Please, humor me... Nikon 50mm f1.4 on D700

I just won a nicely kept version of this lens for less than $270 in the auction site. It's going to work on my

D700, though it may find useful service in my film bodies (F100 and F5).

 

The lens is in very good shape, MIB and ready to go. I wasn't planning this purchase, I simply felt like bidding

and could have bet I was going to have it sniped.

 

This is my second 50mm. My first was an f1.8, and the first thing I did with it was photograph my wife with our

cat with my F80 and my SB-28 (kinda dumb... what are fast lenses for but to use with available light?). Now, I

won't do that... but then, I'm at loss.

 

If you have this lens, what did you use it for when it came out of the box?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

PS. I sold that 50mm lens. It was good, it was nice, but I wasn't too interested in fast primes back then...

<p>Francisco, I haven't owned a Nikon 50mm f/1.4 (a 1.8 currently, and a few f/1.2 previously). I too bought one for about $114 in mint shape on fleabay about two months ago and am having a blast with it. It is very sharp. Bokeh can be flighty with specular highlights, but is normally very beautiful, along with very sharp details in the areas in focus. I am very impressed with it, plus you have the AIS build quality. I love shooting manual lenses on my D200, 300 and 700. I'll see if I can find a sample to accompany this post. Have fun with it.</p><div></div>

<p>And some bokeh. Whoo, okay, this is some of that bad bokeh, but I find the lens making me shoot some very ethereal shots.</p><div></div>

I have a nicely red wall on the side of the house... but nothing casting a shadow like your tree. Thanks for the idea, but more so for the second shot. It is really ethereal...

<p>"If you have this lens, what did you use it for when it came out of the box? "</p>

<p>I would look at the serial number and refer to Roland Vink's website to check out when it was made. (lol)</p>

<p>Seriously, I wish you would enjoy your lens which is known to be a great performer.</p>

<p>Back in the day with my first Nikon (F2) the 50mm f1.4 was my only lens for a couple of years. It did everything for me.<br>

Explore. Wind it to closest focus and find things to shoot. Set it to infinity and find things to shoot. Shoot it for a while at f1.4. Then at f16. This is cheaper with digital than with film so go for it. Don't chimp - check out the images later on a computer screen. The big thing is to find things to shoot. Take a few days with nothing else on the camera. Want a wide angle - step back. Want a tele - get in close. Want a micro - reverse it. Check out the impression you get from the things that are out of focus (bokeh). You will find there are shots from that few days work that you couldn't have got with any other lens or zoom. Enjoy.</p>

<p>My most used combination... D700 + 50mm lens. The perfect kit for "casual" shooting. My weekender set-up. In this time of slowish plastic zooms and huge pro lenses I`ve become a "standard" lens addict. Not so wide, not so long, focus close, fast, sharp or soft to your taste, small, light... what else do we need? :)</p><div></div>

<p>Michael Axel: The berries shot is lovely. Enjoyed the lighting there.</p>

<p>Alvin</p>

<p>OK Fransisco, you got me thinking. 50 1.4 Ais out of box went onto pretty new chrome FM2 with winder and was used to first shoot a horse show at a county fair. Motor broke, body jammed, shipped off to Nikon where they replaced the winder motor with a much faster and more powerful one, apparantly a mod used for sports? It sounded like a Ferrari when it came back. And just for further note, my 50 1.4 AF-D was bought on a Friday evening and put on a N90 to use all day the next day to shoot a hazardous material drill in a train yard at a petro chemical plant for their annual report. That day I used both 50's with the above cameras and shot everything with just the 50. Some great early morning low light train shots with smoke and props, lots of fun. </p>

<p>I have the 50 1.4 AIS, bought it some years ago for my N90s. I used it for low light interior shots while traveling and on vacations. Now, with the low-light capabilities of my D-700, it pretty much stays in the camera bag. But, you and the other contributors have inspired me to get it out and put it into use again.</p>

For a while I had been after the 50mm f1.2 (I was allowed to play with one about a year ago and liked it), so this one looked like a good compromise. Besides, it's smaller than my AF-S 24-70, and faster too, so it should be a good companion for winter shots.

 

I'm going to do as Ross recommended. Even though I'm pretty much stuck in the house (weather), I may have a chance or two to take walks outside the house. Since I almost never chimp (probably because of all my film use I no longer need to see if the photo "turned out"), it should be easy to play with this lens right out of the box.

<p>The 50mm f 1.4 is very sharp at medium f-stops, but its real value to me is in those situations where I want a soft background, and in very low light situations. It was the first lens on my Nikon Ftn and I did a lot of portraits with it. Here's one shot with "living room light" on Plus-X. </p><div></div>

<p>here's one with the D70, wide open at 1600 iso.</p><div></div>

<p>Here's one shot with a D80 and 50mm 1.4 ais at f 2</p><div></div>

<p>At close range wide open, the depth of field is very "thin" as depicted here in this shot of some dried plants on our dining room table. </p><div></div>

<p>I could go on and on hehe. Last one: High iso shot at a wedding</p><div></div>

<p>Ok, one more!</p><div></div>

<p>Can't resist: here' another one on film in the late 60's, window light. My 70's folder is full of 50mm f1.4 shots.</p><div></div>

<p>Oops.</p>

<p>50 f1.2 @ f1.2</p><div></div>

<p><img src="../photo/10327316" alt="" /></p>

<p>I love my 50mm f/1.4 lens, I bought it to take pictures of my son playing basketball, they don't allow flash photography and my 70-200 f/2.8 wasn't good enought.<br>

Bare in mind that even high school gyms don't have good lighting</p><div></div>

<p>The depth of field you can achieve with 50/1.4 is great, too. <br>

Along with the bokeh.<br>

I took a lot of photos with mine on an FM10 just to experiment with the DOF. At close distances, the DOF is very shallow.</p>

<p>Shallowwww.<img src="file:///Users/mknox001/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Originals/2005/photos/41530002.jpg" alt="" /></p><div></div>

Wow... I'm really happy I snatched this lens. I mean happier. Steve, the portraits are a joy to look at, in technique and

subject. <p>

 

The keyboard... I like these type of shots. In fact, I've done my share of them, with candy jars!<p>Here it is: <center>

<a href=" title="Hinsdale-Candy Jars by franciscosl, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/3075868724_7abb4ca058.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Hinsdale-Candy Jars" /></a></center>

<p>In a store in Hinsdale, IL, with my AF-S 24-70 and D700... about a year ago. Time flies...<p>Thanks for the stories and photos!

<p>Wow! Lots of nice photos, everyone! That's a very flexible lens.</p>