AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

F/1.4 performs like a dream in low light and creates a wonderful blur. I also like the minimum focus distance at about a foot so I can get a tight shot even at 50mm. Focus is fast and quiet and it's a must have for any photographers. 50mm is a must have for me. Sometimes I just want to carry it because it's smaller and doesn't make me stick out like a sore thumb with larger lens. Below is a summary of how I use all of my lens today and I hope it will help you find what you are looking for if you have similar needs as mine: * AF-S 50mm f/1.4: Great for infants and walk-around lens on the street. I use this lens most of the time for infant pictures because 1) I don't want to use flash when infants have their eyes open even if I have a softbox/umbrella. 2) lightweight 3) low light performance at f/1.4. I also uses this when I'm out of the house because it's not in-you-face when you pull it out of you bag so people won't notice you. This lens also makes me move around a bit to be more creative vs. just zoom in and out. 50mm lens makes me think more about the shots. * AF-S 60mm f/2.8 micro: Great macro lens: I use this for very close up shots. I can get as close to less than an inch away even though the minimum focal length isn't listed as being 1 inch away. You will want good lighting since flash will be useless when you are this close to the subject. I take photos of baby lips, eyes, face, hands and feet, & other objects such as jewelry * watches. Basically any fairly stationary subjects that I want to highlight the details and intentional imperfections/wrinkles, etc. I sometimes wonder if I should use this all the time instead of my 50mm but I find the 50mm better at non-macro shots because it focus faster and lets in 4 times more light. * AF-S 85mm f/1.8 : I use this most of the time for adult portraits and it has very good low light performance as well. I choose this over the f/1.4 version because the other reviews I've read on the web did not justify the extra $1000 spend for marginal performance improvement and unless I am getting paid to take pictures all the time, I don't see the need to pay the extra cost for the f/1.4. This lens also makes me move around a bit to be more creative vs. just zoom in and out. * AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8: I use this when I just don't know what kind of pictures I could be taking and need to have zoom & I don't have to move around as much. While I don't take landscape pictures (24mm) often, I will use this for a large group outing, birthday parties when I may need to get a wide shot of a lot of people in a room and be able to have a little bit of zoom capability and not have to walk up so close to the people's face. This allows me to get some candid shots when needed. It's fairly heavy at 2 lbs and huge when you put on the hood so I almost never use this lens when I'm on the street because it attracts a lot of unwanted attention. I wouldn't want this hanging on my neck or shoulders for a long period of time. * AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 vr2 : This is one of my favorite lens only because I can use it for portraits as well (with some lighting support) and I can get really good candid shots since I can be much farther away 10-20ft from my subjects and able to get a nice picture. I do have to crop at times to get rid of the cluttered background but with the D600 camera, I have enough megapixel details to crop my pictures when needed. This is obviously a monster lens so I avoid taking it for street photos even though I've had some nice pictures and experiences on the street but it's so big... I've had people stopping me asking me if I'm a paparazzi and which celebrity I am stalking..... haha. It's almost over 3 lbs so I definitely wouldn't want this hanging on my neck or shoulders for a long period of time. * AF-S 70-200mm f/4: this is also a great lens and a fantastic alternative to the 2.8 version. At over $1000 less, this is a bargin and great lens if you're taking photos at good lighting conditions (outdoor, have flash or good indoor lighting). Otherwise it may be problematic for you at F/4.

I have a side business as a freelance photographer, doing production photography, headshots weddings, & art. And I gotta say, this is a fantabulous lens, plain & simple. I honestly don't see why some people are dumping on this lens! I admit, I haven't used the Sigma 50mm f1.4 (which must be huge & heavy, which I don't want), or anything comparable from other manufacturers, but I couldn't be happier. I did have the older 50mm AF-Nikkor f1.4 D, which was great, but I sold it-for good money-and got this version, despite the opinions that one shouldn't. I've been using this new version for about a month now-including 2 paid freelance shoots-and don't regret it. Pros: 1) Image quality. Contrast, color reproduction & sharpness are superior. I was shocked at the amount of detail I've been capturing. 2) Awesome in low light-how can it not be at f1.4?. 3) Smooth, quiet autofocus. Autofocus is noticeably slower than the AF-D model, but for most situations where you'd be using a prime lens I think it's fine. Plus it's nice when you're photographing a singer up close, trying to be intimate & keep her comfortable, to not have the "buzz" of the old screwdriver-focused lens. 4) Autofocus with manual override. If AF isn't working (like in low light) just hold the shutter button down half-way & turn the focusing ring. This is the way Nikon lenses are being designed nowadays, & that's a good thing! 5) Bokeh. Despite the negative reviews, I like the bokeh I get at wider apertures. Which was one of the reasons I wanted it-the 9 blade rounded diaphragm should be better for background blur than the straight, 7-blade diaphragm of the older model. I'm thinking it helps that I shoot on a camera with a DX sensor, so if you have a D700, D3, D3x, or 35mm film you might get different results. Otherwise, you should not be disappointed. 6) Ergonomics. It just has a really good feel to me. 7) Almost true internal focusing. The lens barrel doesn't change length while focusing, so you can hold onto any part of the lens & focus. 8) Hood. Comes with a nice bayonet hood, easy to put on and off, unlike the AF-D model, for which you need to separately purchase a screw-on rubber hood. 9) Forward compatibility. The only Nikon 50mm lens that will autofocus on the Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D3000, & D5000, which require lenses with their own focusing motors. Cons: Very few of significance. 1) Manual focusing. It works well, & the ability to override autofocus without flicking a switch is great, but I find the focusing ring a little harder to handle than on the older model. This model is larger overall, leading to a larger focusing ring (& filter), and my hands are a little small-ish, so that could be why. But this isn't a major factor if you use autofocus most/all of the time. The ring on this lens also feels tighter to me-which could be both a good & bad feature. 2) Larger filter size-58mm vs. the old, common 52. Only an issue if you already have 52mm filters and would have to get new ones for this lens. If you have multiple lenses with different filter sizes, try to just get one size of most filters and use a step-up ring. 3) Slower autofocus-but see above, not a major problem in my view. 4) Price. Pretty expensive at approximately $450.00, but it's actually not as bad as it looks. If you use a hood, like I do, then you don't have to buy one separately. It also comes with a nice carrying case-not essential, but a good touch. 5) Backward compatibility. Will not work on the older film cameras, because it lacks an aperture ring. Probably won't matter to most people. The older 50mm Nikon f1.4 AF-D is terrific. This version is even terrific-er. All I can say is, if you need a terrific-er 50mm lens: Go for it!

