Review of Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

According provided by lens Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) huge thanks to the store www.fotika.com.uawhere you can find a huge number of different used photographic equipment, including this model.

Review of Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

Review of Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

All Nikon 50-58 / 1.4 / 1.2 autofocus lenses

  1. Nikon 50mm 1: 1.4 AF Nikkor (first version, MK I) - the lens was produced only in Japan from 1986 to 1991
  2. Nikon 50mm 1: 1.4 AF Nikkor (second version, MK II, also known as the 'N', or the 'NEW' version) - the lens was only available in Japan from 1991 to 1995
  3. Nikon 50mm 1: 1.4D AF Nikkor (third version, MKIIIbetter known as 'D'-version) - the lens is available from 1995 to this day. There are two subversions that are no different.
  4. Nikon 50mm 1: 1.4G AF-S Nikkor SWM (fourth version, MKIVbetter known as 'G' version) - the lens is only available in China from 2008 to this day.
  5. Nikon N AF-S Nikkor 58mm 1: 1.4G Nano Crystal Coat SWM Aspherical (version better known as'58/1.4') - the lens is only available in Japan from 2013 to this day.
  6. Nikon Nikkor Z 58mm 1: 0.95 S Noct - The lens is available from 2019 to this day. Premium Lens for Mirrorless Cameras Nikon Z... It does not have automatic focus, but has a record aperture. Complex optical design with 17 elements in 10 groups, with 4 ED elements and 3 aspherical elements.
  7. Nikon Nikkor Z 50 / 1.2 S - The lens has been produced from 2020 to the present day. Professional S-line lens for mirrorless cameras Nikon Z... Complex optical design with 17 elements in 15 groups, with 2 ED elements and 3 aspherical elements

Fast standard lens, such as Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D - very well suited for working in low light, makes it easy to control depth of field, on Nikon DX cameras (and on Nikon FX) it is often used as portrait lens. It’s convenient with him take off, since due to the large aperture you can work with shorter shutter speeds. It is often said that the Nikon 50 / 1.4D (or a similar lens) is the lens that every photographer should have, his role in photo life is sometimes simply invaluable.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) when focusing on infinity

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) when focusing on infinity

At the moment Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D is considered slightly outdated, and passing the baton of aperture fifty kopecks to its brother - Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) when focusing on MDF

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) when focusing on MDF

The lens has fast auto focus. The instance that I visited on the review has a slight back focus when used on my cameras Nikon D700 и D80 (focuses a little farther than the subject). There is no focus mode switch on the lens body; to put the lens in manual focus mode, switch the camera to manual focus mode using the switch located near the camera mount. The focus ring is rubberized, comfortable enough and rotates 135 degrees. During focusing, the front lens does not rotate, and the trunk of the lens travels forward. During auto focus, the focus ring rotates and cannot be touched.

The lens has a window with a focus distance scale in meters and feet. The minimum focusing distance is 45 cm, and the maximum magnification ratio is 1: 6.8. The depth of field scale is indicated for the values ​​of F / 11 and F / 16, there is also an infrared shift mark.

The lens uses small filters with a diameter of 52 mm, like a whale Nikon 18-55mm 1: 3.5-5.6GII VR II AF-S DX Nikkor... The lens weighs about 260 grams and feels like a solid, well-made product in the hands. On the side of the metal mount there is a black screw that serves as a mark for attaching the lens to the camera. As an option, you can purchase a Nikon HR-2 rubber hood, which is screwed into the thread of the front light filter.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

Auto focus with Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D lens available only when using him on cameras with built-in motor focusing. An exact and complete list of Nikon CZKs that support auto focus with 'AF' lenses can be found in the 'Auto focus on Nikon cameras'. During auto focus, the camera and lens are quite noisy.

The lens has a manual aperture ring. To be able to control the value aperture from camera or for automatic installation aperture on modern central control valves, you need to turn the control ring to F / 16 and fix it with a special lever, which is located to the right of the marks aperture. If this is not done, then on a number of cameras, the display will display an error - 'fEE' (ring is not installed aperture) Some cameras having diaphragm rheostatallow you to control the aperture using the ring aperturebut only in metering modes exposure 'M' and 'A'. You can read more about this issue in the section on Non-G Lenses. Ring aperture rotates with clicks, the values ​​F / 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16 are plotted on it, it is impossible to establish an intermediate value between pairs of numbers.

