which 50mm 1.4 should i get?

hrphotography

Senior Member
i have following options (all 50mm):
1. Nikon 1.4D
2. Nikon 1.4G
3. Sigma 1.4
i have read reviews at dpreview, they say the same thing for both Nikon s, focus is soft at 1.4.
i want 1.4 so i can shoot at 1.4; do not want to close it. i do not care much about the peripheral focus but i want the center to be razor sharp. only for sigma they say its sharp even at 1.4 but its the most expensive of course.
anyone had experience with these lenses?
thank you in advance :)
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Get the 50 1.8 G and something else with the cash left over. It is as sharp and focusses faster than the 1.4.

JMHO
 

hrphotography

Senior Member
thank you very much for replying. I started with idea of getting 1.8D, then i read better things abt 1.8G then i thought i would get that, then better things abt 1.4D and so on :)
have u tried 1.4? whats the low light performance difference between 1.8 & 1.4? i want one with which i can take pics at night at a manageable shutter speed.
I know some people have all three of the lenses above, but i cant do that :)
 

Rick M

Senior Member
I don't think there will be a significant speed difference between the 1.4 and 1.8. You get a slight increase in bokeh, out of focus elements due to the extremely narrow DoF. I rarely shoot wide open with my 1.8 since I want a bit more DoF, especially at night.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
At the risk of repeating myself, get the 50 1.8 G now and you can thank me later. How's that for a warranty?
 

blackwell17

Senior Member
saw a couple 50mm 1.8D on ebay for right at 100 bucks. Hard to pass up, especially since you don't need the motor in the G given that you have a D600. I've been toying with the idea of a 50mm 1.8D but have a 35 already, and plan on getting the 85 1.8D so I really doubt I'll need the 50 as well. I just feel like I have to have them all, HAHA!!
 

Geoffc

Senior Member
I ordered a 1.4 and changed to 1.8g because I concluded I was paying more for a lesser product. Money didn't come into it because I had a great option on the 1.4.

I haven't used it much yet but so far so good.
 

Rick M

Senior Member
thank u all of you, i really appreciate it......
one last question, anyone tried the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX....... is it worth buying?

I think everyone that has it loves it, just like all the nikon 1.8 owners, everyone likes what they have. the question is, does the price get you that much more? I doubt it.
 

stmv

Senior Member
I suspect you value sharpness over shallow dof reading between the lines, from that Marcel's multiple endorsements of the 50mm 1.8 G is your best bet.

lens do have personality, each having their strength and weakness, over the 40 years, I have gotten 50mm as by products of getting cameras over time, starting with a FM,

so,, 50mm 1.2, 1.4, 1.8, 1.8E, and 2.0 1.8D autofocus, 1.4 autofocus,, but alas,, not the G,, laughs, saturated in 50mm lens.

and well, why keep them versus settling on the best, well, because each have their own personality and subtle effects on
pictures.

For sharpest of my set,,, 50mm 2.0,, nice....

the one I enjoy the most,,, the 50 mm 1.2, and no that is not the sharpest of the bunch.

but coming to the recommendation,, I think from a fresh start,,, currently,,, 1.8G as was stated earlier.
 

Eye-level

Banned
Look you own a D600...which has one bad @ss sensor in it...you don't need anything faster than 2.5 and even with two five you'll still be able to stop it down and get corner to corner sharp and bokeh too if that is what you want...digital has changed everything in the old days you needed the speed because of the limits of fast film. You don't need the speed as much now because the sensor handles the collection of light like it does. This applies to lesser DSLRs to like the D3000 or D5000 for example. 2.5 is the new fast so to speak when you are talking 10 megapixel digital cameras. 2.5 was also pretty d@mn fast for film too ;)

50mm obvious choice = 1.8 G
 
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stmv

Senior Member
pretty expensive, the nikkor 50mm 1.4 D is a lot less, and your D600 can focus it,, Brand new 329,, while the Sigma is 449, course,, repeating Marcel the 50 mm G is 289...

I guess, if I was buying a 50 mm 1.4, and owned a D600, I would buy the 50mm 1.4 D. new for 329 versus the Sigma


the nikkor 50mm 1.4 G version is larger, more expensive, and well compared to this side by side comparison,, not sharper:

Nikon Nikkor Lens Comparison 50mm f/1.4D vs. 50mm f/1.4G

especially at 1.4, where the old D lens shines over (in my opinion), over the G version.
 

stmv

Senior Member
its one more of the 50mm 1.2 ,, the Nikkor 1.2 AI 50mm is still made new, at 500 dollars but this one is way more exotic. considered one of the sharpest of tuned for sharp at 1.2. quite rare. NOCT stood for Nocturnal.. it is a lens tuned
for night photography,, hence the name.

this one would be in the thousands..... so not going to be on my list, but would be nice compare.

brand new this lens was only around 800 dollars, and now thousands, a shame when only scarity drives up
price to ridulous levels.
 
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