Nikon 50mm f1.4G AFS announced

About time...

 

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0809/08092201nikkor_50mm_1_4glens.asp

Yeap!

http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/jpn/whatsnew/2008/0922_afs50_01.htm

 

Now we need an AF-S 85 f1.4G

By the way, in Japan it has the same retail price as the Sigma 63,000 Yen but it seems the stores are giving a better price

for the Nikon 53.500 Yen than for the Sigma 56.700 Yen. I think that is strange.

What's more it's not just a repackaged version of the screwdriver version; there's an extra lens element. Filter size is up from 52 to 58 mm too.

 

Nikon UK say it's an IF design while dpreview say all lens elements move during focusing - odd.

The issue here is its performance wide open. With eight elements and a modern design it could be on pair with the very best 50s, we will see (I`m thinking on the Summicron-M asph....).

> "Nikon UK say it's an IF design ..."

 

No mention of IF at Nikon Global, which would indicate to me it is NOT an IF design (which make little to no sense for a small normal prime anyway).

 

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/lens/af/normal/af-s_50mmf_14g/index.htm

Direct quote from Nikon Global product page:<br><i>

 

"Although all lens groups shift during focusing, the lens barrel length does not change"</i><P>

So it's not an IF design, although I guess you could say focusing takes place "internally". :-)

Hmmmm....58mm filter size.

 

 

One wonders why the 45mm f2.8 P Nikkor size could not be 'enlarged' a bit for the AF-S 50mm f1.4 lens design? Perhaps larger makes the price feel better?

Looks good. It'll be interesting t see some test reports. The current 50/1.4 is a very fine lens, and if this AFS 50 is even better, wow!

This I am sure is a dumb question, but what does the "G" refer to.

Also I have the Sigma 30mm 1.4 HSM that I keep on my D40 almost all of the time, would this be a good addition to have as a prime or would moving up to an 85MM be better. I will be putting these to use on a D90, soon I hope.

 

Thanks,

Phil B

Benton, KY

Phil.... G is the designation that Nikon uses for lenses without an aperture ring!

 

I noticed that neither sites mention any ED glass. I was also expecting on Nikon new lenses some Nano coating glass but

this one seems not to have any. Is there a reason why they wouldn't use Nano coating for a prime?

 

Looks like a nice Xmas present anyway! :) Rene'

What this means to some of us: I was planning to upgrade from my D40 (my learning model). I was thinking D80 all the way -- even when the D90 came out, and the only reason for going that way would be the autofocusing capability with fast prime lenses. This new lens means I can go D60 instead -- keeping the compact feel I like so much about my D40.

 

Will

According to Nikon, nano coating cannot be used in the consumer lens manufacturing process. Apparently the 'bots

are a little rough in the assembly and the new coating isn't durable enough for this. Or this is what I gathered

from an interview I read.

 

If the new 50 were partly assembled by hand, then I would expect a significant price increase. The 50s aren't

that prone to ghosting so benefits would be small. The same may be true of the ED glass; at least the 50/1.8 has

incredible detail from f/2.5 to smaller apertures, little color fringing and has no ED glass. While some benefit

would result at wide apertures from adding ED to the 50/1.4, the result might not conform to the price that

Nikon thinks a mass market 50 can be expected to sell

for.

 

Anyway, I am not sure I need this. I would be happy to see a 28 and a 35 with AF-S and improved optics. My 50s

are great as they are.

At least to me, the good news is that this is merely the first indication of more AF-S primes below 100mm will be added. I would assume that it'll spread to a 85mm and perhaps 35 and 24mm AF-S lenses. It is priced to much higher than the AF-D version of the 50mm/f1.4, at least initially, but it is indeed odd that it seems to be cheaper than the Sigma. In other words, the price for the Sigma has to drop. Compare other 50mm/f1.4 prices at B&H:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=search&A=search&Q=&ci=0&sb=ps&sq=desc&sortDrop=Relevance&ac=&bsi=&bhs=t&shs=Nikon+50mm+f1.4&ci=8456&basicSubmit=Submit+Query

 

I find the 58mm filter size very odd (not odd for Canon but odd for Nikon).

