where there’s smoke there’s forum fire
Anyone personally upgraded to the 50mm G from the old 50mm AFD 1.4 or 1.8.
Pros/Cons that anyone has experienced? Worth spending $300 to upgrade? (trade/sell old lens)
I'd like to keep to personal experiences with upgrading and please assume we know the differences with G and have read the reviews etc.
Got some money burning a hole in my pocket and looking at my lens upgrade list.
A pre-thank you to everyone!
Slow autofocus compared to the 50 1.4 AF-D version.
I personally have the lens and like it.
The pro of it is that its the newest 50 1.4. Newly upgraded last year, In my opinion its quality is pretty well
The con is that the autofocus is slow and doesn't catch autofocus points sometimes.
smarterchild said:
The con is that the autofocus is slow and doesn't catch autofocus points sometimes.
That's unfortunate if it is slow(er) AND misses (more). I thought the whole point of gearing the faster primes slower was to ensure less misses. (trading speed for precision)
That said, my 50 D doesn't miss often at all, but when it does I HATE the M/A switch, so I end up breaking composition to force a significant focus shift, then try again. With the AFS I could just turn the ring instead.
@Drab - My thoughts as well. I have an old non-D version and it focuses slow and does miss some. The 1.8D is much faster than my non-D version.
I have both 50 1.4d and 1.4g. I have tested both lenses and I can say that both has negative and possitive sides. I hate d version because of its ergonomics, focus is loud and autofocus is not so accurate sometimes.G version is a little bit sharper at 1.4 and slower, but only in situacion when you have to do refocus completelly. it tracks objects fast enough. I am not going to sell any of this lens because I like both,
50 1.4 is sharper wide open. . .
I have heard there might be a new Nikkor 50mm 1.2 AF-S G lens EVENTUALLY released, which would be just amazing. Don't hold your breath on the Nikon release date though.
The current 50mm G is a lot of money to spend on a prime for that range I find. The 50mm 1.4 D is nice, but I use the Chinese 50mm 1.8 and find it focused very fast and its quite noticeably sharper. Its even more noticeable when you shoot it on a D3X than my D700. I tried a D3X with my lens in a shop last weekend and was shocked at the difference in fact.
I have had the same thoughts on the 1.8 but I'm glad to hear someone else saw the same thing I did. I keep hearing the 1.2 rumors but I'm not going to hold my breath for another $2k lens;)
Yes good point actually and it would probably be 2k like you mentioned. Can you imagine paying that for a 50mm? Geez..
I have a $1300 50mm Summicron Leica, thats as bad as it gets for me.
id hate thinking of another lens that id want... but a 50 1.2 would be it
Yes just imagine that lens on say a D3s at night? Oh the possibilities.....
kanuck said:
I have heard there might be a new Nikkor 50mm 1.2 AF-S G lens EVENTUALLY released, which would be just amazing. Don't hold your breath on the Nikon release date though.The current 50mm G is a lot of money to spend on a prime for that range I find. The 50mm 1.4 D is nice, but I use the Chinese 50mm 1.8 and find it focused very fast and its quite noticeably sharper. Its even more noticeable when you shoot it on a D3X than my D700. I tried a D3X with my lens in a shop last weekend and was shocked at the difference in fact.
Indeed.
I used to own the old Nikon 50 1.4 Af-d. I found it to be a bit on the soft side when wide open. of course I was expecting that. Ten I upgraded to Sigma 50 1.4. It was an awesome lens. I have also shot extensively on the new 50 G from Nikon. To be honest I preferred it to the Sigma. It was a lot lighter and a bit sharper too from Sigma. What I found myself doing is almost never shooting wide open. it was usually at F2 or 2.8. So I sold the lenses and I use my 50 1.8 since it's super light, cheap and it's "fast" enough for me. Why spend all the money on a 1.4 lens and never use it? Made no sense to me to keep them. So today I use the 1.8 prime and it's sharper, lighter and cheaper than any of these lenses. Also I won't cry if I drop it, lose it or break it. It's cheap like peanuts.
I think that is where I'm leaning towards. I have not used the Sigma but like the idea of the 77mm filter size to make my filter bag to a minimum. Since I will always have a camera with a AF drive, I'm not particular one way or another. Surprisingly my non-D version is much slower than a "D" version.
Interesting on the Sigma. I have yet to hear of anyone who kept theirs. Many have used it and sold it.
TaoTeJared said:
I think that is where I'm leaning towards. I have not used the Sigma but like the idea of the 77mm filter size to make my filter bag to a minimum. Since I will always have a camera with a AF drive, I'm not particular one way or another. Surprisingly my non-D version is much slower than a "D" version.Interesting on the Sigma. I have yet to hear of anyone who kept theirs. Many have used it and sold it.
The problem with Sigma is that it has more purple color rendition in my experience. While it's not that much of a difference,it noticeable which picture was shot with a Sigma or a Nikon lens. Moreover if you are building a camera system, logistically speaking having all the equipment(DSLRs and lenses) of the same brand is just so much easier and hassle free.
I compared the Sigma 50 1.4 to Nikon 85 1.4 af-d. It's heavier and bigger than Nikon 85mm. Because it has a 77mm front lens element it's super heavy for a prime. But one pro of the Sigma was that the AF was super fast.
Good Info on the Sigma. I heard it was heavy and heard some reports that contrast and color was a bit off. I've never been a fan of Sigma Lenses and vowed never to buy another one.
Looks like I'll offload my 1.4 and pick up a 1.8. Use the extra cash for a 24-120mm F4 that I'm getting.
thanks for the help!
TaoTeJared said:
Good Info on the Sigma. I heard it was heavy and heard some reports that contrast and color was a bit off. I've never been a fan of Sigma Lenses and vowed never to buy another one.Looks like I'll offload my 1.4 and pick up a 1.8. Use the extra cash for a 24-120mm F4 that I'm getting.
thanks for the help!
That sounds like a great idea!
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