Review of the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM (abbreviated Nikon 50 / 1.4G) is one of Nikon's fastest autofocus lenses. It's classic half a ruble (a lens with a focal length of 50 mm), which is suitable for a huge number of photo tasks, in particular, such a lens can be shot in low light, used as a standard fixed lens on Nikon FX cameras, the lens is suitable for portrait and artistic shooting. With huge aperture F / 1.4 you can create and enjoy the result.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

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

Nikon Nikkor-SC Auto 1: 1.4 f = 50mm and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM

Nikon Nikkor-SC Auto 1: 1.4 f = 50mm and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM

Main technical characteristics of Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM:

Review Instance Name Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM 309536
Basic properties
Front Filter Diameter 58 mm, plastic thread for filters
Focal length 50 mm, EGF for Nikon DX cameras is 75 mm, EGF for Nikon CX cameras is 135 mm
Zoom ratio 1 X (this is a fixed lens, it does not have a zoom)
Designed by for digital and film cameras
Number of aperture blades 9 pieces, petals rounded
Tags focusing distance in meters and feet, depth of field tags for F / 11 and F / 16 values, bayonet mount tag and lens hood attachment / fixation
Diaphragm F / 1.4 to F / 16, without aperture ring.
MDF 0.45 m, maximum magnification ratio 1: 6.7
The weight 280 g
Optical design 8 elements in 7 groups. The lens does not use special optical elements in its design.Nikon 50 1.4g optical designThe image of the circuit is clickable.
Lens hood Replaceable Nikon HB-47 plastic lens hood, lenses use the same lens hood Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.8G SWM Aspherical and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.8G SWM Aspherical Special Edition
Manufacturer country MADE IN CHINA
Period From September 2008 ->
Instruction View ->
Price

The Nikon 50 / 1.4G lens will work great on any Nikon DSLR camera. Among fifty brothersthis Nikon 50 / 1.4G is the best. At one time, he became a replacement for his older brother Nikon 50mm f / 1.4D AF Nikkor... In fact, the Nikon 50 / 1.4G was introduced back in 2008, and I think that soon we will see a fifty-kopeck piece (50mm lens) from Nikon with more serious performance.

Addition: my prediction came true, and in addition to the 'non-professional' Nikon 50 / 1.4G Nikon has released a 'professional' about fifty kopecks Nikon N AF-S Nikkor 58mm 1: 1.4G SWM... Still, it's a shame that Nikon doesn't have professional fifty dollars. At the same time, Canon has two of them - Canon Lens EF 50mm 1: 1.2 L USM and Canon Lens EF 50mm 1: 1.0 L USM.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Focus on Nikon 50 / 1.4G

The Nikon 50 / 1.4G lens will focus on any modern DSLR camera. If you found your camera in genealogy nameplatethen you can rest assured that the Nikon 50 / 1.4G will work great with it. The Nikon 50 / 1.4G has a built-in focusing motor, as indicated by the AF-S designation. When focusing, the lens practically does not make noise, a special Nikon SWM (Silent Wave Motor) ultrasonic motor helps it. After two years of using my Nikon 50mm 1: 1.8D AF Nikkor (MKIII)which makes a lot of noise when focusing, using the new Nikon 50 / 1.4G is a pleasure.

When focusing, the front lens group moves in the middle of the frame of the housing. I can’t say that the lens has internal focus. But when focusing, the lens does not change its size, and the filter is wound on a fixed external part of the lens, which does not rotate when focusing. This type of focusing can also be found in Nikon 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S Nikkor. The minimum focusing distance is 45cm.

In focus mode 'M / A'Automatic focusing with manual focus priority is available. This means that in autofocus mode, the focus can be manually adjusted immediately. The 'M / A' mode is very useful, for example for creating focus trap effect... In 'M' mode, only manual focus is available. The focusing ring is rubberized.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Focus Speed

Nikon 50 / 1.4G one of the lowest fokiroki speeds among all fifty dollars Nikon Nikkor. Focus speed is average. The rest fifty kopecks Nikkon Nikkor, even the oldest Nikon 50mm 1: 1.8 AF Nikkor MKIoutperform the focusing speed of the Nikon 50mm F1.4G. Of course, to say that a low speed will not be right, but I would like a faster reaction of the lens for that kind of money.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Attention! Very often they write that the lens is very fast. This term is applied not so much to the focusing speed, but more to the description of the lens aperture at which shutter is very fast, decreasing the shutter speed. The confusion came from the English Fast Lens (fast "fast" lens).

