Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4 G Lens

This re-designed standard lens can be used on all Nikon FX (full frame sensor) and DX (smaller APS-C sensor) digital SLRs. On DX format digital SLRs, such as the Nikon D60 or D300, the picture angle is equivalent to a focal length of 75mm. This is because DX sensors only use part of the image cast by the lens, therefore cropping the image and narrowing the field of view. This makes the Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4 an ideal focal length for portraiture. Portraits using a short-telephoto lens capable of shallow depth of field (by using a large aperture) are very flattering for your subject.

Update 31/10/2009: Read our Nikon 50mm f1.4G review!

New Features

The two major changes to this lens are the addition of a silent wave motor (denoted with ‘AF-S’ in the title) and becoming a G type lens. The previous edition, the Nikon 50mm f1.4 D, uses a screw-drive mechanism for autofocus. This is driven by a motor in the camera body – often producing quite a noisy racket! By adding a silent wave motor you can use this lens on a Nikon D40 and D60 with full autofocus (non AF-S lenses can only be focused manually on these cameras) and benefit from faster, quieter, more accurate autofocus with all Nikon SLRs.

The Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4 is a G type lens (opposed to D type in the previous edition) which means it no longer has a manual aperture adjustment ring. This is only required when using older cameras where the aperture isn’t controlled on the camera body itself. On all modern Nikon SLRs, both film and digital, the aperture is controlled by the body – so you benefit from weight saving and a cleaner design by removing the aperture ring in G type lenses.

Subtler changes include a slight increase in weight from 230g to 280g, probably a result from adding the silent wave motor. The optical formula of the lens has been refined – switching from 7 elements (6 groups) to 8 elements (7 groups). This new optical formula improves image quality and the only side-effect is that the filter thread size has increased from 52mm to 58mm.

Bokeh Boost

If you’re a fan of smooth out of focus backgrounds then you’ll be glad to hear this is improved because the number of aperture blades has increased from 7 to 9. This makes the aperture more rounded, boosting the aesthetic appeal of out of focus areas at wide apertures, described ‘bokeh‘.

Bokeh (derived from Japanese boke, a noun form of bokeru, “become blurred or fuzzy”) is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject. – Wikipedia

Just to sweeten the pleasure of owning what is – to be honest – an enviable little lens, Nikon include a lens hood (HB-47), front & rear lens caps and a soft lens pouch. Thanks Nikon!