The lens diaphragm consists of 7 non-rounded petals and with it you can easily get 14 ray stars from strong (hard) light sources. On an open aperture at the edges of the image, the luminous points in the defocus zone turn into limonchiki (see an example) On covered diaphragms, it is easy to obtain nuts in the blur zone (see an example).

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan), rear view

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan), rear view

Nikon has darkness and darkness autofocus fifty dollars and even more manual fifty dollars, and some manual options are still produced, for example - Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.2 AI-S.

Enlightenment and aperture blades Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

Enlightenment and aperture blades Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

Personal impressions:
In fact, after a long use of the lens Nikon 50mm1: 1.8D AF Nikkor not really felt the addition of aperture to the floor of the foot (the difference between F / 1.4 and F / 1.8). Of course, F / 1.4 is better than 1.8, but I still tend to believe that you should not overpay if shooting does not require work with low light.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) and Nikon AF Nikkor 28-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5D

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) and Nikon AF Nikkor 28-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5D

At F / 1.4, the lens is not as sharp as we would like it to be, but it is noticeably chromate. Sharpness in the center of the frame becomes very good at F / 2.0, and at the edges of the frame somewhere at F / 4-5.6. In general, there is nothing unusual in the image quality of the standard fifty kopeck piece. Personally, I didn't like a little that the lens slightly yellows, which can be seen even in the optical viewfinder, perhaps I got such a copy.

Nikon has not updated the optical design of this lens, consisting of 7 elements in 6 groups, for a very long period. This scheme was first implemented in the Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4 (AI) lens back in 1977 and was replaced by a new one, consisting of 8 elements in 7 groups, in the model Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM already in 2008. Apparently, the thirty-year-old production of lenses on such an optical scheme has some serious reasons, of which I personally single out a rather pleasant 'drawing' of the lens.

Also, Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) is one of Nikon's fastest autofocus lenses, as Nikon doesn’t make anything “stronger” for DSLR cameras than f / 1.4. Plus, this kid is the cheapest autofocus lens with F / 1.4 :).

On Nikon DX cameras EGF lens is 75mm.

Here link to the archive with the originals - 562 MB, 31 photos in .NEF format (RAW) from cameras Nikon D700 (FX) and Nikon D80 (DX).

Prices

Real prices for the lens in popular online stores can look at this link, or in the following price block:

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.


Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D on the ZK

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D on the ZK

Results:
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan) is an excellent and very successful fast lens, it will help a novice photographer to understand and learn how to work with depth of field, and a professional to take wonderful photos :).

You can read more information about other autofocus fifty dollars here.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 294, on the topic: Review of Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D (made in Japan)

  • Eugene

    Hello, Arkady.
    I used Carl Zeiss planar 50 1.4 Contax for about a year, but I received an offer for sale, which at that time I could not refuse.
    Probably you have already answered similar questions and yet. There is a choice before 50 1.4D and 50 1.4G.
    I have already reviewed tons of photographs, but I still did not understand on which of them I can get at least a zeiss bokeh, just as plastic in some way even “oily”, if I may say so, slightly twisted bokeh with pronounced circles (depending from the background). Usually they are clearly visible if the middle is translucent, and the edges have distinct outlines. 1.8G seemed to me to be very close in terms of drawing circles, but 1.4 is needed.
    I ask you for help as a person through whose hands both lenses passed. Focusing accuracy is also important. I shoot on film and misses are simply unacceptable.
    PS The camera has a built-in motor.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Nikonovskie 50 / 1,4 will not give such as Zeiss, except that 58 / 1,4 af-s for 2000 cu :)

      • Karina

        Please help, I have a nikon d600 camera a couple of days ago I purchased a nikon 50mm f1.4d lens, I can’t figure out how to shoot in the afternoon. When shooting, the picture becomes too overexposed. Already decreased shutter speed, played with iso, reduced white balance, set different shooting modes all unchanged. Please, help. I really need advice in the settings.

        • Arkady Shapoval

          Yes, just try shooting not at F / 1.4, but slightly cover the aperture :)

        • Andrew

          Since the shutter speed is only 1/4000, you can wind up an ND filter or vario ND filter then you can shoot at sea 1.4 with a lead of up to 1/4000

        • Эндрю

          Karina, you already spend money on a neutral filter and you will not need to clamp the diaphragm.

        • Alexander

          Decreased the white balance…. I'll go drink some valerian.

    • Anton

      Nikonovsky 50 1.8D gives something similar: http://pp.vk.me/c308929/v308929332/b763/zXeTG5O7teM.jpg
      Not oily, but characteristic "bitten" circles.

