Fifty Recommendation

[charlie]

I am interested in something in the 50mm-ish range that will be particularly well suited for shooting into strong sunlight and maintains good image quality in the near to medium focus range. Nice bokeh, preferably AF but open to MF lenses as well. This will primarily be used for portraits and I don't want quality to suffer from strongly back lit scenes.

I have the 50mm/f1.4 AF-D but it has some focus issues so I'm thinking about replacing it. 

Any suggestions/sample images?

[Erik Lund]

Micro Nikkor 60mm AFS, AF-D or 55mm Ais Ai would be a good start

[Airy]

Zeiss Milvus 50/2 (not the former 50/2 MP), or Voigtländer 58/1.4 (avoiding wide open and close range at the same time; for portraits you are more likely to choose f/2.8 - f/5.6 so this should not be an issue).

Otherwise 50/1.8G if you need AF. Tamron 45/1.8 might also be an option, if the shorter FL suits you.

[Jakov Minić]

Both Erik and Airy said it, 60 AF-S micro or the 50/1.8G. Bargain lenses.

[aerobat]

I have the AF-S 60mm Micro and use it for portraits and many other things like sports photography of runners (unbelievable but the AF can handle it).

[Thomas G]

AF-S 60/2,8 micro, AF-S 50/1,8, both could be found in themy bag quite often.

[Jakov Minić]

Whatever you do NOT buy the 45P 

[charlie]

Thanks for your inputs.

How much improved is the AFS 60mm vs the AFD?
Is it the worth the extra $300 price difference on the used market?

Then how is the AFS 50mm 1.8 vs the AFS 50mm 1.4?
I suspect the 1.8 is better shooting into the light?

Whatever you do NOT buy the 45P 

But I thought you loved that lens!?!

[Jakov Minić]

Thanks for your inputs.

How much improved is the AFS 60mm vs the AFD?
Is it the worth the extra $300 price difference on the used market?

Then how is the AFS 50mm 1.8 vs the AFS 50mm 1.4?
I suspect the 1.8 is better shooting into the light?


But I thought you loved that lens!?!

Oh, I do, oh I do. 45P is my love <3
If you want to shoot portraits, just get yourself an 85/1.4, let's not beat about the bush
You can shoot it in the sun, but because of its longer focal length, I doubt that you will ever have the sun in your way

[richardHaw]

the best AF 50 I have is the 50mm f/1.4 ART

the best MF 50 I have is the 50mm f/1.2 Ai-S

for really important shots where I cannot miss the focus, i use the 50mm ART.

[Akira]

AF-S Micro 60/2.8G focuses blindingly fast, which is advantageous for the portraiture.  Otherwise, the humble AF-S 50/1.8G is hard to ignore.  I've used my 50/1.8G extensively and never really felt its bokeh is harsh.

[richardHaw]

the 50/1.8G is what i would prefer instead of the 50/1.4G

i know a 2 photographers who sold their 50/1.4G and went back to the 50/1.4D because the AF was so slow and the performance was so-so

[Akira]

i know a 2 photographers who sold their 50/1.4G and went back to the 50/1.4D because the AF was so slow and the performance was so-so

Rick, thanks for the info.  Yes, I do find that the standard and wide AF-D lenses are very quick to focus.  You only need to be careful not to touch the focus ring that turns at an unexpectedly strong torque.   

[Airy]

Charlie expressedly mentioned resistance to flare as a criterion which is more important to him than AF. This requirement was taken into account when I responded. I know that the three mention lenses are well behaved in this respect. The 50/1.2 also has excellent IQ but I am less sure about flare, not having performed systematic tests. Also, I wonder about the 60/2.8 since I do not own it.

[Akira]

I haven't had any problems of flare or ghosting with 50/1.8G, which is supported by this review also:

http://www.lenstip.com/308.9-Lens_review-Nikon_Nikkor_AF-S_50_mm_f_1.8G_Ghosting_and_flares.html

In comparison, 50/1.4G (which I haven't used) suffers in this respect:

http://www.lenstip.com/162.9-Lens_review-Nikon_Nikkor_AF-S_50_mm_f_1.4G_Ghosting__flares_and_transmission.html