Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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300 of 304 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best lens for portrait and low light photography, October 10, 2006
I don't even know where to start. This lens produces sharp pictures and great color and contrast. This lens is perfect for low light and/or action/sport photography (as this lens is famous for being one of the fastest lens together with its brother 50mm f/1.8). This lens is also perfect for portrait and other general purposes (macro etc). This is definitely a very versatile lens.
However, I think you should really consider buying the f/1.8 first before thinking to buy this f/1.4 lens (mainly because it is more than twice the price of the f1/8 and most of the time the f/1.8 version is fast enough in my opinion). Some examples where the faster f/1.4 lens might make a difference: low light wedding/concert or indoor sports photography (where the light is often low from the camera perspective) such as hockey, track and field, skating, gymnastic, basketball etc.
As much as I want to encourage everyone to buy this lens right away, let me mention some of the limitation that you would see (which I think will be helpful to go over before deciding to buy this lens):
First, being a prime lens, you will need to move your feet a lot to compose your picture. If you are used to zoom lens, don't underestimate this limitation. It takes me a while to get used to it, and sometime I still find people looking at me wondering why I am moving forward and backwards. the good news is that most of the time, they don't think I'm weird, but they are actually wondering if I'm a professional photographer.
Secondly, the focal range of 50mm, which is considered the normal lens and great for portrait lens. but on many DSLRs which is not full frame (unless you have a full frame Nikon DSLR like the D700 or D3, then 50mm is 50mm), this lens become a 75mm equivalent which is in the border of a short tele lens. I actually like the 75mm equivalent though I often have to move backwards when taking picture of a group of people.
Sharpness increases as you stop down to f/2. I actually prefer to use the widest most of the time and the results are still nice. Personally (when shooting low light action/sport), I'd rather use f/1.4 aperture settings than stopped down (e.g to f/2.8) and compensate with higher ISO setting which often gives me grainy picture. But if your object is not moving (static) then it is better to stop down to f/2 or more.
If you are wondering whether you should get a fast lens or a lens with VR (Vibration Reduction), here's my take: In overall, VR does help a lot (as it will reduce camera shake) and will produce better/sharper picture than equivalent lens without VR (especially if the object is static). If the object is moving (sports/action) then VR feature alone might not help (depending on how fast the object is moving and how much light is available), and a fast lens often end up being a far better solution, even without VR feature as it will allow much faster shutter speed to freeze motion. Using tripod (and a remote) will substitute for the need of VR feature. In general I would recommend getting a fast lens with VR feature (and usually it is expensive) such as the 70-200 f/2.8 VR, but if one can only get for one or the other, then find out what do you want to use the lens for and then use the guideline mentioned here.
If you are wondering whether you will get the benefit of buying f/1.4 lens over a f/1.8 lens, just remember that the f/1.4 lens is about 60% faster than f/1.8 at its widest aperture setting. With this information, you can decide if the additional speed will justify the additional cost. The bokeh is nicer as well in f/1.4 lens but I think speed is usually the main factor in deciding whether to get the more expensive f/1.4 lens.
Here are the summary of pros and cons for this Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF lens:
Pros:
1. Very fast (f/1.4)
2. Very sharp pictures (especially when stopped down to f/2 or more. very sharp at f/2.8)
3. Great for sport/action photography
4. Great for indoor and low light situation
5. Great for portrait
6. Bokeh is almost as good as many expensive Nikon tele-lens
7. Fast autofocus
8. Perfect for wedding photography (or no-flash event). However, or try the 17-35mm f/2.8 or 28-70mm f/2.8 lens)
9. 75mm equivalent which can be considered a short tele lens (I actually like the fact that it's 75mm equivalent vs 50mm in DSLR. if you need more zoom, you can get the Nikon 85mm f/1.8, or the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR). If you have full frame DSLR(like the D3 or D700), then this #9 pros is not applicable.
10. Sharper than its 50mm f/1.8 sibling (at equivalent aperture)
Cons:
1. Being prime lens, you need to move your feet a lot to adjust/compose
2. Some distortion at widest aperture
3. Plasticy build (though it has metal moount and internal part seems to be from metal)
4. Autofocus is not the most silent but very reasonable
5. 75mm equivalent with 1.5x multiplier on non full frame DSLR (many people find this is an odd range for normal lens. I actually like it). If you have full frame DSLR(like the D3 or D700), then this #5 cons is not applicable.
6. Autofocus does not work with D40, D40x and D60. The newer 50mm f/1.4G AF-S lens will autofocus with those cameras.
Bottom line: This lens is so versatile that I think everyone should own (either the 50mm f/1.4 or the 50mm f/1.8) in addition to all the lenses that they already have. Being a very fast lens, it enables me to take pictures in low light (sport/action photography) that I otherwise wouldn't be able to do.
Again, I would recommend everyone to get this lens (or the 50mm f/1.8). In some ways I can say that this lens will make you a better photographer.
Happy Photographing!
Sidarta Tanu
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254 of 265 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
*Very* fast, but consider the f/1.8, November 30, 2004
I've been using this lens extensively with my D70. It lets me shoot without a flash in low-light situations where other photographers are complaining about not even being able to focus. I'm often able to even turn off the autofocus light, which allows for very natural pictures: the subject isn't hit with an anti-redeye flash or focusing beam, so they don't flinch and change expression. It produces excellent portraits, with the background artistically blurred.
Are there shots that I've gotten with this lens that I couldn't have gotten with the ($99) 50/1.8? Yes, a few. Most of them were from weddings (indoor, flash inappropriate, motion), or at night with no light sources within 20ft. For the vast majority of my pictures, though, the slower lens would have been more than adequate (even in dim light, I'm often shooting at f/2-f/4). If I had to choose between the two today, I'd probably get the cheaper lens.
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107 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic and fast lens, great for film bodies, February 8, 2005
The legendary Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 D lens is *the* normal lens to get for a film Nikon body. You just can't get faster than this, plus its superb optics has impressed photographers since 1962. (The D version came about in the 90s.) If you have a film body, this is pretty much a must-have.
Unfortunately for us digital shooters, the 50mm translates into a focal length of 75mm, beyond the normal focal range. While this is not bad for portraiture -- a little bit of telephoto often flatters the subject -- if you (like me) wanted a real normal lens, this is not it. You'd have to make do with the 35mm f/2 D lens, which is of course one full stop slower.
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