50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

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Archive 2009 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

caoless
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p.1 #1 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

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?

btw i use d700.

Jun 24, 2009 at 07:51 AM

low325
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p.1 #2 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

have you considered the sigma 50 1.4?

Jun 24, 2009 at 04:18 PM

luke_28
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p.1 #3 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

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.

Jun 24, 2009 at 04:57 PM

thedigitalbean
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p.1 #4 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

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.

Jun 24, 2009 at 05:10 PM

caoless
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p.1 #5 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

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.

Jun 24, 2009 at 07:18 PM

caoless
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p.1 #6 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

does anyone do a 35 and 85 prime combo for their full frame? if so do you feel like you miss anything in between?

how about the 35 and 50 combo people out there.. how do you feel

Jun 25, 2009 at 07:23 AM

luminosity
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p.1 #7 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

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.

Jun 25, 2009 at 07:24 AM

Lord Kimbo
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p.1 #8 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

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.

Jun 29, 2009 at 06:06 PM

dre_gonzalez
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p.1 #9 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

for caoless:

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.

Jun 30, 2009 at 12:41 AM

Matthew Sweet
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p.1 #10 · 50 1.4g or no 50 1.4g

Caoless,

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.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Good luck making your decision.

Matt

Jul 01, 2009 at 12:10 PM

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