NIKON 50mm/f-1.4 D-series

Rating:
Summary: Fast, fast, fast.
Review: Bought this lens at B&H while I was in New York over New Year's. I've had it about a week now, and it was the best 200 bucks I've spent on my D70. The shots I got from inside St. Patrick's Cathedral handheld, with no flash handheld were worth the price ALONE. Great Bokeh, fast AF, and of course, that beautiful 1.4 aperture setting. Can't beat it.

Rating:
Summary: Old but still Useful
Review: I have had my 50mm Nikon AF 1.4 lens for 20 years. It worked on my Nikon N-4004 until I bought a Coolpix 5700, it slept for two years, and it woke up when I got my D-100 digital SLR six months ago. If you are a candid and available light photographer, and you can live with a very fast 75mm field of view, you will get a lot of shots that others will miss. The color rendition and sharpness of focus are perfect for digital use. With a good editing program you will work miracles. Zoom lenses are great, but the tried and true, fixed and fast 50 mm f-1.4 will outlast them all!

Rating:
Summary: *Very* fast, but consider the f/1.8
Review: I've been using this lens extensively with my D70. It lets me shoot without a flash in low-light situations where other photographers are complaining about not even being able to focus. I'm often able to even turn off the autofocus light, which allows for very natural pictures: the subject isn't hit with an anti-redeye flash or focusing beam, so they don't flinch and change expression. It produces excellent portraits, with the background artistically blurred.

Are there shots that I've gotten with this lens that I couldn't have gotten with the ($99) 50/1.8? Yes, a few. Most of them were from weddings (indoor, flash inappropriate, motion), or at night with no light sources within 20ft. For the vast majority of my pictures, though, the slower lens would have been more than adequate (even in dim light, I'm often shooting at f/2-f/4). If I had to choose between the two today, I'd probably get the cheaper lens.

Rating:
Summary: Classic and fast lens, great for film bodies
Review: The legendary Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 D lens is *the* normal lens to get for a film Nikon body. You just can't get faster than this, plus its superb optics has impressed photographers since 1962. (The D version came about in the 90s.) If you have a film body, this is pretty much a must-have.

Unfortunately for us digital shooters, the 50mm translates into a focal length of 75mm, beyond the normal focal range. While this is not bad for portraiture -- a little bit of telephoto often flatters the subject -- if you (like me) wanted a real normal lens, this is not it. You'd have to make do with the 35mm f/2 D lens, which is of course one full stop slower.

Rating:
Summary: 50/1.4D
Review: Typical Nikon quality. Clear, sharp, easy to use. Great basic lens that gathers a lot of light. I always have it in my camera bag.

Rating:
Summary: 50/1.4D
Review: Typical Nikon quality. Clear, sharp, easy to use. Great basic lens that gathers a lot of light. I always have it in my camera bag.