A nice theatre shot here and here and here.

Shots of fruit here.

…i think the Contrast is a lot better, wide open than the old one was.

Shots of cats with the 50mm f/1.4g AF-S are currently scarce, but I expect to  see bunches landing any day now. blech. Ugh- 2 seconds after posting this, I find a dog thread. Really- why can’t we take pictures of hot chicks with new lenses?

Comparisons between the older AF-D and the new AF-S here. Definitely better at f/1.4 provided the guy’s AF-D wasn’t a bad copy.

Since I only have the f/1.8, I wonder how they compare…

I’m seeing ever-increasing noise from legitimate sources that the 50mm AF-S is not at quite the speed that we’re used to with other AF-S lenses:

Then I checked the new 50mm lens and while I like it, I don’t get one,
its really quite slow in acquiring AF even with the integrated Silent
Wave Motor…not much of a difference to the old 50mm f1.4 version

That’s pretty interesting- other reports are that it’s relatively light for its size- one wonder if Nikon had to cut the budget a bit on the lens to get AF-S motors in there and still hit a reasonable price.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm af-s f/1.4g Samples

Here. Also says it’s very sharp, with a usable f/1.4. 100% crops look good. He reports that the light falloff vs the 50mm AF-D is much better.

Oh- if you don’t see the shots, then create an account on his site and then login and view the page. I’ll not snipe his shots.

Also- vignette tests at various wide apertures here.

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…

New Lenses? 80-400 AF-S version 35mm 1.8 AF-S 135mm 1.8 AF-S

I’m reporting this because it’s been a while since we’ve gotten anything interesting about lenses since the 50mm AF-S f/1.4g was announced. However, I’m still thinking this is all possible but unlikely:

D3x is what’s expected, but also to be announced:

• 80-400 AF-S version
• 35mm 1.8 AF-S
• 135mm 1.8 AF-S

I heard this from a fellow working at a MAJOR NY shop. Is it true? I dunno. He also claimed the 135 may have VR. The 80-400 would be VERY welcome. Everyone I know wants a better 80-400 lens. I’m surprised Nikon hasn’t released it sooner.

I see a 35mm AF-S eventually, I’m not sure it’ll be announced next. I can’t see why they wouldn’t follow the 50mm replacement with an 85mm replacement, but who knows?

For me, the 35mm is more useful than the 50mm provided the apertures and the close-focusing distance are similar, so I’d rather have the 35mm than the 50mm, but we still don’t have the 50mm in the hands of reviewers even, so we’re looking at 3-6 months before we can get our hands on the lenses regardless.

The 135mm is interesting, especially if it ends up having VR. VR really ought to be everywhere and I’m willing to pay for it.

Everyone seems to want an 80-400mm replacement, but if you’re not on safari or you don’t shoot sports (I don’t…) then the 70-200mm is probably as much as you can regularly use.

New Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-S G

The Good:

• It’s finally here!
• It’s AF-S – silent wave motor for focusing
• It’s a G-style lens (actually, this could be good or bad depending) so it works on the lesser bodies that don’t support screw-drive focusing
• Available in December

The Unknown:

• Anything about how well it actually performs
• How well it’s new optical system that “corrects sagittal coma flare and chromatic aberration” actually works
• When’s the 85mm and the 35mm or 28mm coming? (Where’s my Noct?)
• Does the regular AF version go away now?

The Bad:

• This isn’t designed to be a high-end lens
• No aspherics
• No ED
• No Nano

Price is $439, which is fine.

Here’s a DPReview look at it- no test shots, etc.