  • Eugene

    Undoubtedly, they won’t give the same, but I had hopes to get something at least partially reminiscent.

    • Izya Borukhovich, Kremnoye

      Good glasses are sold only by non-native (stupid) children of the photographer.

  • lina

    I ask for help! I was presented with a Nikon D 3000 + Nikon 50mm f / 1.4 AF-D NIKKOR lens. As far as I understood from the review, there will be no autofocus. And I also have such a problem: the aperture is fixed only at the value of F 16. Why so, and should it be so. I am just starting to master this type of camera, but I plan serious further activities. Help me please. Maybe I should change the camera itself or the lens?

    • Lynx

      Read the instructions for the lens / camera.
      In order for the camera to control the aperture on such a lens, you need to set the aperture ring to 16 and click on the lever / slider / button with a white-red / orange mark.
      Otherwise, you need to control the diaphragm manually.

      • anonym

        The fact of the matter is that I read everything, nothing is said anywhere. And the diaphragm is only set at a value of 16, but not at others.

        • Arkady Shapoval

          You are not careful. In the section on the description of the various types of lenses for Nikon https://radojuva.com.ua/2012/03/nikon-lenses/#g-nikon written in black and white, I quote:

          In order to use a non-G type lens in the same way as a G-type lens (control the aperture from the camera), you need to turn the aperture control ring to the maximum value of the F number, usually it is F16, F22, F32 and switch the special lock on the lens.

    • Paul

      There is no built-in motor on the nikon d3000 camera and autofocus will only be with type G cameras.

  • anonym

    Well, yes, I really didn’t notice. Here I re-read the article on choosing a camera. Well, what would you advise about the lens? Is it worth it to change? Or is it better to change the camera altogether? Since I want to not be able to take different pictures. And on Nikon d 3000+ 1.4 d nikkor, I only get portraits well.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      It is recommended to shoot portraits with this lens on Nikon DX class cameras (including D3000), this is its specificity. For “different” shots, you need a common universal lens, for example, I recommend the 18-105 VR, which will perfectly match your camera.

  • anonym

    thanks for the help!

  • Tati

    There is such a lens, while standing on the crop, in principle, it made me happy, but on a full frame it is terrible, the "light soft effect" turned into hellish soap and focus misses became more frequent (((by the way, on a 50mm crop it does not become a portrait photographer, it remains a half-line only cropped, distortion is absolutely The same…

  • Irina

    Hello Arkady. Please tell me, macro photography is possible with this lens ??? I have a D90 camera

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Not possible. Only with macro rings.

      • anonym

        Then you can advise not an expensive lens so that there is macro photography and good portraits are obtained. They just make me feel dizzy ...

        • Arkady Shapoval

          Take advantage of the Nikon 105 1: 2.8G VR N.

          • Irina

            and 10-12 thousand aisles probably not such good?))

  • Gennady

    nikkor 60mm f / 2.8d af micro
    used can be found on average for 9-10 thousand ..

  • Elena S.

    My camera D90 was presented with an AF NIKKOR 50 mm 1.4D lens. Everything worked well, after one change of the lens, I put 50mm again, autofocus does not work ... how to turn it on, tell me ... I'm in sadness ...

    • Lynx

      set the aperture ring to 22, and snap the aperture lock.

  • Nick

    Hello. Tell me if there are significant differences between the Chinese and Japanese versions of the lens?

    • Alexey

      If my memory serves me, then in Japan there was a version without "D". And already updated, "D" -version - only in China. Naturally, it makes sense to buy an updated version. And do not listen to the storytellers-sellers who will fill in about the "Japanese assembly" - there is no difference in quality.

  • Vyacheslav

    As a professional, I want to ask what is the difference between Nikkor AF
    50 / 1,4 and Nikkor AF 50 / 1,4D?

    One says “Nikon Japan”, the other “Made in Japan”.

    What is the difference? Why is that? What is the trick? :-)
    And most importantly, is there any difference in quality?

    They say the manufacturers are still different! I also heard from the numbers they say, like: “take to the number of such and such” ..
    Does this take place? Or a myth?

    You are an advanced person in this matter, and you will be in my
    fallacies of the last resort :-)

    Thank you in advance.

  • Scooter

    I put such a lens in a store for a test on the D90. After the whale Nikkor 18-105 F3.5-5.6, the first thing that caught my eye when looking at the photos was just awful HA in the out-of-focus zone (frigging)! That fundamentally spoiled the first impression of the glass ... Although this particular copy was second-hand, and possibly had some kind of defect, which is why, in fact, it was "handed over" for sale.

