Welcome to Adorama TV. My name is Marcin Lewandowski and today I’m looking at
Nikon’s premium standard lens, the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G. I
will try to stay as subjective as I can, but Nikon’s 50mm f/1.4G is one of
my all time favourite lenses. First of all at aperture of f1.4, it is the fastest
autofocus 50mm lens currently available for the Nikon system.
This fast aperture coupled with so called normal focal length makes this lens a
truly versatile piece of equipment that finds itself at home in a vast variety
of different environments.
It’s fast aperture makes it an amazing tool for work in low light situations,
and I don’t mean just night conditions, but all these moments when using f/2.8
or even slower lens makes us crank up the ISO and slow down the shutter speed.
Wedding, theatre, music events, portrait, landscape, street. In all these
situations Nikon 50mm f/1.4G proved to be not only a lifesaver but
a reliable lens delivering stunning results.The lens uses the Silent Wave
Motor focusing mechanism, which is not only exceptionally quiet but also
incredibly accurate, and that’s not too easy at that widely opened aperture. Thanks
to the introduction of the Silent Wave Motor, users of older digital Nikon
bodies like D40 or D5000, that do not feature an internal AF motor will be
finally able to use auto-focusing 50mm lens for the first time.
All focusing is happening internally which means that nothing on the lens’s
barrel rotates like in its predecessors,
the Nikkor 50mm 1.4D. The physical length of the lens also remains constant at
all focus settings.The G version of the 50mm 1.4 uses the M/A focusing
mode, which allows it to switch from automatic to manual focusing with
virtually no lag time, by simply turning the focusing ring on the lens, this is
widely known as manual focus override. Naturally there’s a switch between M/A
and M modes to change between fully manual and automatic control over focus. Focusing can happen
from a distance of only 45 centimetres which allows close-ups and interesting
compositions, especially when coupled with shallow depth of field. If you ever
wondered: G in lens’s name stands for gelded which means that there is no
physical aperture ring on the lens barrel and aperture is controlled
electronically. As we are on the aperture its worth mentioning that lens uses
rounded 9-blade diaphragm helping to render remarkable, soft and very
organically looking background blur. This works fantastically well with portraits
where at fast aperture you can concentrate viewers attention on subjects eyes, keeping
everything else in a soft fog of buttery bokeh. In terms of sharpness at f/8 Nikon
50mm f/1.4G delivers pin sharp contrasty images from edge to
edge and I found it quite a spectacular piece of equipment for documentary work.
These characteristics give users of this lens exceptional depth-of-field control
aimed additionally by the use of Super Integrated Coating, further enhancing
the lens’s light transmission for superior colour and contrast. All in all, a lens like this
is an important building block for a robust system and I found myself in many
situations, where it was more flexible and frankly superior to lenses like 24-70mm
or similar, simply thanks to the edge given by fast aperture.
NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G is a piece of great equipment that I
struggle to fault with. It’s accurate and reliable when focussing, it’s colour and
contrast rendition are simply stunning
It is quite small, light and unobtrusive. It is very versatile and I would recommend this
lens as a great tool for everyday use from architecture and landscape through to
portrait, sport and documentary applications. It’s versatility is in its
simplicity.
Thank you for watching this video, I hope you enjoyed it. Please subscribe to AdoramaTV
for much more, we have many other reviews for you in store. If you
also want to improve your photography skills check out Adorama Learning Centre
for some really great tips and tutorials. This was Marcin Lewandowski for Adorama TV,
hope to see you all again soon.
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