Nikon 50mm f1.4 : which one ?

larsr · Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Posts: 272 Location: Helsinki, Finland

Chris, I don't know what ticked you off - I was striking a conversation, not flamebaiting. Moving onto PM..

DikkieDick · Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 8:37 am Post subject:

Nice to read. Somebody not far from my home has a Nikon 50:1.4 for sale. Mailed him already. It's an AI-converted one. Highest bid currently € 35,-- (yesterday I saw 50, but those might have withdrawn them). It's not in perfect condition, which I actually don't expect from a 37 year old lens: http://link.marktplaats.nl/318796515

According to what I read above the lens seems to be quite soft wide open, but I would like a nice DOF for portraits. Maybe I should give it a try, but seller wanted to wait until the end of the weekend with respect to bidding. Then I'll decide after the weekend. Don't want to spend more than 40 euro's actually on an 'old' lens. Wink

NikonD · Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 1922 Location: Slovenija

hooked again.... just bought a Nikkor SC 50/1.4 converted with AI kit in near new condition for 129€... Laughing

spiralcity · Joined: 02 Oct 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Chicago, U.S.A

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

Since 50mm is my favorite focal length and I'm a Nikon system user, I thought I'd share my view on how I rate all the 50mm lenses that I own (or have owned). Feel free to agree or disagree, this is a heated subject and everyone has a personal favorite.

Top 4 I have bought (and use a lot because I like what I see)

Nikkor 50/1.4 Ai-S - top position if detail and 3D is the preference. My copy is the Japan only -version made after it was discontinued globally. Lens version has serial range 600xxxx

Nikkor 50/1.4G AF-S - top position if usability in low light is the preference. Very very nice bokeh, if not the best then at least in the top 3 bokeh 50-so lenses (50/1.2 Ai-S, 50/1.4G AF-S, Nokton 58/1.4)

Voigtländer SL II 58/1.4 Nokton - enjoys the benefit of being narrower perspective, but nevertheless: well corrected, beautiful bokeh followed up with exquisite build quality and handling feel.

EDITED/UPDATEDTopcon Auto-Topcor 58/1.4 limited version in Nikon mount, Cosina manufactured 800 copies of this lens. Don't pay the 1200 to 1700 EUR eBay sellers ask for this rare lens - it is optically identical with the Voigtländer SL II 58/1.4 Nokton which you can buy for about 300 EUR on eBay!!!

Nikkor 50/1.2 Ai-S - top position if bokeh and fingerprint is the preference. Performance declines close-up though, and wide open is modest but useable - saved by the fact that immediately at f/2 it is excellent. My copy is Japan only version, manufactured after it was officially discontinued (lens serial range is 400xxx )

EDITED/UPDATEDIf Noct-Nikkor 58/1.2 Ai or Ai-S lenses were available on eBay for the same prices that the 50/1.2 Ai/Ai-S fetches, it would definitely place itself in the top 5. However, given the outrageously inflated aftermarket price of 1500 to 2500 EUR, it won't even fit the top 10. It's a good lens with wonderful bokeh, but if you scroll down you'll see that it's far from the Holy Grail and certainly not performing for more than 300-400 EUR worth lenses.

Bubbling below the Top 4

Nikkor 50/1.4D AF - great overall performer but wide open or f/2 not as good as 50/1.4 Ai-S or 50/1.4G AF-S. Bokeh highlights are polygons, G-series makes bokeh balls out of highlights.

Zeiss Planar T* 50/1.4 ZF - so sad that razor-sharp detail is ruined by restless harsh-edged bokeh and optics which are unsatisfyingly corrected for CA. I'm a big ZF fan and thus biased, which makes the disappointment even harder to take.

Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50/2 ZF - At the loss of one f-stop you get better detail and no CA, as compared to the Planar T* 50/1.4 ZF. Top performer, I would place it in Top 5 if it were not one f-stop slower.

Nikkor 50/1.4F - Ai-converted. f/1.4 to f/2 good only for web pics (if lucky), then suddenly at f/2.8 it is a top performer? Don't buy if you're shooting wide open or f/2.

Nikkor 50/2 Ai - unsatisfying corner performance when compared with other choices. Not a bad lens, but just not as good as the other Nikkor 50's available (discontinued or new).

Nikon 50/1.8E "pancake" flat. Tried it a few times, never felt a need to buy it. Worse build quality than Nikkors, kind of kills the idea of buying it when same (or better) performing better built 50's available at almost same price. Nikon-E users swear to its image quality, likely because low price = lower expectations.

Nikkor 50/1.8 Ai-S - for shooting only wide open this is a good choice, but the dimensionality in images as well as bokeh (especially highlights) is not au par with other versions available.

Nikkor 50/1.8D AF - flimsy plastic thing which never has appealed to me, build quality worse than cheap kit lens.