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

The focus ring is rubberized, in the active position it rotates as much as 180 degrees. Due to the fact that the lens is quite chubby, such a move of the focusing ring is quite enough for comfortable work with manual focusing. During auto focus, the ring remains stationary. In manual focus mode, when the ring reaches its extreme positions, it does not rest, but continues to rotate, slipping, like on many native Nikon lenses.

There is a window on the lens with a scale for focusing distances and a depth of field scale. My Nikon 50mm F1.4G misses focus very rarely, even on F1.4.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Iris control

The lens does not have an aperture control ring, since it is a G-type lens. This fifty dollars is very large aperture F / 1.4, this allows you to achieve a very small depth of field, reduce shutter speed and without raising ISO. This lens is very simple take off... The lens has a 9-blade diaphragm, which is a good indicator. The petals are rounded and give a nice smooth bokeh without nuts or other artifacts.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Compatible with FX and DX cameras

The lens will work perfectly on Nikon FX full-frame cameras. On Nikon DX cameras, due to crop factor, EGF lens will be 75mm. This allows the Nikon AF-S 50mm F/1.4G to be used as a portrait lens on DX cameras without any problems. Rumor has it that Nikon AF-S 50mm F / 1.4G is the best portrait lens for crop, I personally like mine much more for crop portrait Nikon 85mm F / 1.8D AF Nikkor.

Diameter of filter and hood

The lens has a filter diameter of 58 mm. The lens comes with a wonderful hood and pouch bag. The hood can be installed backwards, in this position it is easy to carry on the lens and the hood does not take up extra space in the case.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4g on camera Nikon D40x

Nikon 50mm F1.4G Image Quality

The lens, as expected, showed an excellent picture and optical characteristics. The main problem of the Nikon 50mm F1.4G is HA on apertures F1.4-F2.0. The most interesting thing is that HA disappear already at F2.0 - which is a very good indicator. Units have a fully working aperture of F2.0, for example Nikon 50mm F1.2 MF. The lens produces the best image quality at apertures within F2.0-F8.0. Up to F2.0, the lens is inherent HA. After F8.0, diffraction takes effect. About the sharpness: Nikon 50mm F1.4G on F1.4 gives the image is already quite sharp, due to aberrations there is a light software effect. On F1.4, you can make high-quality portraits where strong sharpness of the lens is not always a necessity. Lens gives slightly warm image. The lens provides good contrast. On my cropped camera, vignetting disappears already at F2.8, on F1.4 the vignetting is slightly noticeable. I do not bother with vignetting, it is easy to fix it in the editor. The lens normally tolerates side and back light. A strong drawback in the image of a lens of this class is a slight barrel-shaped distortion (distorting the geometry of the image). Many fifty dollars have much less distortion or do not have it at all. On crop, distortion is barely noticeable. The bokeh of the lens deserves special attention. The lens gives a very nice, even bokeh. Even on closed apertures, discs in the blur zone have a regular round shape. Very funny, but on F1.4, the discs in the blur zone are oval and create twisted bokeh. Generally: high image quality.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM on a Nikon F6 Film Top Camera

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM on a film TOP camera Nikon F6

Sample Photos on Nikon D40 (APS-C, DX)

All photos in the gallery below were taken on Nikon D40. I specifically filmed on Nikon D40to show that even on the simplest DSLR, the lens Nikon 50mm F1.4G works great and with it you can achieve a good result.

Sample Photos on Nikon D80 (APS-C, DX)

All photos in the gallery below were taken on Nikon D80. All photos without treatment... RAW -> JPEG Q80%. Reduced size to 1600 * 1200 and printed data from EXIF.

Sample Photos on Nikon D3200 (APS-C, DX)

All photos in the gallery below were taken on Nikon D3200. All photos without treatment... RAW -> JPEG Q80%. Reduced size to 1600 * 1200 and printed data from EXIF.

RAW source files ('.NEF') can be download from this link (28 files, 350 MB).

More examples of photos can be found on my blog here и here.