The rendering of image is amazing and the bokeh is smooth, love it

I've had this lens now for over a year and a half so this review is based on significant everyday use. The lens is excellent in every way. It's not a light lens but that is what a lens like this should feel like. The overall construction is really good quality with both metal and plastic. It is weather sealed so can be used in light rain. It comes with a lens hood and bag to store when not in use. The quality of the pictures when used with a D800 has been unbelievable. I am an old school photographer and still have my FM2 and the original Nikkors made of steel and proper glass. Though not comparable to these, this lens is worth every penny and it does cost a lot of pennies! The colours and contrast are spot on and any minor aberrations can be corrected quite easily in Lightroom. I use this all the time and it focuses quickly and quietly without any problems. Really tough construction and has taken a few knocks but still looks new. Use a good quality 77mm UV filter though to protect from dust and scrapes. Pictures viewed on a large 40" HDTV are flawless. You cannot appreciate the quality and depth until you see pictures at this size. The combination is the lens and the D800 is fantastic. Really pleased after a year and a half of use.

El 1.4 es un bokeh delicioso. Tomando en cuenta que es un 1.4 está a un precio bastante accesible. No es de la línea “N” de Nikon, sin embargo es un magnífico objetivo para diferentes tipos de situaciones. Yo soy fotógrafo de quinceañeras y bodas, le he sacado bastante provecho. Con este ya tengo las medidas de 24, 35 y 85 en 1.8. Este 50mm es el único que tengo en 1.4 y de verdad que es una delicia el retrato con él. No dudes en adquirirlo.

Ich habe das Nikon 50mm 1.4 nun schon zum zweiten Mal gekauft. Ich denke alleine dieses spricht schon für meine Überzeugung zum Produkt. Das Objektiv hat ein sehr gutes Preis-Leistungsverhältnis und gehört aus meiner Sicht in jede Fototasche Zum Autofokus. Dieser ist, trotz AF-S, gegenüber anderen Modellen etwas langsamer. Jedoch ist beim Autofokus auch häufig der Anwender das Problem. Denn auch die Kamera spielt dort noch eine große Rolle. Also bitte auch mit dem internen AF auseinandersetzen, bevor auf das Objektiv „eingeschlagen“ wird. Weiterhin sollte der Einsatzzweck des Objektivs betrachtet werden, welches sich meistens im Bereich Portraitfotografie bewegt. Hier ist ein sehr schneller AF nicht erforderlich. Im direkten Vergleich zu Objektiven von z.B. Sigma kann man jedoch zu 99% davon ausgehen, dass der AF auch richtig sitzt. Dieses ist leider, insbesondere bei Objektiven von Sigma, nicht der Fall. Diese Erfahrung durfte ich auch persönlich machen. Bezüglich der Abbildungsleistung muss ich aus meiner Sicht kein Wort verlieren. Bei einer Offenblende von 1.4 reicht bereits ein Herzschlag, um ein unscharfes Ergebnis zu bekommen. Hier sollte sich also niemand beschweren, der nicht vom Stativ mit Fernauslöser fotografiert. Ab Blende 2 sind jedoch schon wunderbar scharfe Bilder zu erreichen. Das Bokeh ist wirklich fantastisch und hilft, das Motiv sehr gut freizustellen. Wie schon in anderen Anmerkungen beschrieben ist der Unterschied im Gehäuse zu anderen Festbrennweiten schon spürbar und wirkt auf den ersten Augenblick weniger hochwertig. Da sich dieses jedoch auch im Gesamtpreis wieder, für mich also kein Negativpunkt.

Es un objetivo que no me ha decepcionado. Había leído en foros y en web de fotografía sobre él y no dudé en ahorrar para comprarlo. Tenía duda entre este y el de 1.8 , pero al final me decidí por el 1.4. Estoy muy contenta, hace una fotografía muy nítida y la luminosidad es excelente. En interiores con el 18-55 mm, aún poniendo la Iso en valores altos, tenía ruído, oscuras,etc. con este objetivo con Iso bajos salen fotos muy bien iluminadas. Es ideal para fotografía nocturna o en interiores con poca luz. Ideal para fotografía de desenfoque y efecto bokeh. he conseguido fotografías como quería , que con el otro objetivo me quedaba un poco corto. Soy principiante, y partía de un objetivo 18-55 mm, el que trae la nikon que compré y sin duda estoy disfrutando mucho este objetivo fijo de 50 mm. He apartado casi completamente el otro. Una joya, merece la pena ahorrar y comprar el objetivo. Sin duda lo aconsejo.