Advantages of the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G over the 50mm f/1.4D

blueiron

New member
The D model has the aperture ring on it in order to use with all SLR/DLSR cameras. The G model is for the F4 and more modern cameras. Otherwise, they are basically the same. The G is the fastest auto-focus lens for the D40/D60. The G model does allow you to focus at a touch of the focus ring, where to D model compels you to flip a switch first. Why anyone would want to is beyond me, unless you want to slightly out-focus your shot.

Given the aperture ring, I prefer to buy the D models since I can use them on my F3. Since I am used to them from back in the pre-digital era, it is easier for me to manually set the aperture through the ring as opposed to flipping through dials on my F5 and D3 while in Manual mode.
 

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
I see. So on the D the aperture would not be adjusted by the camera? And the D would need a focus motor in the camera body for the AF...
 

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blueiron

New member
The aperture ring can be locked in and set by the camera through menus and command wheels, but I started on the Nikon F and I am used to doing it the old fashioned way.

The D model is as advanced as the G model and has auto focus, but since I have manual cameras, I like and use the aperture ring.
 

Em11y

New member
The aperture ring can be locked in and set by the camera through menus and command wheels, but I started on the Nikon F and I am used to doing it the old fashioned way.

The D model is as advanced as the G model and has auto focus, but since I have manual cameras, I like and use the aperture ring.


Thats the same with my F90, on the D90 the 50mm aperture ring needs to be locked at F22 or it won't work, EE shows on the little display.

on the F90 the aperture needs to be set manually by turning the ring, the value also shown on the little display
:)
 

ophiuchus

New member
ahh great this thread is already started! Yeah I was wondering about this myself. The G is an AF-S lens, which means it has silent wave motor capabilities whereas the D does not. How much faster is the G in focusing? Is it worth the extra $200+?
 

blueiron

New member
If you shoot only with the newer stuff and never intend to use any older manual focus film cameras, it might be.

I don't believe it is [for me] for three reasons: one - it costs Nikon less to manufacture a G lens, since it lacks the aperture ring and the mechanism for it. Charging $200 more and making it more inexpensively is marketing hype to try to convince people it is better. Two - it has more linear distortion and more barrel distortion than the D lens, so if architecture or images with linear patterns is part of your composition repetoire, get the D model since it has visibly less distortion. Three - It doesn't use standard 52mm filters, it uses 58mm. Why the non-standard size?

It is the lens, if you own a D40/D40x/D60 and want auto focus. It has one other 'feature' over the D model - If you elect to focus manually, you merely have to touch the focus ring and index it as needed. The D model requires one to move the slide switch from Auto to Manual before.
 

pAth77

New member
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I needed a bit of clarification after what I was told by the guy at my local camera shop. I'm currently shooting Leicas, and I have no experience with any other manufacturer. I've recently decided to pick up a new system, and after doing my research I decided that I prefer Nikon over the other brands that are out there. I pretty much have my sights set on the D300s so I went in to my local shop today so that I could see how it felt in my hands. After fiddling with it for about 5 minutes I pretty much fell in love.

One of the reasons why I'm leaning towards Nikon is the fact that their D lenses have an aperture ring, and that's something that I'm comfortable with since I've only shot with Leica lenses. I also love the retro look that it has compared to the G lenses (that also explains my love for Leica). The salesman at the shop, however, told me that although I could still use the D lenses on the D300s, it would not be functional and the aperture would essentially be locked wide open. At least that's what I remember him saying...so I'm hoping to get some confirmation that what he said (or what I heard) was incorrect.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
... The salesman at the shop, however, told me that although I could still use the D lenses on the D300s, it would not be functional and the aperture would essentially be locked wide open. At least that's what I remember him saying...so I'm hoping to get some confirmation that what he said (or what I heard) was incorrect.

That is absolutely NOT true. All Nikon F mount lenses (or almost) will give you the opportunity to focus with the lens wide open and will close down to the desired aperture as you take the shot. There must be something else he meant. I have D lenses and they all work very well with the D90, D7000 and D700.
 

pAth77

New member
That is absolutely NOT true. All Nikon F mount lenses (or almost) will give you the opportunity to focus with the lens wide open and will close down to the desired aperture as you take the shot. There must be something else he meant. I have D lenses and they all work very well with the D90, D7000 and D700.

Your response brought me a huge sigh of relief. I'm not sure if I heard the salesman wrong or if he meant something else or if he just didn't know what he was talking about. Either way, I'm just extremely happy to hear that I can still get the lenses that I originally wanted. I'm not opposed to learning how to work the dials since I'll still need to get accustomed to using the dials to adjust shutter speed, but being able to utilize the aperture ring will make the transition into Nikon much easier.

I'm sure that I'll figure everything out once I have it in my hands, but just for curiosity's sake...does the body have to be set to aperture priority or manual in order to use the aperture ring? Also, is there an auto setting on the aperture ring? My wife won't touch any of my cameras unless it has full auto.
 

gqtuazon

Gear Head
I'm sure that I'll figure everything out once I have it in my hands, but just for curiosity's sake...does the body have to be set to aperture priority or manual in order to use the aperture ring? Also, is there an auto setting on the aperture ring? My wife won't touch any of my cameras unless it has full auto.

For Nikon D lenses, if you are using a Digital SLR, keep the aperture ring locked at f22. If you move the aperture ring, it will give you an error. If you want to adjust the aperture, use the camera command dial to lower or increase the aperture.

P mode or program mode is almost fully Automatic except that it will not use flash most of the time unlike if you set it in Auto which tend to use the pop-up flash.

Adding a Nikon external flash such as the SB700 will often make your images look better.

The 50mm f1.8G is much sharper than the D lens wide open, has focus override, and will work with motorless camera bodies such as D40, D60, D3100, and D5100 series.
 
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pAth77

New member
That is absolutely NOT true. All Nikon F mount lenses (or almost) will give you the opportunity to focus with the lens wide open and will close down to the desired aperture as you take the shot. There must be something else he meant. I have D lenses and they all work very well with the D90, D7000 and D700.

For Nikon D lenses, if you are using a Digital SLR, keep the aperture ring locked at f22. If you move the aperture ring, it will give you an error. If you want to adjust the aperture, use the camera command dial to lower or increase the aperture.

I guess I must have misinterpreted the first reply that I got. So what you are saying (and what Marcel Carey stated) is that I will still have the full range of aperture. However, I will still need to use the dial (and not the aperture ring itself) to change the aperture value. Do I have that right? If so, then I guess I'll just go with the G lenses since the only reason why I would choose the D lenses is for a fully functional aperture ring.
 

pAth77

New member
I went on the Nikon website and took a look at the D300s users manual, and there is an option within the menu that you can change that will allow you to change the aperture via the aperture ring. This option is available on all of the Dx00 and Dx models, and this was confirmed by other Dx00 users on a different forum. I just wanted to update the thread in case there are others that needed clarification. Thanks again for everyone's input.
 

Calin

Senior Member
There is also the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AI Nikkor Manual Focus. What can you say about this lens, comparing it with the 2 lenses mentioned in this thread?
 
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