Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

F/1.4 performs like a dream in low light and creates a wonderful blur. I also like the minimum focus distance at about a foot so I can get a tight shot even at 50mm. Focus is fast and quiet and it's a must have for any photographers.50mm is a must have for me. Sometimes I just want to carry it because it's smaller and doesn't make me stick out like a sore thumb with larger lens.Below is a summary of how I use all of my lens today and I hope it will help you find what you are looking for if you have similar needs as mine:* AF-S 50mm f/1.4: Great for infants and walk-around lens on the street. I use this lens most of the time for infant pictures because 1) I don't want to use flash when infants have their eyes open even if I have a softbox/umbrella. 2) lightweight 3) low light performance at f/1.4. I also uses this when I'm out of the house because it's not in-you-face when you pull it out of you bag so people won't notice you. This lens also makes me move around a bit to be more creative vs. just zoom in and out. 50mm lens makes me think more about the shots.* AF-S 60mm f/2.8 micro: Great macro lens: I use this for very close up shots. I can get as close to less than an inch away even though the minimum focal length isn't listed as being 1 inch away. You will want good lighting since flash will be useless when you are this close to the subject. I take photos of baby lips, eyes, face, hands and feet, & other objects such as jewelry * watches. Basically any fairly stationary subjects that I want to highlight the details and intentional imperfections/wrinkles, etc. I sometimes wonder if I should use this all the time instead of my 50mm but I find the 50mm better at non-macro shots because it focus faster and lets in 4 times more light.* AF-S 85mm f/1.8 : I use this most of the time for adult portraits and it has very good low light performance as well. I choose this over the f/1.4 version because the other reviews I've read on the web did not justify the extra $1000 spend for marginal performance improvement and unless I am getting paid to take pictures all the time, I don't see the need to pay the extra cost for the f/1.4. This lens also makes me move around a bit to be more creative vs. just zoom in and out.* AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8: I use this when I just don't know what kind of pictures I could be taking and need to have zoom & I don't have to move around as much. While I don't take landscape pictures (24mm) often, I will use this for a large group outing, birthday parties when I may need to get a wide shot of a lot of people in a room and be able to have a little bit of zoom capability and not have to walk up so close to the people's face. This allows me to get some candid shots when needed. It's fairly heavy at 2 lbs and huge when you put on the hood so I almost never use this lens when I'm on the street because it attracts a lot of unwanted attention. I wouldn't want this hanging on my neck or shoulders for a long period of time.* AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 vr2 : This is one of my favorite lens only because I can use it for portraits as well (with some lighting support) and I can get really good candid shots since I can be much farther away 10-20ft from my subjects and able to get a nice picture. I do have to crop at times to get rid of the cluttered background but with the D600 camera, I have enough megapixel details to crop my pictures when needed. This is obviously a monster lens so I avoid taking it for street photos even though I've had some nice pictures and experiences on the street but it's so big... I've had people stopping me asking me if I'm a paparazzi and which celebrity I am stalking..... haha. It's almost over 3 lbs so I definitely wouldn't want this hanging on my neck or shoulders for a long period of time.* AF-S 70-200mm f/4: this is also a great lens and a fantastic alternative to the 2.8 version. At over $1000 less, this is a bargin and great lens if you're taking photos at good lighting conditions (outdoor, have flash or good indoor lighting). Otherwise it may be problematic for you at F/4.

I have a side business as a freelance photographer, doing production photography, headshots weddings, & art. And I gotta say, this is a fantabulous lens, plain & simple. I honestly don't see why some people are dumping on this lens! I admit, I haven't used the Sigma 50mm f1.4 (which must be huge & heavy, which I don't want), or anything comparable from other manufacturers, but I couldn't be happier. I did have the older 50mm AF-Nikkor f1.4 D, which was great, but I sold it-for good money-and got this version, despite the opinions that one shouldn't. I've been using this new version for about a month now-including 2 paid freelance shoots-and don't regret it.Pros: 1) Image quality. Contrast, color reproduction & sharpness are superior. I was shocked at the amount of detail I've been capturing. 2) Awesome in low light-how can it not be at f1.4?. 3) Smooth, quiet autofocus. Autofocus is noticeably slower than the AF-D model, but for most situations where you'd be using a prime lens I think it's fine. Plus it's nice when you're photographing a singer up close, trying to be intimate & keep her comfortable, to not have the "buzz" of the old screwdriver-focused lens. 4) Autofocus with manual override. If AF isn't working (like in low light) just hold the shutter button down half-way & turn the focusing ring. This is the way Nikon lenses are being designed nowadays, & that's a good thing! 5) Bokeh. Despite the negative reviews, I like the bokeh I get at wider apertures. Which was one of the reasons I wanted it-the 9 blade rounded diaphragm should be better for background blur than the straight, 7-blade diaphragm of the older model. I'm thinking it helps that I shoot on a camera with a DX sensor, so if you have a D700, D3, D3x, or 35mm film you might get different results. Otherwise, you should not be disappointed. 6) Ergonomics. It just has a really good feel to me. 7) Almost true internal focusing. The lens barrel doesn't change length while focusing, so you can hold onto any part of the lens & focus. 8) Hood. Comes with a nice bayonet hood, easy to put on and off, unlike the AF-D model, for which you need to separately purchase a screw-on rubber hood. 9) Forward compatibility. The only Nikon 50mm lens that will autofocus on the Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D3000, & D5000, which require lenses with their own focusing motors.Cons: Very few of significance. 1) Manual focusing. It works well, & the ability to override autofocus without flicking a switch is great, but I find the focusing ring a little harder to handle than on the older model. This model is larger overall, leading to a larger focusing ring (& filter), and my hands are a little small-ish, so that could be why. But this isn't a major factor if you use autofocus most/all of the time. The ring on this lens also feels tighter to me-which could be both a good & bad feature. 2) Larger filter size-58mm vs. the old, common 52. Only an issue if you already have 52mm filters and would have to get new ones for this lens. If you have multiple lenses with different filter sizes, try to just get one size of most filters and use a step-up ring. 3) Slower autofocus-but see above, not a major problem in my view. 4) Price. Pretty expensive at approximately $450.00, but it's actually not as bad as it looks. If you use a hood, like I do, then you don't have to buy one separately. It also comes with a nice carrying case-not essential, but a good touch. 5) Backward compatibility. Will not work on the older film cameras, because it lacks an aperture ring. Probably won't matter to most people.The older 50mm Nikon f1.4 AF-D is terrific. This version is even terrific-er. All I can say is, if you need a terrific-er 50mm lens: Go for it!