Nikon 50mm 1.8 v 50mm 1.4

C

cjewelz

Member
Hello friends,

I just bought my first interchangeable lens camera for making short films and I'm looking to get some lenses. Can you tell me if there is enough of a difference between 1.8 and 1.4 to justify paying double the price of a 1.8 for a 1.4?

Thanks.
 
cjewelz said:
I like to shoot in low light. Is 1.4 double the difference?
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It won't. It will help, but it won't double. I've been able to get some nice videos using the Nikon 50mm f/1.8:
Aperture was stopped down a bit (for the bokeh) and it gave decent results. Sure, you'll have to consider lighting when shooting low-light. No matter the lens you'll be using.
If you're shooting stills, then it's a whole different story. I've been able to get decent images using ambient lighting with that lens, cranking the ISO up to 1600 and reducing the shutter speed to 1/13th:
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cjewelz said:
I like to shoot in low light. Is 1.4 double the difference?
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F/1.4 is one full stop faster than F/2.0. The difference between F/1.4 and F/1.8 is less than a full stop.

You may like low light, but how do you like razor-thin depth of field and critically touchy focus?
Try taking some still images at F/1.4 or F/1.8, and see if you can live with the shallow DOF.

-- Bob Elkind
 
I've owned both of these lenses. The f/1.8 is a better lens. f/1.4 is practically unusable for video even on a crop sensor unless you want some kind of artistic out of focus effect or you're shooting at infinity. The bokeh at f/1.4 isn't pretty.
 
squig said:
I've owned both of these lenses. The f/1.8 is a better lens. f/1.4 is practically unusable for video even on a crop sensor unless you want some kind of artistic out of focus effect or you're shooting at infinity. The bokeh at f/1.4 isn't pretty.
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Which both do you own? Nikon 50mm "D" or Nikon 50mm "G" ? Both sets of lenses are available.
The original poster, cjewelz, did not specify which lenses he is considering, so squig's mini-review may -- or may not -- apply.

There's also a well-regarded Sigma 50/1.4 lens available with Nikon F mount, in case anyone is interested...

-- Bob Elkind
 
@cjewelz
tons!
G, needs a special adaptor since there is no external aperture ring. (If your using a Nikon DSLR then G is perfectly fine for your needs since you will have aperture control built into the camera.)
Also the lens is important depending on the size of your camera's sensor. However, you asking the question... Im guessing you aren't investing in a full frame Nikon D800 anytime soon.
 
cjewelz said:
I didn't know I had so many options. I thought 50mm was just 50mm. What are the sifferences between "D", "G" and "F"?
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See Wikipedia article
See slrgear.com.

You also need to understand the relationship between aperture and depth of field.

I agree with Miguel (post #2 in this thread):

For beginners who are learning, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8d lens is an essential piece of kit. You will learn a great deal from using this one lens. It is a flat-out bargain at roughly $120 new, perhaps $100 used. The one snag is that the lens will not autofocus on low-end Nikon camera bodies that do not have the mechanical autofocusing screw, such as the D40, D60, D3000 series and D5000 series models. AF is not a problem with D70, D80, D90, D7000, Dn00 bodies, Dn bodies.

-- Bob Elkind
 
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eteam said:
Which both do you own? Nikon 50mm "D" or Nikon 50mm "G" ? Both sets of lenses are available.
The original poster, cjewelz, did not specify which lenses he is considering, so squig's mini-review may -- or may not -- apply.

There's also a well-regarded Sigma 50/1.4 lens available with Nikon F mount, in case anyone is interested...

-- Bob Elkind
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I've had multiple copies of the ai and ai-s.
 
You might consider the 50mm f/1.8 ai manual lens.
The build quality is much better and the manual focus is much more functional.
 
sbrenner said:
You might consider the 50mm f/1.8 ai manual lens.
The build quality is much better and the manual focus is much more functional.
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Thanks. Do you know how old they are? I can't find a guide to Nikon lenses (there are so many). Every time I go to a store and ask for Nikon 50mm they show me the Gs and Ds. I want to get the best for build quality and image quality.
 
You should be able to find a 50mm f/1.8 ai on ebay for around $100. The optics of the current 50mm haven't changed much but the build quality is not as good (plastic). The ai lenses are 70's era and the ai-s 80's. The ai lenses were built better than the ai-s.
 
Get the 50 mm 1.8 and 35 mm 1.8. They will be primarily what you will shoot with 90% of the time. Going 1.4 will not benefit you when you are close to your subject. Squig is right in saying the 1.4 is practically un-usable. Beyond that, get something wide as well for doing handheld as both of those lenses feel pretty rough to me. I don't do much handheld so the 18-55 kit from d60 back in the day has done the job every time. And keep in mind, don't worry about zoom lenses unless they are for some creative effect. When shooting handheld, you need stay ALL the way zoomed out as you will have a much steadier shot. so that 18-200 is just going to add un-needed weight to what you will be lugging around in the future. Hope this helps. :)
 
cjewelz said:
Thanks. Do you know how old they are? I can't find a guide to Nikon lenses (there are so many). Every time I go to a store and ask for Nikon 50mm they show me the Gs and Ds. I want to get the best for build quality and image quality.
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I own the 50/1.8 AIS - it is a very sharp lens and I got it for well under 100 bucks. It renders stills and video beautifuly on my D800.

Follow this link to know every spec you ever wanted to know about Nikkors: ( thank me later)

http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html
 
Some apostasy and heresy...

While most of the reading (and writing/posting) audience already knows this, the following points are worth repeating as reminders of context:

  • In practice (rather than theory) there really is no one (and only one) ideal lens.
  • There are a number of sharp, well-behaved wide-aperture (f/1.8 or wider) 50mm lenses, of widely varying costs.
  • For still image photography at 36Mpixel, a premium value is given for resolution. For video work at (roughly) 2Mpixel, other lens attributes may deserve higher value than best-in-class resolution.

A few criteria (other than sharpness or resolution) for valuing lenses:
  • cost
  • focus rotation direction (does it match your other lenses)
  • focus gearing (how much focus ring rotation to span entire focus range)
  • colour neutrality (does it match your other lenses)
  • filter diameter (does it match your other lenses)
  • minimum focus distance
  • size and weight (for 'filming' in tight places)
  • auto-focus speed (but isn't most video footage 'filmed' using manual focus?)
  • environmental sealing (inclement weather, seaside venues)

I'm sure there are some useful items missing from this list, but they only underscore the point that sharpness and maximum aperture are not the only important attibutes for a (for example) 50mm lens.

-- Bob Elkind
 
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