solohans1's Full Review: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens
A Short Time Line toward the Prime
It’s about time Nikon developed this prime lens for the new line of Nikon dSLR and what Nikon did was to develop this lens to replace the 50mm AF-D, which doesn’t have autofocus capability for their new camera line that requires the focusing motor to be part of the lens.
I bought my Nikon D40 dSLR about two years ago and that camera was introduced on November 16. 2005 for the Christmas 2005 season. With it’s introduction, a wider audience would be reached for the dSLR market.
Many people like the D40 for it’s compact size as well as it’s price, but some disliked it because it lost many of the features found on the D50 or D70 for example. It also lost function with some lenses because of compatibility issues. The D40 will only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I CPU lenses, which are equipped with built-in motors.
Nikon solved many of these issues by developing lenses that had compatibility for dSLR’s like the D40. Nikon developed a great zoom lens, 18-200mm VR AF-S DX lens which became very popular at a reasonable price. They also offered the 55-200mm to complement the kit lens that came with the D40 set up. That placated many of us for awhile, but we still pined for a decent prime and macro lens.
With the introduction of 2 macro (or as Nikon calls them, Micro) lenses, the 60mm and 105mm G series lenses, it became clear Nikon was going to fully support cameras that require the SMW for auto focus.
Finally, on September, 22 2008, Nikon introduced the first prime lens with the silent wave motor built in. I was very excited when hearing this news and immediately placed a preorder with Adorama.com At that time there was very little information about the lens besides the Nikon press release. All indictions pointed toward a superior product, even to it’s predecessor the 50mm f/1.4 AF-D.
Advantages of a prime lens
The advantages of this prime lens are it’s speed (f/1.4) and therefore it’s ability to be used in low light situations. More advanced photographers prefer the 50mm as it requires more discipline to use than a zoom. This 50mm also incorporates 9 ‘rounded’ diaphragms for it’s aperture resulting very pleasing ‘natural’ bokeh or out of focus background effect. This can be very effective for portraits or even close up shots.
Focusing
The lens can be changed from autofocus to manual (overidden) with just the twist of the focus ring. You need to rotate the focus ring while pressing the shutter button half way down. You can also override by pressing the AF-ON button if your camera is so equipped. This is useful if you find your camera ‘hunting’ for focus or if it simply won’t focus on the object you intend. You don’t have manual switch focus options, just switch and leave on M/A option. You can go back into autofocus mode by pressing shutter button half way down. You can leave the camera in manual focus by switching to the M option.
Personally, I find the autofocus to be fast enough for me, although I’ve heard that many have complained about this lenses ability to focus quick. I know it’s not going to be as fast as their professional lenses, but it suits me fine and I haven’t missed a shot yet or become disappointed with this aspect.
This lens will focus to 1.5 feet and works pretty well for close ups and landscapes, but excels with portraiture.
Image Quality
What can I say, the quality is consistent with the Nikkor line that I’ve used in the past. I don’t have science to back up my observations, only my eyes. As, Nikon’s press release suggested, the ‘out of focus background elements’ have substantially more natural appearance and I find this to be true. Again, I have heard from other reviews that the bokeh didn’t live up to their expectations from the press review. Color is vibrant and balanced. Images have plenty of resolution and are plenty sharp
Physically, the lens is stubby looking compared to the 18-55mm kit lens I usually use. The lens is 73.5 mm in diameter and 54 mm long. The attachment size is 58mm which is an unusual size, so be prepare to purchase new filters or and adapter. It is a fairly hefty lens from where I’m coming from, but considered light at 9.9 ounces.
The body of the lens is constructed of a rugged texture plastic similar to the plastic used on the D40’s frame. Toward the front is the focus ring. The rear bayonet is metal with a black plastic ring that contains the 8 CPU contacts. The contacts exchange image and lighting information to the CPU on board the camera. It also provides electrical current to operate the silent wave motor. It’s important you don’t change or remove the lens with the camera set to the ON position. This disrupts that current and may affect your camera settings or worse.
Nikkor Technology
This lens uses the latest Nikkor Technology or optical formula to correct sagittal coma flare and coma aberration. They also use SIC (super integrated coatings) to further suppress this and improve color balance.
Mounting the lens to the camera body
It’s easy to attach the lens to the camera. You want to line up the two white dots, one on the right side of the camera and another on the lens toward the rear of the lens centered with the little gold line that indicates the median point for your depth of field scale. Once lined up gently turn the lens counterclockwise until you hear a click. The lens is now locked in place and has made contact with the CPU unit. To release the lens, you must press the release button on the camera body and turn clockwise. I recommend changing lenses in dust free areas when possible or else aim you camera toward the ground, so particles have less change to enter and adhere to the sensor.
What’s included
The package comes with instructions, the lens itself, a felt lens bag, front and rear lens caps and a hood.
Overall, I am very pleased with this lens and use it almost exclusively now. It gives my D40 a more professional look and increased it’s value. This lens with work just as well with a camera that uses FX sensor or some newer film SLR.
Addendum: On February 8 2009, Nikon introduced 35mm AF-S , the first prime lens for dx formated sensor. Perfect for D40, 40x, 60. Dx lenses are compatible with fx sensors but are cropped. This lens is approximately the same as the 50mm with a few exceptions. The build quality will be less, it's a little slower(f/1.8 compared to f/1.4)- 2/3rd stop and it has 7 aperture blades compared to the 9 on the 50mm. I recommend this lens over the 50mm for anyone who uses the above cameras since you really can't take advantage of the fx sensor on higher priced cameras with the 50mm. It's advantages: Lighter and cheaper(up to $300.00USD).And, it more truly replicates a 50mm on dx cameras. http://www.epinions.com/reviews/Nikon_AF_S_DX_35mm_f_1_8G_Lens_With_Nikon_5_Year_USA_Warranty
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