Personal experience using

I have a lens Nikon 50mm F1.4G I liked it with my picture (image quality). I often work with optics that only support manual focusing, because the average focusing speed is Nikon 50mm F1.4G for me it doesn’t matter at all. The lens in the hands is quite weighty, but its outer plastic part is felt. And the inscription Made in China is not very credible. I used two years with a tail Nikon 50mm f / 1.8D AF Nikkor after which I switched to Nikon AF-S 50mm 1: 1.4G and I have no regrets about it. In general, if you need a fix after a whale lens, then Nikon 50mm f / 1.8D AF Nikkor or Nikon 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S Nikkor will be the best option. Usually aperture F / 1.4 is rarely required and is quite difficult to work with. F / 1.4 is often taken by professionals who know exactly what they need. My copy was out of order in a light collision from the limousine seat. The focusing motor broke down, the repair cost $ 150, after 3 months the motor broke down again during a long shooting on one of the frames. I sold this lens after repairs. A year later, I bought a new one, then sold it again. Then I bought the same lens again. But somehow this lens did not take root for me.

You can read more information about other autofocus fifty dollars here... In addition, there is also an analogue of Nikon AF-S 50mm 1: 1.4G from a third-party manufacturer - .

You can see the real prices for the lens in online stores here, or in the price block below:

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

Video review

You can watch the video review here (on my new YouTube channel) or in the box below. Many thanks to Vladimir Morgunov for helping create the video review.

Conclusions:

Nikon 50mm F1.4G - a wonderful lens. Has few shortcomings. It is the best Nikon Nikkor fifty. Recommend.

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

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Comments: 465, on the topic: Review of the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G SWM

  • Andrei

    Good day! Please advise which lens is best for the film Nikon F100 - Nikon 50mm F1.4G or Nikon 50mm F1.4D?

  • anonym

    If there is a screwdriver-d, no-g

  • Svetlana

    Good day! Please advise which lens is best for the Nikon D5100, take pictures of children))). I am an amateur, I shoot in manual mode. The whale lens began to be missed))) thanks in advance

    • Nicholas

      for taking pictures of children ... try the 55-300 lens .. very comfortable and less versatile ..

    • Maria

      It depends on which children.
      I tried 85 mm and 35 mm and XNUMX mm to shoot prancing children indoors - it was not very convenient for a beginner like me.

      By the way, I would not say that the whale is bad. In any case, in a small room, I would like to take pictures of children with a good flash, of course. From a wide angle to almost portrait. Looking back, I can say that it was the whale that was the best to shoot the child’s fuss) The only thing is that his drawing may not be so interesting, but you can always win through successful lighting.

      I also filmed children on someone else's 80-200 Nikonovsky, with autofocus, but, however, on the street - I liked it. It is sharp, brings the model closer if it "runs away" from you. And you can leave the whale on "In reserve", together there would be a pair for all FR.

  • anonym

    Svetochka, would you decipher what it means “the whale is not enough”?

  • anonym

    The difference between helios 81n and Nikkor 1,8d if you look at bu will be $ 20, but Nikkor will be sharper, betray the distance to the flash, it will be brighter, and whoever gets lucky will also have autofocus, and the spread in quality for helios is very good, in this case helios I DO NOT recommend

    • Dmitry

      I have both Helios 81n and Nikkor 1.8d. Carcass Nikon D7000
      The sharpness is the same (if you manually focus correctly), the drawing of Helios is more interesting. Helios does not chromatite in the open, unlike Nikkor. The only advantage of Nikkor is autofocus. In manual focus mode (sometimes necessary), Nikkor is extremely inconvenient due to the small travel of the focusing ring.

      • Dmitry

        Regarding the transfer of the distance to the flash, Nikkor here on the spot.
        On helios, the pictures are slightly darker, but the difference is visible only in the histogram. That is, on such aperture lenses the difference is visually minimal.

        Helios (and other non-D glasses) have such a limitation, it’s simple: instead of matrix metering, set the spot metering, then the default TTL-BL mode on the flash switches to standard iTTL which does not require a distance to the target.

  • Michael

    Good afternoon!
    Tell me, will this lens work with a Nikon F100 film camera? And in general, will the G-type lenses work on the F100? Or take the D-type and not bother with this issue. I use the D50 as a digital SLR, a camera with a motor, so I can choose both motor and non-motor versions of the lenses.