Nikkor 55/1.2 F - down right awful CA and most geometric distortion of any Nikkor 50-so I have used. Not a bad lens when compared to many but in this competition you need at least some area to shine in.

Arninetyes · Expire: 2013-03-26

Ihmemies · Joined: 25 Oct 2010 Posts: 3

Yes.. definitely never shoot images with soft lenses, always use the best and most expensive glass available. Also remember to use 1/1000-1/2000 shutter speeds if you absolutely must shoot handheld with a 50mm, otherwise a tripod is mandatory to exact all the sharpness.

Honestly.. when I first time see a 35mm picture which would have been better if shot on bleeding edge glass, I start caring about sharpness ಠ_ಠ

gaeger · Expire: 2021-03-09

I just picked up a Nikkor-S f1.4 in absolutely beautiful condition. It's the fastest lens I've ever had. Here are a couple of shots this afternoon with an F2, wide open, plain old Kodacolor 200 with dismal Walgreen scan.

By the way, I have a Series E 50, and I'd rate it pretty sharp -- not to mention compact!

keyser1884 · Joined: 05 Dec 2010 Posts: 14

My father in law lent me his non-Ai Nikkor-S.C. f/1.4 and I have to say I was a little dissapointed with the quality compared to the Pentax-M 1.4 that I have as a comparison. The Pentax was smaller, lighter and sharper. I'm aware that the 'M' lens wasn't the best 50mm f/1.4 Pentax produced either.

I would guess (but have no comparison to prove this) that the newer 50's from Nikon would probably give better performance. In the Nikkors defence, I thought the pictures gave a rare 'vintage' look, whereas the Pentaxs of the late 70's look thoroughly modern.

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

William · Joined: 26 Nov 2009 Posts: 489 Location: London

Arninetyes · Expire: 2013-03-26

BenediktW · Joined: 24 Jan 2008 Posts: 336 Location: Solingen, Germany

I have tried the Nikkor-S which was beatuifully built, dreamy and nicely saturated, but not overly sharp.

Then I bought a 50mm F2 Ai, which is one of the best lenses I know. Often overlooked, but very sharp, great colours, wonderful Bokeh. I will never sell it.

As an addition, I bought a AF 50mm F1,4D, which is a good lens, and comes in handy for many snapshot purposes, but for slow photography I prefer the F2.

rthomas · Joined: 23 Jan 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Charlotte, NC

My first post here... I stumbled across this forum while searching for info on an older Kalimar(?) lens that is currently on a FedEx truck headed my way...

My main application for a fast fifty these days is on a DX body shooting live music. I happen to own the manual focus Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI, and it is now my favorite of all the normal lenses I've ever used in 25 years of photography (supplanting the 50mm f/1.8 AI). I just got it a few months ago to replace my battered AF-D version which I didn't like that much; I don't care for the feel of AF lens focus rings and for what I do manual focus is more accurate. However, I must say that the AF version held up very well to two weeks of abuse in the Costa Rican rainforest, including drying out under a heat lamp on one occasion! Both are a little soft wide-open.

Other normal-range lenses I've used:
Nikkor-S non-AI 55/1.2 (OK when you need the speed, not great)
Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 (OK, didn't like the build quality - supposedly the AF version has the same optics but my AF 1.8 seemed sharper)
Nikkor-H non-AI 50mm f/2 (very good overall, my first lens)
Nikkor AI 50mm f/1.8 (a very nice lens even wide open)
Pentax Super-Takumar 55mm f/1.8 (love it, I've owned two... I've never used the older 55mm f/2 version I also have, it came with my S2 Super)

Andrew G. · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 159 Location: Pennsylvania, USA

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Yes, that's the one. The 50mm FL never excited me though Barnack thought it ideal. At 50, my 24-70 works rather well and the 50/1.2 works rather provocatively, in other words, artistically. The bokeh and sharpness is stellar at f/2, to my eye superior to my old 50/1.4 but again, your sample may be a newer version than I had..

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

Stop them down to f/4 and f/5.6 and differences are mathematically very small.

Wide open to f/2 you will see differences, and at f/2.8 dimensionality in images decides which lens I favor. The 50mm lenses are so many, and mostly so inexpensive that one needs to find out by oneself which best suits your preferences. Best of all, they're always in high demand so if you buy one used you can always get rid of it without loss of money.

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

When I did my Big 50mm Side By Side Comparison Laughing

I didn't have access to a Noct 58/1.2, all those other lenses I shot with comparable test sequence. I later tested one Noct that I at the time was considering buying.

