NIKON GLASS: Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.4D

(Tested with D300 & D700)

If you are a newcomer to digital photography, then you are probably used to shooting at f/8 which means that you will be pleasantly surprised when you first use this little gem. The first thing you'll notice is that your camera will suddenly feel so much lighter and easier to handle - compared to your average zoom - then when you look through the viewfinder you will be surprised by the bright and clear view. But you'll be most surprised by the results themselves. Shoot wide open or at f/2 and the smooth and creamy OOF (out of focus) areas will encapsulate your mind. After this first experience I’m sure you will fall in love with fast lenses and a new window of creative opportunity will develop. The main reason to have a fast lens (eg: with a max aperture of f/1.4) in your kit is to provide you with acceptable shutter speeds under difficult low lighting conditions so you could become more mobile and work without the use of a tripod. The second reason is to have access to isolation capabilities! ... to be able to isolate your main subject from the background.

Compared to the AF 50mm f/1.8

Choosing between the two 50’s, the AF 50mm f/1.4D is clearly the better choice when shopping for a “fast” lens since its peak performance is between wide open and f/4. Beyond f/4 and the performance is acceptable. I say this because when compared, the slower f/1.8 lens performs better from f/4 onwards producing excellent results. In the other direction, from f/4 to wide open the slower fifty does not provide the same exciting results as its faster brother. So there’s definitely a difference of character between the two lenses. One is for shooting dramatic stand-out shots close to wide open and the other excels at shooting everyday stuff utilising most of the available apertures from f/4 to f/16.

Description

The D version was introduced in early 1995. The only difference being the added chip for better flash exposure. The AF 50mm f/1.4 (D or not) is ideal for low lighting conditions since the f/1.4 aperture is perfectly usable as long as you have utilized the Fine Tune feature of your camera. (D300, D700 & D3 onwards)

Mounted on a normal body such as the D300 or D700, the combination is small and lightweight and a pleasure to handle - add a battery pack or mount it on a Pro body such as the D3 and the lens practically disappears! Manual focusing can be a problem. The looseness of the narrow focusing grip isn’t a pleasure to use and nailing sharp focus manually is usually a hit and miss affair, especially when shooting wide open. This lens is designed for AF and it shows, by being both fast and accurate (as long asyou have utilized the "AF Fine Tune feature of the camera). If you want to focus manually, do not buy this lens! Look for a AIS 50mm f/1.4 lens instead. The build quality is similar to most of the AF screwdriver prime lenses of the nineties: they feel cheap, but in practice have proven after all these years that they are actually quite rugged and can take a beating.

Optical performance

On a DX body, the field of view is equivalent to a 75mm optic and you get the benefits of less vignetting and overall better performance. Between the magical shooting range of f/1.4 and f/2.5 the lens is very sharp in the centre and progressively softens towards the edges of the frame. As you close the aperture, the field of sharpness stretches to the boundaries of the frame. Once you come accustomed to the shallow depth of field and the centre sharpness growth from closing down, then you can utilize this lens to its fullest.

Sharpness

f/1.4 – f/1.8: Sharp but due to very shallow DOF focusing becomes very critical. Place subject in center since sharpness is limited to the center of frame. Contrast may be low but fixable.
f/1.8 – f/2.5: Results are much better with sharpness covering a larger part of the frame and a good boost in contrast. This is my preferred range since I like the amount of DOF here and the bokeh.
f/2.5 – f/4: the best performance is in this range but the DOF is starting to affect the background.
f/4 – f/11: Very good, but the cheaper AF 50mm f/1.8 lens performs better.
f/11-f/16: Best avoided due to diffraction

Chromatic aberrations

Thankfully the optical construction of the AF 50mm f/1.4 lens was designed such that the CA’s are at their least near wide open. This is another reason why from f/4 onwards the cheaper lens performs better. In some cases blue fringing at high contrast transitions are visible but in most cases this is not a problem. The D300 and D3 combined with Capture NX help to remove most traces automatically.

Vignetting

There is some light fall off around the edges of the frame that is quite noticeable on the FX format up until f/4. On the DX format its noticeable up until about f/2 and gone by f/2.8.

Distortion

No distortion is noticeable unless you shoot a brick wall. In such a case, some minor barrel distortion is visible but nothing to worry about.

Color
The color rendition of this lens is neutral to cool, with a greenish tinge.

Bokeh

Apart from the speed and the isolation capability, this lens can provide very nice bokeh from wide open to about f/2.2 even though the lens only has seven aperture blades that aren’t even rounded though they do provide a strange curved “smoothness” up until f/2.5. From then onwards, the bokeh can be described as being a little bit harsher though still quite good, but this depends a lot on factors such as subject, lighting and distance. High lights in the OOF areas can show the 7 diaphragm blades instead of a circle especially after f/2.8 when the blades are more sharply pronounced (see below). Once you get to know the lens, you may find yourself trying to avoid spectral highlights in the OOF areas of the frame. Generally speaking the bokeh and the smooth gradual rendering of the OOF fields are very good up until f/2.5.

The optics consist of 7 elements in 6 groups and only has 7 aperture blades.
The min focusing distance is 45 cm and it weighs 230g.

Flare

Flare and ghosting can be a problem with this lens if you are not careful, but generally, this lens does OK. It does flare, so generally you will want to try and avoid pointing the lens towards the sun and other strong light sources. In these situations remove any filters you may have attached since a filter will only add to the problem and make sure your front element is squeaky clean. I also recommend the HR-2 hood or a rubber hood to help in the flare department and would recommend against the use of filters if possible.

Coma
There is some coma wide open but from f/2.8 onwards, spots of light are rendered round.

AF

Even though the lens uses the old screwdriver mechanism to drive the focusing, it’s fast, precise and generally very good to excellent. I should also mention that it's also a bit noisy compared to new silent wave technology especially if you have an older worn out copy. The drawback to this design is that you are forced to switch focusing modes via the selector on the body every time you want to switch, but i don't think many users will want to focus manually too often with this lens anyway. To those who care the inner barrel extends a little when focusing close and it doesn't rotate when focusing. It takes 52mm filters and the f/mount is chrome plated brass just like most Nikkor’s I have seen. (see below).

Last words

This versatile and compact lens can produce some amazing results, especially on the D700. Once you have fine tuned your AF, this lens will give you constantly sharp results wide open. My prefered aperture is f/2. The Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.4D is compact, light, fast focusing, sharp with very pleasing bokeh and doesn't cost an arm and a leg! This is a must-have lens for any camera bag!