    • Michael

      I found the answer myself, everything works.

  • Andrei

    I thought, for the d7100, who is better to take: sigma 1.4DG, nikkor 1.4G or nikkor 1.4D in general - tell me please?

    Now most often I shoot 35 / 1.8 nikkor and the soul asks for something else and fresher :)

  • Inga

    Help please!
    Will 50 (1.4) get on the D610?

  • Tatyana

    Hello Arkady! Thank you for the informative reviews! I have a question: I use a Nikon d3300 camera, I recently purchased a fifty-fifty f1.4. When shooting at the maximum open aperture near the subject in the flu area, everything is sharp, but as you move away from the subject (for example, when you try to photograph a full-length portrait), the image quality deteriorates throughout the picture, including where the focus should be. Such a phenomenon is observed both on a wide and narrower aperture. Everything in the photo is not much sharp, it is very clearly visible when enlarging the photo. Is this the norm for my bunch, or is something wrong? Maybe this is due to the fact that the size of the matrix of the camera is small?

  • Tatyana

    And does it make sense to change the lens to f1.8g?

  • Alexander

    Hello everyone, is there a serviceman here ???
    My fifty dollars broke, and in view of the presence of direct skillful hands I would not want to give crazy money for repairs. Service manuals for 50 f / 1.4g in the vastness of the network did not find, only in Japanese something, but he could not translate (but to get into such a technique without the slightest knowledge of how and where it should be, and what exactly came out of I don’t see any system
    really need your help!)))

    • Sergei

      Hello hello to Alexander I have the same problem, you did not find the manual?

  • Andrei

    Hello! Please tell me a site other than Slando = OLH where you can search and buy half a toss (50mm 1.4F) very expensive ... I want to buy a used one, but I understand that it probably won't be cheap either ...

  • Sergei

    Good evening to all!
    Help out, I bought a Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G, but autofocus does not work, everything works fine in the manual mode, only when I spin the focus tightly with small jerks, I rummaged through the entire Internet, but I haven’t found anything yet , maybe there’s some kind of manual for the device or video parsing, like a fifty-fifty 1.4 autofocus CANON on YouTube, I don’t want to go to the service, and the family budget will not work.
    Thanks in advance for your help.

    • Eugene

      And on the contrary, I also bought a used one - autofocus works perfectly, and manual adjustment is buggy, as if there is not enough grip - you twist the ring, but the focus does not change, or changes but at different speeds, and then stops completely and does not react to the ring ... If you twist back and forth (for several full revolutions), then it starts to react normally, until the moment you use autofocus - after that again glitches. It seems like it is not very critical, but still annoying, and I'm afraid that the focusing both auto and manual would not die at all later ... If anyone has information on such problems - please share

  • Andrei

    Hello! I'm an amateur, but I really want to do photography more professionally, so I can't decide what to choose Nikon 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S Nikkor or Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G. I would gladly take 1,4, but the price difference is almost 2 times puzzling - is it justified? I have Nikon d3200, from experience of using only a whale lens, Soviet ones - MC Mir-24N 35 / 2.0, Kaleinar 5n, Helios 44-2 and Telear-N 3.5 / 200. I like Mir and Kalainar very much, but the absence of AF is frankly annoying.
    What can you advise?
    Thank you in advance!

  • Dima

    Arkady, can I do a comparative test between 50 mm with examples of photos in raw ??

    • Arkady Shapoval

      how?

      • Dima

        take Nikkor 50 1.8d 50 1.8g 50 1.4 d 50 1.4 g and do the test under the same conditions on the same camera and on different apertures and at the end the link to degenerate with the captured frames

        • Arkady Shapoval

          where to get them? Yes, and personally, I damn do not like all these non-tender tests.

  • Catherine

    And I'm not very good at shooting with my hands, the slightest tremor and that's it ... the frame is spoiled. Either the hands are crooked ... everything seems to be more with a tripod (which is not very convenient). Probably not enough practice.

  • Denis

    What is the sane price for a used Nikkor 50 mm f / 1,4 G? The lens is in excellent condition and under the filter.

    • Lynx

      From 8 to 10, IMHO.

