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

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 2,013 ratings

Price: 406.95

Last update: 05-16-2024


About this item

F1.4 maximum aperture; F16 minimum
Ultrasonic type AF motor with full time manual focusing, 58mm filters
Minimum focus Distance : 0.45m/17.72 Inches. Lens Hood: HB 47
Nikon F mount for FX and DX DSLRs. Unparalleled autofocus performance.Mount Type: Nikon F Bayonet
Lens not zoomable
Lens not zoomable

Product information


Top reviews from the United States

Fruitielicious
5.0 out of 5 stars Low light performance!
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2013
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.
ReconScout
5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Everything Lens
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2011
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.

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