Well recently switched from canon to nikon and i haven't had a real experience with the 50's.. i have a 35 f2 and 24-70g and wondering if i should keep the 50 1.4.. i love the capabilities of the 1.4 and love the lense itself but compare to the 35 and the 24-70 the focus is a bit slower. I do a lot of candid portrait shots and also action moving portrait shots. i'm more of a natural light photographer so most of the time i wont have my flash mounted 85% of the time.
Reason i want to keep it
low light indoor shots
1.4 gives some nice dof for fun shots
special wide open shots for portraits.
reason i don't want to keep it
focus a bit slow..
afraid not to use it enough.
let me know your opinions and options. also if you have a experience with the same gear list i have so far.. how do you feel about it?
I have/had the 50 1.4 G, and ended up letting it go because the focus was painfully slow. Also have the 24-70 and 35 f/2. I end up using my 35m f/2 when I want a lightweight walkaround for my full frame body. I have been thinking of repurchasing the 50 G, for my dx body though.
I've owned the 50 1.4 D, but found that I wasn't happy with the sharpness wide open. Had two copies and neither seemed sharp when compared to my 85 1.4 wide open.
I had one and let it go. I just wasn't very impressed with the lens overall. I've got the Sigma coming now and will give it a try and see if its more impressive.
Maybe i should let mine go as well.. I feel the 35f2 is a bit too wide for couple or single person shots, especially for candid. Only real reason i want to keep the 50 is for more headshot or half body shots for portraits and walking around.
I was thinking about the sigma but i don't feel like going through too much hassle to find a perfect copy.
One of the best photographers I know of uses just three lenses for the vast majority of his shots (Canon, but the point remains): The 24 1.4, 50 1.2 and 135 2. For Nikon, that would be 24 2.8, 50 1.4 and 135 2.
I have the 50G and am happy with it. Yes, it is slower on the autofocus than my 17-55/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 and my 18-200VR. But it isn't that bad. I had the 50/1.8 before and the autofocus on this is around the same speed.
I am not sure if the autofocus on the Sigma will be much different. I can't say as I've never had one in my hand and on my camera to compare, but did get to play with one briefly on a Canon 5D and its autofocus didn't seem any better.
I have compared my 1.4 images on my D200 against those of the Sigma posted on the DP Review site and mine is much sharper at 1.4 than their model. I am glad I spent less $ and got the Nikon. Even though it is plastic, it feels well built and more solid than the 1.8 I had. And with it being a bit smaller and lighter than the Sigma, it is a little more convenient to carry around.
I use a 35/2 and a 85/1.4 combo on full frame. It is my walk around setup. I do wish the wider of the two was f1.4, but I don't feel like I am missing anything.
When I wish to carry just the body and lens, I bring the 50/1.4G though I don't do it often.
I'm not sure if this will help or not since I'm a DX shooter, but here's my thoughts. I own the Nikon 35 1.8 and the Sigma 50 1.4. The only time the 35 comes out of the bag is when I'm in a smallish room and I'm shooting a group of folks. I prefer to stay out of the action and shoot from a distance so I find the Sig50 to be my lens of choice. Even when I use the 35, I really wish it was a 24 or a 28, but I make do. 10 years from now, when FX is affordable (to me) I guess that would mean I would be a 35mm/85mm user with little use for the 50 in the middle.
If you decide to go the Sig50 route, here's what i experienced. I ordered the lens from Amazon with some apprehension due to the QC reports. When I opened the Amazon box, I was surprised at how little packing material was placed around the lens box. I was a bit disappointed and assumed that I would be sending the lens somewhere. Upon testing the lens, it seemed a little soft at 1.4 and much improved at 1.8. I decided to send it to Sigma instead of back to Amazon. It came back much improved in 10 days or less. I have no problems shooting at 1.4 and the AF on my D40x was able to track youth basketball & tennis without issue. I recently used this lens on a field trip to the park with a bunch of children from my churches summer program. Here are a few examples:
All are shot with a D40x at ISO 100, f/1.4 with basic PP done in batch.
