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

It takes such beautifully clear pictures and the bokeh is dreamy

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Zuri P

May 12, 2017

Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase

This is my everything lens. I've been traveling and this lens stays on my camera probably 85% of the time. It takes such beautifully clear pictures and the bokeh is dreamy :)

17 people found this helpful

snipeTop Contributor: Gardening & Horticulture

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Great lens - very happy with it

July 10, 2017

Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase

This lens is pretty great. I'm new to photography, so dropping this much cash on a new lens was a big leap for me (versus the cheaper "nifty fifty" f1.8), but I'm so glad I took the chance. This lens shoots beautifully and gives gorgeous bokeh.

I've included some photos here from my very first day using this lens so you can get an idea - I'm not a great photographer yet though, so don't blame the lens for anything that's out of focus or stupidly shot.

6 people found this helpful

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October 10, 2016

Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase

Wonderful quality! I am very happy with this item. It came exactly as described in the description & packaged well. I am very happy with my purchase & highly recommend this sell. I will definitely come to them in future purchases. This lens is tack sharp & exactly what I was looking for. You can see the amazing quality of the bokeh in the photo I shared. I highly recommend this lens for it's amazing depth of field!

7 people found this helpful

Noticeable difference between f1.4 and f1.8

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Aaron Anglin

August 25, 2017

Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase

While 2/3 of a stop difference doesn't seem like much you really notice it in the wide open bokeh and sharpness stopped down. Compared to the f1.8g you see the advantage from f1.4-f3.2. stopped down any lower you won't see a significant difference. This lense is at it's best around f2 getting the smooth bokeh you want with sharp in focus section you need.

5 people found this helpful

Nicholas KidaTop Contributor: Photography

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I love this lens.

March 9, 2017

Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase

Pretty new to photography but I absolutely love this lens. I'm shooting with a nikon d7200 and even better than me loving this lens, my fiancé loves the photos (which makes her more patient when I want to experiment). Fantastic quality

6 people found this helpful

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Ultimate Everything Lens

September 3, 2011

Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase

I shoot all Nikon on a D300s body (DX), multiple speedlights (SB-700's and an SB-900), and the full array of Nikon pro glass. This lens is the "holy grail" due to it's mid-range focal length (about 75mm on DX), large aperture, compact size, and light weight. However, some people moving from a kit lens and used to a consumer level DSLR body (slower focusing, different expeed engines, no AF Fine Tuning), may run into some issues.

Before I go further, please accept this review as a pragmatic, rather than technical review. I focus on end-user usability in the consumer to intermediate range. Other's like to focus on numbers and other technical aspects and they do a great job for nerds like me.

This lens will surely appeal to consumer level shooters considering "moving up" in glass. These are shooters that typically spend less than $1,000 on a DSLR body and start with a "kit lens." Larger apertures such as the 1.4 are not panacea's for every shooting situation, whether you shoot with a DX or FX sensor, or a D700 or D300s or D3100. Yes, you will be able to shoot in lower light. However, significant depth of field considerations now come into play. So, shooting your daughter's ballet recital is more likely possible w/out flash (most don't allow use of flash) but you may have significant focusing issues, especially on a body like the D3100, which focuses much slower than a D300s. So, you could expect more blurry shots when dealing with a moving subject and shooting at 1.4,even when using continuous focus. Outdoors in daylight, these considerations are mitigated, but some remain. For example, moving subjects shot at 1.4 may have the wrong area in focus and the rest out of focus due to depth of field, leaving you with an image that cannot be salvaged through post processing. And, the 1.4 aperture will typically yield soft focus, while arguably preferable for portraits, but not so for landscape.

Many people also believe a 1.4 aperture eliminates the need for outdoor fill flash or, any flash. I find this to not be the case unless I am going for a specific type of shot where natural soft light source is illuminating my subject from the front (think window illumination). With this particular lens, you will want to shoot in the f2.8 to 8 range for most situations. Since I prefer shooting at ISO 100 or 200, this means I will probably have to rely on at least one speedlight. This lens provides good color rendition at a contrast level to be admired. However, it is a lens best shot in manual mode and under complete user control. You will want to integrate post processing distortion and sharpening control to play it safe. So, shoot in RAW format whenever possible to provide maximum flexibility with this lens (a good idea anyway- I always shoot RAW). This lens provides nice compression for portraits at an equivalent of 75mm, while wide enough, even on a DX for landscape. It's size and weight serves as a great all around lens for travel. For me, it's a choice between my Nikon 17-35 or this lens. I usually take this lens.

Side note: Many people seem to have complained about the AF accuracy of this lens. I would suggest you test for AF accuracy and then use AF Fine Tune if your camera has it (D300 and above do). Every lens can have particular quirk's when paired with a body. Nikon offers the best quality control in the industry, but they cannot pair for every DSLR body differential. It is possible to get a bad copy of the lens, especially if Amazon shipped it in a large box with no packing.

So, in summation, if you are moving from a kit lens on a consumer grade body, this is a great pro level FX/DX lens to consider. But I have to wonder of the cheaper Nikon 50mm 1.8 DX Lens(Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras) would serve you just as well. I would definitely compare the two for your needs.

41 people found this helpful

Excellent lens. No complaints.

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Morgan

February 7, 2014

Style: Lens OnlyVerified Purchase

This is a fantastic lens. I upgraded from the 50mm f/1.8D and am very pleased. Shooting on my D600 I can see noticeable improvements in sharpness and color rendition compared to the older lens. I read many complaints about the autofocus speed on this lens. I've had no issues both indoors and outdoors. It focuses without delay and accurately. I know that my f/2.8 zooms focus a little quicker, but I'm not using this for moving targets in time sensitive situations, so the extra 1/3 of a second it takes to lock focus is of no consequence to me.

It's astonishing to see how much light it can absorb when used at large apertures. I'm enjoying the nice bokeh, and ability to shoot most any subject with available light. The sharpness and clarity is superb! Externally, it has solid build quality, nice ergonomics, and good looks like the other Nikon G series prime lenses. I recommend this lens to anyone who is contemplating the purchase, you won't regret it.

9 people found this helpful

Wow, I'm totally impressed with the quality of pics from this prime. It is also sturdily built and light, perfect for travel. A bit on the expensive side but I think it's worth it.

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Most recent customer reviews

Published 6 days ago

Worst 50mm I've ever purchased

Nikon excellence.

Published 25 days ago

Isaac B. Sloan

Worst 50mm I've ever purchased. On a 36.3MP D810 in focus area's are still super soft wide open. This is frustrating when comparing it to a Sigma 50mm 1.Read more

Published 1 month ago

Elissa Baker

Love this lens! Easy to use and give great pictures!

Published 1 month ago

Ashley A.

Meh

Not super impressed. Will stick to my Sigma 35 Art. Everyone raves about the 50mm. I had to calibrate this and still not impressed.

Sdot

8 years later she’s still tack sharp

perform as it should, smooth and fast, the angle is a bit narrow but images are sharp.

Mark

Four Stars

Tony K.

Good product, packaged well and safe.