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Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G
Tech Spec
Focal Length 50mm
Maximum Aperture 1.4
Minimum Aperture 16
Autofocus Yes
AF-S (Silent Wave Motor) Yes
Compatible Format(s) FX / DX / FX in DX Crop Mode / 35mm Film
Vibration Reduction No
Distance Information Yes
ED Glass Elements No
Super Integrated Coating Yes
Nano Crystal Coat No
Internal Focusing No
Rear Focusing No
De-Focus Control No
Close Range Correction No
Manual/Auto Focus Mode Yes
Minimum Focus Distance 1.5 ft. (0.45m)
Angle of View 46° (FX-format) 31°30’ (DX-format)
Lens (Elements) 8
Lens (Groups) 7
Maximum Reproduction Ratio 0.15x
Dimensions 2.9x2.1in. (Diameter x Length) 73.5x54.2mm (Diameter x Length)
Weight 9.9oz. (280g)
Mount Type Nikon F-Bayonet
Accepts Filter Type Screw-on
Filter Size 58mm
Lens Attachment Size 58mm
Lens Case CL-1013
Lens Hood HB-47
Supplied Accessories * HB-47 Bayonet Lens Hood * LC-58 Snap-On Front Lens Cap * LF-1 Rear Lens Cap * CL-1013 Soft Case
*Supplied accessories may differ depending on country or area.


Discuss and post your samples here

After reading lots of great reviews about how good the new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens, i reserved one from the local camera shop. The camera shop rang me and told me their new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 shippment (of 1!!) has just arrived so i went there to pick it up. Since the new Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G lens is roughly same price so i asked if i can try them both before making my decision. After taking a few dozens of test shots with both lenses, i end up went home with a shinny golden (Nikon) box instead of the black (Sigma) box.

The Sigma 50mm 1.4 HSM gave me sharp and nice photos even at wide open, bokeh is very nice and i love the build quality of the lens. Unfortunately, the Sigma (at least the copy i was testing) seems to have some inconsistent focusing problem., while 90% of the photos were sharp and in focus, a few were badly out of focus for strange reason. I've even reshoot the photo carefully and still got the same problem.

The problem photo (i've re-shoot the same photo 4-5 times and all have same problem) : (focus point is the badge on the printer)

The Nikon 50mm 1/4G's picture quality is very similar to Sigma, slightly sharper at some areas and softer at some other. Bokeh is not as smooth as the Sigma but still not too bad. Autofocus is slow, yes it is not only slower than the Sigma but also slower than the 1.4D and 1.8D i've used before. Although the autofocusing speed is slow, one thing that stands out is the accuracy and consistency of the autofocus. Out of the 20-30 photos i took, auto focus is consistently spot on on every photo.

I'm intending to use the lens at F/1.4 a lot so the accuracy of the autofocus is very very important to me . That's something i don't like about the old Nikon 50mm 1.8D and 1.4D as i find the accuracy can be a bit unreliable sometime.

So with the strange autofocus behaviour from the Sigma, i picked up the Nikon 50mm 1.4G instead at the end. (sad as i really want to get the Sigma)

And here are some photos i took using my new 1.4G today, the model is my 8 month old daugther who doesn't want to stop for even 1 second. I was shooting at f/1.4 and sitting very close to her. At that distance and aperture, the depth of field is really narrow (a few cm??) and it's easy to screw up the focus completely. So it was a real good test for both my new lens and camera's autofocus accuracy and speed. Turned out my new lens /camera didn't disappoint me as i got a good number of "keepers" despite my daughters rapid movement in front of the camera all the time:

D700 with Nikon 50mm F/1.4G at F/1.4


All photos below are straight from camera with no adjustment

Wonderful Photos, liked #4 the best!

Its a pity sigma has QC issues. Thats the only downside of buying Sigma, otherwise, some of their lenses are great value for excellent performance.

i agree with CTM, the Sigma really have QC issues....

M Mode f/2.0 1/100s ISO800 AWB
Unedited JPG from camera

The Nikon 50mm f/1.4G seems to work quite well when there is strong backlight!

Minimal CA and still maintain reasonably good contrast





(convert from RAW -> JPG with Adobe RAW)

(06-01-2010 10:26 AM)yellow15 Wrote: [ -> ]The Nikon 50mm f/1.4G seems to work quite well when there is strong backlight!

Minimal CA and still maintain reasonably good contrast





(convert from RAW -> JPG with Adobe RAW)

nice shoot, wat he exif for these photos??

hey there, you can click on my photo and find the EXIF from flickr

just click on the Nikon D700 on top right where it says:
"This photo was taken on May 30, 2010 using a Nikon D700."

(01-30-2011 07:32 AM)yellow15 Wrote: [ -> ]hey there, you can click on my photo and find the EXIF from flickr

just click on the Nikon D700 on top right where it says:
"This photo was taken on May 30, 2010 using a Nikon D700."

oops my bad...totally forgot the flickr thingy, thanks

Saw this comparison on nikonrumours:
Zeiss 50 1.4 vs Nikon 50 1.4G