I decided against buying the Noct because I could not find performance justifying the price. It suffers less from coma wide open than the other 50 1.2/1.4 lenses lenses, but regardless of what Ken Rockwell claims it's not sharpest at f/1.2 and it certainly is not even a lot better wide open than other fifties. Biggest surprise to me was Noct didn't improve as much as the others when stopped down to f/2. Detail was in fact clearly less at f/2 than for instance Nikkor 50/1.2, and it was slightly behind in detail also at f/2.8. Stopped down to f/4 and f/5.6 they're all very very close to each other in an lpm test.

Sample variation? No, I ruled that out after testing another Noct a colleague of mine owns. Disappointing? Yes, as much as the Leitax-converted Summilux-R 50/1.4 that I tried, definitely not worth its price.

Biggest justification (if such exists) for overpaying for a Noct is in my opinion the bokeh which is very nice (not just the bokeh balls ie. highlights but the generally pleasing and smooth drawing of out-of-focus areas). It's as beautiful as the bokeh of the 58/1.4 Nokton and 50/1.2 Ai-S Nikkor. Other than that, the cult of the Noct-Nikkor and rarity are responsible for the inflated price it sells for.

I think I have four Nikkor 50/1.8's, I know I have two 50/1.4's, and I have three Nikkor 50/1.2 Ai & Ai-S lenses. Some photographers complain about dud samples, which certainly may be true with old lenses that require CLA. The copies I have are so identical in comparisons that I've decided not to waste more time with boring and time-consuming test chart shoots. Besides, the type of work I do with 50mm lenses makes lpm tests useless, clients never complain about too little skin detail in images but they regularly praise the beautiful look and fingerprint in photos. The Nikkor 50/1.4 Ai-S for instance has some of the nicest 3D one can hope for.

edited/updated This by the way may be interesting to anyone considering buying a Noct 58/1.2 (not my test, but these results seem very accurate when I compare to my own experience with these lenses)

mastazeko · Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Posts: 128 Location: Domžale, Slovenia

Nice review Vilhelm. Do you have some real life samples? Last week I saw one thread on dpreview with Noct picture and I thought it was amazing. Maybe it's because it's B&W.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1030&message=38304701&q=noct&qf=m

By that chart you posted, things aren't looking good for Noct Laughing

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

I don't own the Noct-Nikkor so I have no samples to share of "real use". There's plenty available on Flickr though: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=%2258mm%20f/1.2%22

No superfast (f/1.2 or brighter) lens looks excellent wide open, and they all improve stopped down (some more, some less). It doesn't really matter that they don't draw as many lines per millimeter as other lenses, because if replicating charts is the task then the choice is distortion-free macro lens which paints superb detail in close-ups. The Noct Nikkor 58/1.2 was created in the mid 1970s so that one could use slow film (ISO 100) to shoot at night. It features an aspherical element to reduce sagittal coma flare at widest aperture.

For technical image quality at f/1.2 the Noct is slightly better (but still better) than any other f/1.2 lens in Nikon mount. Wide open, center detail is acceptable (or good, but not very good or excellent).

For shooting at f/2 or f/2.8 there are several F-mount 50mm lenses which give better detail than the Noct, and while the bokeh and fingerprint is very nice there are cheaper F-mount fifties which paint just as nice images. This is exactly the reason why I have long ago decided that I won't pay more for a Noct-Nikkor 58/1.2 than I would pay for a Nikkor 50/1.2 Ai-S... making it quite likely I will never own a Noct Laughing

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Thanks for your extraordinarily comprehensive response!

I have been debating about getting the CV 58/1,4 which I know you particularly like. I already have a Nikkor 50/1.2 AIS; besides the obvious differences in FL and speed, how do you feel they differ most? And is the difference significant enough to warrant the addition? I was also tempted by the CV40/2 and am debating...

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

No effort, 50mm F-mount lenses is my favorite subject Very Happy

The Voigtländer 40/2 pancake I shot a pre-production version long time ago, it was scaringly sharp and outresolved the sensor already at f/4. It is a refreshing lens as opposed to the 20/3.5 which was a disappointment in many areas.

How does the Voigtländer SL II 58/1.4 Nokton differ from the Nikkor 50/1.2 Ai-S?

- Nokton gives more detail and is better corrected for CA, both thanks to longer focal length and smaller aperture (and 30 years of progress in lens production)
- Nokton has less geometric distortion than Nikkor
- the Nokton is a modern child with more microcontrast and vividness in RAW files
- build quality on both is excellent (same quality feel as that of my Planar 85/1.4 ZF)
- both have very nice bokeh and are favorites of mine, lens choice would depend on task at hand

I can send some RAW files with the Nokton for you if you're interested, here's a bunch of JPEGs in original size
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/sets/72157623909265409/with/5514871533/

Difference to 50/1.2 Ai/Ai-S significant enough to warrant adding the Nokton to your bag? Only you yourself can answer that question Smile