Nikkor 58mm f/1.4 AFS The New Noct-Nikkor

[Martin Zimelka]

Both were set to daylight. Settings synced in LR6.

[fish_shooter]

Interesting comparison of the AFS 58mm vs 60mm micro. In the flower picture, the background bokeh appear similar for both lenses - in "quantity" and smoothness. The picture taken with the 60mm shows stronger green outlining on the white object in the background, which suggests longitudinal CA is less well controlled - the 58mm is better. In the picture of the seeds, the 60mm shot again shows more of a greenish tinge in the shadows between the seeds. In this case the 60mm shot appears to have less DOF - the background seeds are more out of focus than the 58mm shot, hard to say why.

Could the apparent difference in DOF be due to differences in pupillary magnification?

[Roland Vink]

Could the apparent difference in DOF be due to differences in pupillary magnification?

Could be ... both shots were shot at F/4. The AFS 58mm is a unit-focusing lens, so as you focus close some light is lost due to extension, so the actual aperture may have been smaller that the reported f/4, resulting in greater DOF.

The AFS 60/2.8 on the other hand is a Micro Nikkor - the aperture blades don't close down as much at close range to keep the f/stop constant (except of course if the lens was wide open to begin with - similar to the old compensating Nikkor). So at close range the Micro may have a wider aperture - and shallower DOF - than a non-macro lens, even though the reported f/stop is the same.

However, the AFS 60/2.8 is also an IF lens, so the focal length shortens at close range, which compensates for the light loss due to extension (since there isn't any, or only a limited amount happening internally), so I wouldn't expect the DOF to be much different to the AFS 58 at the same aperture. If anything, I'd expect the angle of view to change more... Also, these effects only become apparent at close range, and the AFS 58 does not focus very close. Even if the picture of the seeds was at the closest limit, I wouldn't expect these factors to be enough to explain the different DOF we are seeing.

[D800Dominic]

NIKKOR Future Vision - Lens Design Concepts

Here some words from the designer of 58mm 1.4

http://nikkor.com/technology/02.html

Thanks for that link. It is a great read and another perspective on the beauty of capture provided by this lens. D800Dominic

[mkrigsman]

It's an amazing lens with tremendous optical qualities -- the out of focus areas are beautiful. I switched over to a Sony A7RII and use the lens with an adapter. However, I'm thinking of selling it because it seems such a waste to use only as a manual focus lens on the Sony camera, given how expensive it is.

[Erik Lund]

An adapter Nikon F to Sony E with AF support is available now!

[Mike G]

Erik, do you have a link?

Happy new year!

[Erik Lund]

Happy New Year

The name is: Commlite ENF-E Nikon F-mount to Sony E-mount AF adapter

[Jan Anne]

The name is: Commlite ENF-E Nikon F-mount to Sony E-mount AF adapter

And it ain't working with the 58/1.4G, yet 
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57029682

[Vilhelm]

The 58/1.4G is one of the lenses that always sits in my events/portraits bag. I never gained any enthusiasm for 45-50mm lenses as I felt them too wide for portraits, always showing barrel and perspective distortion once I moved in closer to the model's face. The Noct-Nikkor 58/1.2 is one of my alltime favorites and it is nearly welded to my Df.

The 58/1.4G is imho a must for wedding photographers, for situations where you are shooting either one person or a couple and you need sharpness combined with max blur. I really love how it works on portraits of couples, and yes it is tempting to play with the out-of-focus characteristics of this lens. Sharpness wide open is as good/much as you need, very good indeed.

Here's a recent one, very typical situation where I'd use the 58/1.4G
EXIF 58mm 1/200s ISO 2800 with a D4S

[stenrasmussen]

The 58/1.4G is one of the lenses that always sits in my events/portraits bag. I never gained any enthusiasm for 45-50mm lenses as I felt them too wide for portraits, always showing barrel and perspective distortion once I moved in closer to the model's face. The Noct-Nikkor 58/1.2 is one of my alltime favorites and it is nearly welded to my Df.

The 58/1.4G is imho a must for wedding photographers, for situations where you are shooting either one person or a couple and you need sharpness combined with max blur. I really love how it works on portraits of couples, and yes it is tempting to play with the out-of-focus characteristics of this lens. Sharpness wide open is as good/much as you need, very good indeed.

Here's a recent one, very typical situation where I'd use the 58/1.4G
EXIF 58mm 1/200s ISO 2800 with a D4S

Now that's a golden moment Vilhelm!
I agree, since I got the 58/1.4G I haven't touched the other 50's. Its "lack" of over-correction to obtain smooth rendering is more attractive to me than for example Sigma's clinical sharpness.

[Vilhelm]

Its "lack" of over-correction to obtain smooth rendering is more attractive to me than for example Sigma's clinical sharpness.

My colleague swears by the Sigma 50/1.4 ART. I also cursed it and subsequent copies for the days spent with adjusting its focus... until I finally gave up on the Sigmas. I see plenty of photos from the Sigma 50/1.4 on a weekly basis (as my colleague uses it a lot), but never have found appeal in the Sigma's contrasty look - it just doesn't render OoF nicely and the sharpness is as appealing as ACR's clarity filter - not very appealing in my words. The Sigma is also considerably wider than the 58/1.4, at close to medium distances the Sigma is more a 47mm than 50mm so the perspective didn't appeal either.

[JJChan]

I also cursed it and subsequent copies for the days spent with adjusting its focus... until I finally gave up on the Sigmas.

Hi Vilhelm
My Df can't seem to get really sharp focus with the AF-s 58mm - and I've spent days adjusting focus too! I get -2 with my D800E and -18+ on Df using Reikan focal but still doesn't have the edge sharpness. But the rendering!!!

[Fons Baerken]

Df 58g

[Andy]

Just found a few with the AFS 58mm/1.4G.
All photos made with the Df, handheld. No postprocessing, just resized

1) f 1.4, 1/80s, ISO 1600


2) f 1.4, 1/30s, ISO 3200


3) f 1.6, 1/100s, ISO 400


4) f 1.4, 1/640s, ISO 3200


5) f 2.0, 1/25s, ISO 800


6) f 1.4, 1/60s, ISO 3200



rgds,
Andy