to verify, and yes, it was much more difficult to capture moments due to its slow AF.
I have resigned to shooting mostly at f/2.2 which I found is way more forgiving than at f/1.4 but still gives that three-dimensional “feel” that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is this quality and the bokeh that made me keep this lens, and to put up with all the other negativities with it.
I have even submitted the lens and my D600 to my local Nikon Service Centre twice to check in case it may be some focus alignment issues, and they told me its my camera body that was serviced and the lens itself was “perfectly alright.”
I am curious, Nasim, what were the apertures used to take each of the images in your review article? This is because I found the your images very sharp on the focused areas.
Please help me ! Should i replace my 85mm 1.4g by the combo 58mm 1.4g + 85mm 1.8g?
Great review and I am glad to see you reach the conclusion you did. I feel the same way about the Canon EF 50mm f1.2L. There are technically better Canon lenses out there at a fraction of the weight and cost, but none come close to the beauty of the people photographs it can produce IMHO. This Nikkor 58mm looks to cut a very similar niche. I don’t ‘correct’ that lens either.
Just purchased that lens. I have been contemplating the purchase since the lens came out late 2013. After reading the reviews I was not sure. Then I went for it. I did not calibrate it (MF adjustment) and took a few shots out of the box to check how it goes with a D810 and a D4.
At 1.4 it is not sharp in the center like the 85mm F1.4G that I own as well. So if sharpness is what you are looking for, look elsewhere.
However, there is something about the subject isolation on that lens which is different from other lenses I own, this is very subjective. I need to use that new lens more regularly and have more consistent shots to finalize my opinion but so far I can happily say I won’t return that lens and it’s a keeper.
I still think that with a little bit of MF adjustment this is a fantastic portrait tool. But not if you are looking at sharpness performance.
I bought this lens a couple of weeks ago. I have been using it ever since for portraits. I did calibrate the lens using the “Spyder Lens Cal” device and ended up having to dial in +12. I tried different figures up to +/- 20 to see the incidence on the focusing.
I realized that I don’t believe this lens was meant to be tack sharp at 1.4 like the 85mm F1.4G is for instance. The differences are visible but subtle, in comparison, I tried to calibrate my 50mm F1.4G, different results all together. Any small change on the +/- scale translate in a big focusing change. So I can see that Nikon has been working at producing a special lens with a special optical formula dedicated to produce a very unique result hence the price. I use to have a Canon F1.2L and it needed calibrating as well. I think the uniqueness of the 58mm F1.4G is in the way it handles the bokeh blurr which is superb in my opinion, you can almost see 3D images. A very special lens indeed. The minimum shooting distance set at 60cm is not bothering me at all as I like the perspective control you get at that distance. Comparing that lens to the 50mm F1.4G is not understanding it’s purpose. Images for the 58mm are a lot nicer as far as bokeh is concerned, I don’t believe it’s a fair comparison. As far as I am concern this lens is a keeper.
Cheers.
Great review, and great shot to illustrate it, there’s so few who get what this lens is good at.
Best review of this lens I’ve seen. Thanks so much for your professional approach, especially in the final summary. Most other reviews get hung up on lab tests and it really makes decisions difficult.
Hello Nasim,
Your review is extremely well made, thank you!
I confess, just few days ago I took a very non-sense decision (money-wise) and I traded in my old and trusty 50mm f/1.4 to buy the 58mm!
Regrets? None! I did one photo shoot only since I have this lens (fashion-like portraiture), but I can see already all the good qualities Nasim is explaining…
Perfect focus (after mandatory lens calibration!), beautiful bokeh and colour rendition and yes, that sort of je-ne-sais-quoi that wrap around the subject and makes it stand out in the most appealing way.
Here are few pictures from my shoot:
marcojoefazio.photography/blog/…st-furious
(all taken with Nikon D700 + 58mm f/1.4 1/250s f/5)
Great review, great lens, great photos, too bad about the asking price, the 50 ‘s will have to do for me. Thanks for the review.
Sorry to say that but the review is technically incorrect. It was said “to compare to similar lens”. Logically the author should provide comparison of identical images taken with (let’s say) Nikon 50/1.4/1.8 and developed with the same presets.
Then the reader will see the difference. Or don’t see any.
I don’t share your point of view. The review was fine as written and one of the more informative ones available. If you have published something superior, please provide a link.
50mm is a great focal lenght. 58 is a little bit zoomed, but the exceptional aestetics is the reason why I want to buy this lens. I think this lens can document 75% of the wedding day :)
I bought this lens recently and I’m very happy with the pictures it delivers ! But I have to complain with build quality, really minor thing : You can easily damage the thin plastic ring around the front element when you put the cap. Someone has the same problem ? I don’t really want to put a ND filter just for that ;)…
Just got this lens for my D7000. (Saving up to get a D810 used when the D820 is released)
I really like this review, but I struggle with the MTF tests you guys make.
For me, the midframe resolution/sharpness is very important, because I often use the outer AF points to focus on the eyes.
Unfortunately, your test doesn’t tell me if the resolution where I place the eye will be any good, because it assumes that all people photograph is brick walls, where everything sits in the same focal plane.
Why don’t you reacquire focus when measuring the midframe areas?
After reading your review, I bought this lens for our family trip to Portugal, and I will never regret it: many thanks!
@f2, the 58 mm f1.4 was/is just amazing for portraiture. I add some samples to illustrate the 3D pop, in function of shooting distance (same location):
full length portrait @f2: www.flickr.com/photo…en-public/
3/4 portrait @f2: www.flickr.com/photo…en-public/
and another full length portrait @f2: www.flickr.com/photo…en-public/
Just to illustrate real-life differences in sharpness @f1.6 and @f2.2 (same time, location and daughter, but different hat):
www.flickr.com/photo…en-public/
www.flickr.com/photo…en-public/
Stef
Thank you for the very interesting and in depth article.. I have been researching for a “Prime” lens, was leaning toward the Nikon 50mm F:1.4 and now your article has tipped the scale in favor of the 58mm. I am by no means a “Professional” photographer, but I always want the best equipment available for the photos I take. Thank You!!!
I thought that this lens was designed to correct for coma, like the old Noct – Nikkor. From Nikon I understand that when correcting for one flaw, sharpness is then somewhat compromised. Unfortunatly this test does not refer to that issue. I own a Noct and hence have no need to purchase this lens. When procuring a 50mm lens whilst going for ultimate sharpness, the new Sigma art is a clear winner, albeit a heavy monster. This 58mm – f1.4 is quite portable.
I bought the 58mm specifically for night images, mostly train subjects and I have been extremely happy. I also have Nikon 85 1.4 and am happy.
In addition I have Sigma 35mm 1.4. Overall OK, but under certain conditions like a a misty night I can get a crazy flare around bright lights. I use it when I need to but take test shots to look for the flare and always a little fearful. If I can use the 58 instead, I will.
Sigma is bulky and heavy and sometimes I long to go back to my 35mm AIS which is really comfortable.
In addition the mounting ring loosened up which I read online is a common problem. When I sent I back for warranty they said it was dropped.
Not that I know and only $100 but??? The Sigma tradeoff is size and weight.
Thank you for the great review. This is the best review I’ve ever seen. Majority of reviews are not even fairly tested or looked at the lens of the character. I see almost all review only concern about the sharpness rather than nothing else. I love this lens.