Great! I hope this will also bring the price of the Sigma 50 1.4 down. It will be interesting to see the comparison. Hopefully this will mean more AFS primes to come soon!

This is by definition an IF lens. The question is whether it also has a floating element design. There have been several threads on the Canon FD forum concerning the design of the current 50/1.4 Canon EF lens and whether it is significantly different from the last 50/1.4 FD model. With Leica having redesigned both its 50/1.4 M and R lenses and with Zeiss redesigning its 50/1.4 (now also in EF mount) it will be interesting to see whether Canon will introduce a new 50/1.4 EF.

Jeff, Nikon's web page says: "Although all lens groups shift during focusing, the lens barrel length does not change". All groups move => not an IF lens, period.

> "This is by definition an IF lens."

 

The info at Nikon Global infers that the entire optical group moves as a unit. That's focusing by extension (the only difference here is this apparently takes place within a fixed outer sleeve, much like the AF 80~200/2.8 D ED). There are no icons shown on the product page to indicate internal focusing [iF] or floating elements [CRC].<div></div>

This is good news if for no other reason than it makes us hopeful of more AFS short lenses as Shun has indicated.

I'd buy a new, great performing 24mm f2 AFS the day it became available. Ditto a 35mm 1.4.

 

A new 50 might be tempting, IF it performs well at f1.4 and f2, IF being 2/3 of a stop faster than the 1.8 is important,

if 50mm is a preferred FL, IF the $ difference is insignificant (to the buyer), IF your camera body needs AFS. Could it

perform better from 2.8 to f8 than the 50mm 1.8? That WOULD be impressive!

 

Regarding filter size...yes, 58mm rather than 52 is startling on a 50mm Nikkor but strikes me as a wise choice for a

1.4.

I hope that the info on dpreview is correct, since IF is a big no-no for me in this focal length. What this boils down is really its optical performance for me to consider it and I'm quite skeptical about the claimed good bokeh. The size and price are a bit larger than the predecessor's, not having an aperture ring is a mild annoyance, but having an 58 mm filter size is downright weird. Does Nikon now feel the need to copy German lens manufacturers?-)

 

I would be more interested to see modern, high-performance, small and light wideangles, but improving the 50 is not bad.

If you go to the specs page on Nikon's USA site, it states explicitly that this is _not_ an IF lens:

 

http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Camera-Lenses/2180/AF-NIKKOR-50mm-f/1.4G.html

 

BTW, I think that it is great and all that we now have a 50mm with AF-S and updated optics. A boon for some

D40/D60 owners. But I'm curious about the price point. That is, owners of prosumer bodies may not flinch at the

notion of a ~ $400 normal prime as many are willing / used to paying money for high-end optics that are on par

with the cost of their camera bodies. Relatively speaking, the cost of the new 50mm will be palatable.

Rhetorical question: do many of you out there think that a lot of D40/D60 owners are of the same mindset?

Scott, I am of that mindset, but I recognize that I might be in the minority of American DSLR users who think that way. The key word there may be "American." When I worked for a couple of other Japanese camera makers back "in the day" I was always amazed at the things that turned on Japanese or European camera buyers that didn't mean diddly to the American buyers. I'm hinting that maybe Nikon will sell a boatload of the new primes to D40/40X/60 users in Japan, but only a smattering in the U.S.

 

Will

This lens looks interesting- I shoot with Canon, but was told there are adapters that can be used on a Canon EOS body, with Nikkor lenses. Is this true?

Brian, yes it is true but I have only seen rumors of an adapter to allow use of Nikon G-type F mount Nikkor lenses on Canon D-SLR bodies.

 

Like nearly all Canon EF mount lenses Nikon G-type lenses use a control wheel on the body to control aperture selection. The Nikon F mount lenses : AF-D, Af, AI-S, Ai etc. can be used via adapters on Canon EOS bodies. I've got two of those adapters in fact which allow me to use my sparse collection of Nikon AI-S lenses on My Canon EOS bodies. No auto focusing obviously and you have to manually stop down the lens but they do work.

I am extremely hopeful about an 85mm afs lens. I hope they don't make it only in the 1.4, though I suspect they will. My 50 focuses more than fast enough on my d300 (faster would be better, but I'm find with its performance). The price of an 85 1.4 AFS...that would be a lot.