  • Maria

    Hello. I am a beginner photographer. Now this is the dilemma. There is a Nikon 35 mm / 1.8 lens and a sigma 18-50 / 2.8 macro. I’m shooting with a d 90 camera. I don’t know if I need to buy more Nikon 50 / 1.4 d? Soon to take a photo shoot with a child in the fresh air in the morning. I want sharpness and a fairly blurred background, if you shoot a child in full growth.

  • anonym

    Maria, for “outdoors” and “blurred background, if you shoot a child in full growth” you need to look at a telephoto camera, for example, 85 1,8d or generally a zoom of 50-200,70-300, there are a lot of reviews on them here.

  • Oleg

    “So, on the Nikon D40, on the beach I managed to shoot only starting from 2.8 without overexposure due to the specifics of the camera” - ND filters to help

  • Alexander D3s

    Good article. Wonderful lens. The pictures are just super.

  • Vladislav

    Thanks for the review!

    There is a small mistake in the caption to the photo “Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D on ZK” where there is a fifty-kopeck piece and a 28-70

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Fixed

  • Dima

    looked ravs, they are all not very sharp, already disappointed

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Well, in the review it is written about the same.

  • Pastor

    And I really liked this fifty dollar. I bought it recently, I compare it with 1.8 and I understand that gain in aperture is sometimes needed. It is quite rare to be able to photograph in good light conditions, especially now, in winter. And 50 1.4 is a great way to overcome the darkness :) Its size is especially pleasing. Now you can take this fifty kopeck piece for the evening promenade and it fits into the pocket of your jacket together with the camera. It's a pity that not all good lenses are so small :) I also noticed the soap on the open, but considering the price and size, I forgave this minus fifty dollars. Moreover, this is not a very blurry picture, the detailing is quite good.

  • Victoria

    Good day!
    Help me please. I have a Nikon d3100. Will this lens fit my camera?

    • anonym

      Only in manual focus mode, i.e. autofocus will NOT be

  • anonym

    Help set up manual focus !!! Nikon D600 Model, AF NIKKOR 50mm 1: 1.4D Lens

    • Lynx

      there is a ring on it. Spinning. twist it and the manual focus is adjusted.

  • R'RёS,R ° F "RёR№

    somewhere with 2.2 everything is fine

  • Andrei

    Arkady. At the same price, Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.8G which one would you prefer? Thank you for your reply.

    • Lynx

      But where did you see the SAME cost for such glasses? O_O

      • Andrei

        on olx. 1.8 is a little expensive)))

        • Lynx

          1,4 and 1.8 ... a little more expensive? well, link to the studio!

          • Andrei

            1.8g is more expensive than 1.4d. d an average of 500 UAH cheaper. 1.4 there are different years of production and not as fresh as 1.8.

        • Lynx

          But without being distracted by the strangeness of prices - 1,4 - more brutal, 1,8 - with a softer pattern and bokeh (the so-called "cream").

          • Andrei

            breaking news?)))

            • Lynx

              this was what comment was for?

              • Andrei

                35g more expensive than 50g

            • Lynx

              and it’s cheaper here.
              However, we can also take 1,4G if you want for 8 thousand.

              • Andrei

                Today I got d7000 along with 50g for 10000 UAH, so I think it's worth changing 50 \ 1.8g to 1.4d

            • Lynx

              Question vkusovschiny, IMHO.

    • Alexey

      Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4D - more accurate color reproduction, worse contrast, medium resolution
      Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.8G - very sharp, contrasting picture, slightly worse in color, accurate and fast AF.
      I would probably buy a second one.
      I didn’t see Nikonov’s fifty dollars without a front back. some models had a strong focus shift. in the service, it seems like the D series is not adjusted, unlike G.

      • BB

        On AF-S 50 / 1.4, the focus is not fast.

        • Jury

          And where does the AF-S 50 / 1.4?

          • BB

            sorry, overlooked that we are talking about 1,8

  • Sergei

    Excellent bokeh, especially in the first and fourth photos in nature .. Doubling in the background is good for treating divergent eyesight. Thank you, the review kept me from buying this lens. Still, the G version is more interesting than the D, if we talk about fifty rubles .. Or Gelik then ...

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English-version of this article https://radojuva.com/en/2011/06/obzor-nikon-50mm-f-1-4d-af-nikkor/comment-page-3/

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