Bjorn Reviews Nikkor 50mm f/1.4g AF-S- Likes It
Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.4g AF-S review
[Edit- Duh- it's the 1.4, not the 2.8, pardon me.]
Bjørn Rørslett is widely regarded as an authority on Nikkor lenses- the dude even alters the chips in his lenses and throws chips into lenses that didn’t have them before. For me, this qualifies you for LensGod status, so I take his opinions seriously.
He’s somehow gotten ahold of a 50mm AF-S (scroll down) and liked it:
…While the lens barrel does not extend during focusing, there is no internal focusing (IF) to work its magic (and sometimes, adding colour aberaations) – the inner unit moves back and forth as an entity. Thus, the autofocus operational speed won’t set a world record, but for most purposes it suffices well enough…
…The corner fall-off is visible when the lens is set to the widest apertures, but less annoying than seen with the earlier AF-D model. From f/2.8 onwards vignetting is negligible. The barel distortion, typical for this class of lens, is kept under good control…
…The new model is an evolution of the older lens, so you don’t need to rush out to purchase it unless you can only work with AFS, but anyone looking for an excellently performing normal lens should consider the “G” carefully…
November 29th, 2008 at 12:29
Typo in headline. I think you meant 50mm 1.4, not 2.8
November 30th, 2008 at 02:17
After reading through his review a few times, I got the impression he regards this as only a modest improvement in an already technically competent design. It certainly lacks the enthusiasm of some of the other lenses he has scored this highly.
While it’s too early to say for sure, Nikon seems to have split the baby here. It doesn’t sound like a magical upgrade akin to the 14-24. And while it probably won’t be compared to Canon’s 50L, it is also significantly more expensive than its AF-D predecessor, making it much less likely to be picked up by the aspiring amateur.
Maybe photo samples will say otherwise, but Nikon seems to be filling a non-existent void. It will be interesting to see this lens stacks up against Sigma’s new 50.