Nikkor f1.4 (S, D & G)

M

mulloar

New member
Hello folks,

I have recently decided to take the jump into the DSLR world as I will be going on a trip through Hong kong, Bangkok and India on my way back home to Belgium from a 1 year stay in Japan and I found it such a waste to go through all of these countries with amazing sights to be shot, with just an Iphone to do so.

That and I want to challenge myself artistically, as well ( how cliche that might sound, heh )

I have spend my free time in the last weeks researching more and more about photography and decided to go for the Nikon d5100 over the d3200 as it offers the bracketing and the vari-angle LCD monitor.

I do want to buy a Prime lens and chose to go with the Nikkor f/1.4, however, I cannot seem to find any information on the difference between these 3..

Nikon Ai AF Nikkor 50mm F1.4D
Nikon Ai Nikkor 50mm F1.4S
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1.4G

links go to the store I am buying everything at, one of the most competitive in Japan.
(for those that can read Japanese)

I did read that autofocus is only available with AF-S and AF-I, However that is the only difference I could find.

In essence, what do the S, D and G stand for and what would your recommendation be?

Any help would be highly appreciated and thanks for taking the time to read !
 
J

JoeLewisPhotography

Senior Member
My opinion, go for the G...its the newest of the 3 and has the built in motor so you can auto focus. I have actually had this lens and its a stellar performer. Here is some info that may help you understand a bit better.

AF - Auto focus.

AF-S - Auto focus-Silent. Uses SWM, Sonic Wave Motor, to focus quietly and faster; similar as Canon's USM, Ultrasonic Motor technology.

ED - Extra-low Dispersion glass. Reduces chromatic aberration.

IF - Internal Focus. Focussing moves only internal lenses, meaning that the lens does not change in length during focussing.

DX - Lens designed for Nikon's DX format sensors; the image circle is reduced in size by 1.5× to fit the smaller sensor in Nikon's digital SLRs. A circular image is produced if used with a 35mm camera.

VR - Vibration Reduction. Uses special VR lens unit to reduce camera shake evident in photographs. Some VR lenses also support panning shot mode, detecting the horizontal movement of the lens and minimizing the vertical vibration. Equivalent to Canon's IS (Image Stabilizer) and Minolta's AS (Anti-shake, although this is embedded into the body of the camera).

D - Distance/Dimension. Indicated after the f-stop number. It means that the lens is capable using of Nikon's RGB Matrix Metering. The lens carries the information of the distance between the camera and the subject.

G - Indicated after the f-number, and tells that the lens does not have an aperture ring, but instead that aperture value is controlled by the body. Since the body needs to control the lens aperture, these type lenses only work with automatic bodies. It has the same characteristics with the D lens.

Micro - Indicates that the lens is capable of photomacrography - photographing small subjects at short distances.
 
M

mulloar

New member
@joelewis
Thanks for the the reply! It has definitely cleared things out. I will head to the shop again and see if they let me try on different lenses. ( one thing that's great about Japan is the fact they use fully working cameras in electronic stores and not dummies )
 
G

gqtuazon

Gear Head
D3200 with a 35mm f1.8G prime lens will give you a normal field of view on a DX. Add a Nikon SB 700 flash to compliment your equipment. You can probably add the 28mm f1.8G and 85mm f1.8G and you will be good to go. Add extra eneloop AA batteries while you are in Japan for the flash.

Forget the f1.4 since the f1.8G are pretty sharp and cheaper IMO.

BIC camera should also have them.
 
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