Nikon 50mm f/1.4 g

Handling

This is an all-metal and glass lens, no signs of plastic anywhere. It is very small, especially for being a 50/1.4 lens, today’s Nikon 50/1.8 looks like a monster next to it.

Nikkor 50/1.4 Ai-s, AF-S Nikkor 50/1.8G, Nikkor Z 50/1.8 S

The aperture ring clicks distinctly at each full stop while rotating with ease, a joy to set. Aperture number markings are equidistant and like all the other markings on the lens are engraved and filled beautifully with paint.  The relatively wide focus ring that rotates about 120 degrees is buttery soft moving like a dream. (It should be noted that my sample is one of the latest manufactured lenses, 2003 to 2005). The front element does not rotate when focusing, which is good when using filters. No wobbling or play anywhere, seems to be built tightly with the highest precision. There are also depth-of-field markings and a dot for focus correction when using infrared films. All in all it seems to have a very high build quality that can last for many years.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.4 Ai-s

It can, as other Nikon F-mount lenses, be mounted on Nikon DSLRs without any adapter and on almost any other mirrorless digital system camera with appropriate adapter. On Nikon DSLRs, if you set the “Non-CPU lens data” in the camera, you get focal length and working aperture in EXIF info but on Nikon Z cameras you get only  focal length (50mm) and max aperture (1.4) irrespective which aperture you have set on the lens. 

Nikon NIKKOR 50/1.4 Ai-s on Nikon DSLR D7200

Conclusion

The Nikon NIKKOR 50/1.4 Ai-s looks as beautiful as a vintage lens can look, I think, and operates as beautifully. Optically it is still valid and can be used on digital cameras and more or less matches today’s lenses. Of course it can not compete with the very best of current 50mm lenses in terms of optical perfection but it has a lovely character that those lenses cannot offer. Its handling and build quality is second to none, very sharp in the center right from wide open through the full aperture spectrum and extremely sharp across the frame stopped down . The more I used it during the time for this review the more I wanted to grab it again and take more pictures with it. I can have it as an all round everyday lens on my camera all day long thanks to its versatility and good quality combined with small size and light weight. I like it especially as a street and travel lens.

Generally I must say I am very impressed by this lens that was designed over  40 years ago and manufactured over 20 years ago. Would you like to have another reason for that? Then I invite you to compare this lens’s sharpness and flare resistance with Leica’s current 50/1.4, the Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M ASPH (reviewed at this site) for 15-20 times the price.

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Introduction

The NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4 was the lens that almost all the pro photographers had on their cameras most of the time during the 60s, 70s and 80s and most young and aspiring photographers dreamed of having on their cameras. From an era when Nikon was the undisputed number one 35mm camera/lens system among professional photographers worldwide. The NIKKOR lenses had a reputation for being tough with outstanding quality, both optically and mechanically. This lens was, because of its popularity,  in production long after the advent of the autofocus and even digital cameras and was sold new alongside AF and digital lenses until mid 2005. Let’s see how it fares today!

Variations

The Nikon NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4 has existed in variations of pre-Ai, Ai, and Ai-s. Nikon manufactured 758632 pcs of the latest Ai-s version (reviewed here) between 1981 and 2005. Note that there were seemingly similar Ai-s lenses in the Nikon lineup called Series-E, which were aimed at amateur/enthusiast consumers. They did not have the “NIKKOR ” designation and had simpler to manufacture optics and cheaper mechanics than the NIKKOR lenses. In many cases the optical formula was the same though but not always (there was never a 50mm f/1.4 in E series). The E-series were great too but Nikon did not make all focal lengths in that series, only the ones with simpler optical formulae and mechanics.

Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1.4 Ai-s