Nikon 50mm f/1.4 Hands-On: Filling a Much-Needed Gap

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Nikon 50mm f/1.4 Hands-On: Filling a Much-Needed Gap

Nikon makes some incredible prime lenses, from the illustrious 58mm f/.95 Noct to the 50mm f/1.2 S — the latter of which is the more practical, yet is very expensive even though it is very good. Nikon also makes a full spread of f/1.8 and f/2 prime lenses across a wide range of focal lengths. What Nikon have curiously ignored are any f/1.4 primes, at least until recently.

There are now two fast f/1.4 primes from Nikon. I hope we see even more soon.
A grayscale image depicting a flock of birds flying in a V-formation across a cloudy sky. The silhouette of tree branches is visible in the foreground.
The focusing motor quickly locked on to these birds in flight. STM motors perform just fine with smaller glass elements.

A Fast 50mm That Was Sorely Needed

Nikon just recently released an affordable 35mm f/1.4 prime which brings decent image quality to the table and a lot of light gathering potential. Now they are following it up with a 50mm version and I got my hands on an early pre-production model to try out. It’s not a reviewable copy yet but I can at least gather some thoughts and concepts about how this lens will perform upon its official release.

A man with salt-and-pepper hair and a full beard, wearing a red and black plaid shirt, leans against a fence entwined with green vines and small flowers. He is smiling gently, and the background is slightly blurred.
The transitions throughout the focus range are smooth and pleasing.
Close-up shot of a camera lens with inscriptions "Z 50mm 1:1.4 Ø62" around the front element against a dark background. The lens glass reflects light, revealing internal aperture blades.
The 9-bladed aperture can clearly be seen here. The lens itself is lightweight and sparsely appointed.

The lens looks and feels quite similar to the 35mm version with a 62mm filter thread at the front and a simple plastic lens hood. Weighing only 14.8 ounces (420 grams) the 50mm is pretty sparse as far as controls go. There is a manual focus ring and a customizable control ring but that is it. The choice makes sense given the affordable price. We aren’t going to get — or need — advanced linear motors to autofocus a lens like this and I found the focusing to be plenty quick enough to handle any situation.

A middle-aged man with a beard and mustache is leaning out of a car window, smiling. He is wearing a black t-shirt and has sunglasses perched on his head. His arms are crossed on the car door, and a seatbelt is visible. The background is slightly blurred with greenery.
A 50mm is always a versatile choice that can handle portraits and street photography.
A weathered, rust-stained metal surface displays the following text: "681665, Tare Weight, (LBS) 10133, (KG) 4596". In front of the surface is a chain-link fence slightly out of focus.
An opportunity for a detail shot and a look at the foreground bokeh too. I love shooting in industrial areas.

The Image Quality Looks Promising

In the past, f/1.4 lenses have given the shallow depth of field look and ability to use faster shutter speeds in low-light but they tended to suffer some optical compromises. As a result, I’m curious to see how this lens will handle flare and sharpness but I can make some observations about it from the samples I shot.

A red and white striped shirt with a yellow price tag hangs on a clothes hanger. The background is blurred, featuring warm-toned bokeh lights, creating a cozy and festive atmosphere.
You can see the clean bokeh and gentle cat’s eye effect here. The 50mm f/1.4 certainly gives that shallow focus look.
A bouquet of vibrant red and pink flowers is in sharp focus in the foreground, set against a softly blurred background with numerous glowing bokeh lights, creating a warm and enchanting ambiance.
Then specular highlights are fairly round when stopped down and the backgrounds look nice and smooth.

Bokeh looks very impressive which is very important when it comes to fast glass. Specular highlights look clean and free of onion rings or any soap-bubble effect. There is a pleasant cat’s eye look at f/1.4 and this cleans up to a fairly round looking circle when stopped down. I found the transitions between in focus to out of focus areas to be quite pleasant.

A mural of a caricatured ape under a tilted royal crown, with a contemplative expression. It appears to be scratching its head, emphasizing human-like features and surrounded by abstract, sketchy details on a textured red background.
Here’s a flat shot at f/1.4 and the detail looks pretty decent. I definitely want to test this further.
A man with a beard leans his arms on the open window of a vehicle, looking at the camera with a calm expression. He is wearing a black t-shirt and sunglasses are perched on his head. The background is blurred. The image is in black and white.
My friend Rene stopped to say hello and became an impromptu model instead.

I endeavored to shoot a fair amount of my images at f/1.4 to get an idea of how it performs and found that the level of detail looks good. I’m going to reserve final judgement until I can put a reviewable copy against some test charts but there seems to be plenty of detail when shooting wide open and it only gets better when stopped down. I’m confident this lens will be very usable at f/1.4 and I’m eager to test further.

Close-up of a Nikon camera with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens attached. The focus is on the lens, showing detailed text and markings, while the lower part of the camera body is also visible.
There is a dust seal around the lens mount but the features are pretty sparse otherwise.

I’m left wanting to see what else this lens can do but that is a testament to the design of this latest Nikon prime. I think both this and the 35mm will finally fill a gap in Nikon’s lineup and do so with aplomb.

Close-up of several yellow flower buds and blossoms on a green plant. The buds are oval-shaped and hang downwards, surrounded by green foliage. The background is blurred, highlighting the detailed textures and colors of the flowers in the foreground.
A standard 50mm isn’t going to ever be a great macro lens but you can get fairly close to subjects.

It also makes me wonder about some other possible additions in the future. How great would it be to see a new 24mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.4? If Nikon keeps the pricing reasonable like they have done on the 35mm and 50mm, we could have a very popular line of prime lenses in the near future.

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