  • Pastor

    Well, I just found it for 10 thousand rubles. I'm sitting thinking. I already have 1.8d, 1.8g and 1.4d, but I want to personally compare it with 1.4g. In my opinion, it makes no sense to take more than 11.

    • Yuric. [Xn]

      Are you going to grease them?

      • Pastor

        Well, I compare :) Purely on interest. Was equalized, sold 1.4 g, 1.8 d in line.

  • Max

    my lens quite often lathers the picture .. misses the focus .. I don’t know what to do and what is the reason ???? everything is ok for calibration, it falls into focus. at any shooting lathers, misses .. carcass D7100. can someone have similar problems? I will be glad to hear advice

  • Max

    found the answer to my last question. it turns out that the d7100 + 1.4g 50mm bunch is not entirely successful .. for the reason that this old lens does not reveal the full potential of the new d7100, as a result of which various kinds of problems can arise. more often it is soap

    • atypical Kiev

      Max, VERY doubtful your conclusion. It is unlikely that the top-end lens will not fit the top-end, albeit newer than the camera lens. The reasons are different.

      • Max

        You doubt it in vain. read, study, talk with others. this lens really drives on on this camera

      • BB

        Well, the camera, at the time of release, is just top-end - top-end amateur crop, to be precise :-)

        And Max, perhaps, got a defective copy. On my bundle of D7100 + 50 / 1.4G, problems with soap and lack of focus were not noticed, however, and only a few hundred frames were captured.

    • Alexander Malyaev

      It's not that the lens does not fit the camera. It just has a large aperture, and the more the aperture, the more difficult it is to focus, the more misses. Also, small depth of field affects. A lot depends on the lighting conditions, on the contrast and depth of the object in the area of ​​the focus point. This is true for Nikons and for Canons. It’s necessary to adapt, I didn’t succeed at all before, now it’s much better, but there are also mistakes, IMHO according to my own curvature.

      • Max

        I agree. but I am comparing photographs taken in one session, and not today on the street tomorrow night at the club. the same lighting the same settings even the subject the same results are different

    • Ilya

      Max, in my opinion it’s all in LV mode, I have d7000 + Nikkor 50mm f1.4D and he also lathers, turn on LV and he takes off, but it's not a matter of taking a wedding in LV! Here I also think what the problem is = (

  • Ilya

    Hello Arkady, I have a Nikon d7000 (we’ve been with him for more than a year now:) He has more than 100 shutter releases). I had Nikkor 000mm f50D, I took excellent pictures on sunny days, I had to turn on LV at home. Then there was the opportunity to buy Nikkor 1.8mm f50D and Nikkor 1.4mm f50D I sold, but the problem is that the Nikkor 1.8mm f50D is smearing, it is very smearing, you have to turn on LV mode (viewing on the screen) and then it focuses less. Before that, I tested this lens (Nikkor 1.4mm f50D) on the Nkikon d1.4 and focused on it perfectly for max. open diaphragm. Advise me what to do with my d80 = (

  • Peter Sh.

    On my D610, both 1.4G and 1.4D are smeared, and already after AF adjustment. 50mm 1.8D is always a point. However, the aperture and pattern clearly outweigh the misses.
    But what do you want for the price? You can make it so that they do not smear, and they will cost 3 times more expensive.

  • Victor

    Hello Arkady. Tell me, is a non-autofocus Nikon Nikkor 50 mm f / 1.4 Ai-S a worse draw or the same as an AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G?

  • anonym

    Damn here, too, I muffed, like on the street the focus is worse than in the dark, while 2.8-5.6 does not correct the situation.

  • Alina

    Good afternoon, Arkady!
    Tell me, please, I use crop and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4G,
    in my dreams, switching to full frame, and now I'm looking at Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f / 1.8G - is there any sense? How will the 85mm f / 1.8G behave on crop and full frame compared to the Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4G?
    Thank you very much!

    • Lynx

      How a fixed lens will behave.
      ...........

      at ff its angle will be equal to the crop by 50 mm.

    • Jury

      Alina, these are different lenses, on any system the difference between them is very significant. If you are going to shoot portraits, then it makes sense.

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English-version of this article https://radojuva.com/en/2012/04/obzor-nikon-af-s-50mm-f-1-4-g/comment-page-6/

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