Nikkor 50mm AF/S f/1.4 G

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Tavli

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Scott
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Hi All
I am pretty new to the DLSR experience and have read the Nikkor 50mm AF/S f/1.4 G is meant to be good for low light use, I want to get a good all round lens but also want it for low light for parties and general in door use etc, I dont really want to spend a ton of cash at the moment as I have already spent out enough this month for my new camera kit (Nikon D3100 body).

My question to you all is this, would this be a good choice of lens for the purpose I need it for?

Regards
Scott.
 
It would, but don't discount the cheaper (almost half the price) 35mm AF-S 1.8G, it's arguably a more useful focal range on DX format.
 
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Yes its a very good lens. You might also want to look at the Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.8.
Not quite as wide an aperture of the 50, but a much more manageable length on a crop camera especially for indoors, and about £100 cheaper too.

**Damn my slow typing..**
 
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Hmmmmm interesting, thanks you so much for your quick replies, so it would seem I have not looked into it enough :nono: that is exactly why I posted the Q, it would also seem from both replies that I should really consider the 30 or 35mm lenses?? If either of these are more practical and more useful then this indeed would be the way to go I guess.
Which lens would be more ideal then for me?

Sorry about my stupid questions but I am a complete novice but so far I am enjoying myself.

Scott.
 
grotty said:
I meant the 35mm...have edited my post.
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LOL I went off looking on google for a 30mm and came to the conclusion you must have meant 35mm as there was not much in the way of results coming back hehe!

Thanks for your help folks.
 
I had the cheap 50mm 1.8 everyone seems to rave about, but I hated it, ugly ass bokeh, built like a £100 lens, and the focal length really didn't suit me on a cropped camera (D200), so I bought the 35mm 1.8 DX. I would highly recommend the 35mm DX it's a fantastic little lens
 
On the crop body 35mm f1.8 :thumbs:

My 35mm got a lot more use on my D300 than my 50mm did.
 
Sigma do a 30mm F/1.4 if you want the extra stop of aperture aswell.
 
Wow, thank you all, it seems I was way off the mark as you all think the 35mm is the way to go, I'm glad I posted here now for advice.
 
Hi Tavli, i was in the same postition as you a couple of months back and decided to get the 35mm, Its a great lens which is nice and sharp and for the price, you cant go wrong.. Mine has pretty much stayed on my d3100 since i bought it.:thumbs:
 
ste mainwaring said:
Hi Tavli, i was in the same postition as you a couple of months back and decided to get the 35mm, Its a great lens which is nice and sharp and for the price, you cant go wrong.. Mine has pretty much stayed on my d3100 since i bought it.:thumbs:
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Great thanks again everyone for your help.

That settles it then, I will be ordering a nice little 35mm f/1.8 ASAP, shhhhh dont tell her!!! :thumbs:
 
Not sure I'd agree about the 35mm...I have the 50mm 1.4 G on a DX body and find it fine for the kind of things you describe. It will obviously struggle if want to take pictures of groups of people at a party but if you are looking for more portrait type shots it will be the better focal length in my opinion.
 
Of course everyone's different. I use 35mm full length, 50mm torso, 85mm headshots. Simples
 
I will disagree - for me my 50mm is my favourite lens and the majority of the time it is perfect. I would find 35mm too short on a regular basis.

It really depends what you shoot and what you plan to shoot. Have a look through your images, what focal lengths were they?
 
Nikon 50mm f/1.4: Entry to "proper" Portraiture/some general use (i find 50 to be a bit tight on a crop for general use)
Nikon 35mm f/1.4: Not worth considering at well over a grand (not yet, anyway, maybe your photography will get to that point some day, but for now ignore)
Nikon 35mm f/1.8: Definitely worth the money, great general purpose lens on a crop
Sigma 30mm f/1.4: A better performer than the nikon all around, but £150-ish more, depends what you want it for.
Sigma 50mm f/1.4: Very large for a 50, but a very solid performer, again, better than the Nikon, again for a little more cash.

You'll want to bear in mind that if you end up moving on - the Sigma 30 won't work on a full-frame sensor.

The 50's are more portraiture lenses on crops, the 30's are more suited to general use stuff. You could also consider hiring an 17-50/18-50/17-55/18-55 lens for a bit to just see what sort of length you want - line up the focal length then walk around trying to just use that focal length, see which one you prefer :)
 
I love my 50mm primes, I have 3 of them. Nikon 50mm 1.8, Nikon 50mm 1.4afs and a Zeiss 50mm 1.4 planar, all 3 are different and all 3 are great lenses.

Like others I do not find the 50mm to long or tight on DX sensors, mind you my most used lens combo is my 70-200 with a 1.4 tc on it, even for general walk around shots with the family. If I am going "light" then one of the 50mm goes on, I don't find different focal lengths to be that restricting.
 
Hmmm decisions, decisions, oh dear now what do I do lol, so many opinions.
I guess what I really want most is somethig suited to low light and also for general every day stuff when out and about, beaches, people (general) and wife and kids portriature indoors and out.
Maybe I will go for the 35mm due to being the cheaper lens to see if it suits but might still end up wanting the 50mm, I don't suppose having both over time would be a waste of time, at least if I don't like any of them I could sell them on.

Thank you all for sharing your valuable knowledge :thumbs:
 
Hi,

I am new to photography and was suggested to get the 35mm F/1.8 which I did from John Lewis just before it went up in price.

I love the lens and it also make the camera and lens easy to carry when I want to take it in to work with me.
 
Tavli said:
Maybe I will go for the 35mm due to being the cheaper lens to see if it suits but might still end up wanting the 50mm, I don't suppose having both over time would be a waste of time, at least if I don't like any of them I could sell them on.
:
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These lenses certainly do hold their value if you look after them...it's one of the reasons I bought the 50mm 1.4G. I bought mine new and think I could sell it for about £35 less than I paid for it....if you buy one second hand you might not lose anything if you're lucky.
 
I think I might try and hire one first just to try it out £30 wont be missed as £200 would be lol.
Anyone used lenses for hire?
 
Tavli said:
Anyone used lenses for hire?
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Quite a few people on here have, but not me personally ... I have only ever seen glowing reports about them, it is owned by StewartR who posts on here.

They have an add in the Trade Classified on here LINK
 
Thank you for that, just had a look at the link, very impressive so I will be using them.
 
The Tamron is an excellent value for money lens with stellar optics. It sacrifices on build quality but when you consider the Nikon equivalent is £600+ used...I have one (that has the focus motor for D3100) for sale in the classifieds if you're interested.
 
Scott

You either want a fast prime that will be useful in poor light, or a not quite so fast mid range zoom that will not be as useful in poor light.

The Tamron represents good value for money, but I do not think it is what you want from your initial post.

Sigma 50 f1.4, some prefer this and some prefer the Nikon version, depends on what you want to do with it, and your preference for the look of an image.



.
 
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Martyn... said:
Scott

You either want a fast prime that will be useful in poor light, or a not quite so fast mid range zoom that will not be as useful in poor light.

The Tamron represents good value for money, but I do not think it is what you want from your initial post.

Sigma 50 f1.4, some prefer this and some prefer the Nikon version, depends on what you want to do with it, and your preference for the look of an image.



.
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Hi

Thank you very much, ideally for the party I guess I will need the faster prime for low lighting so I will hire one, but also I think I will hire the Tamron zoom too just to see what it is like as I will have them both for the week, also I could make good use of both lenses outside while on walkabout.

Thank you all for your advise it has helped me alot.
 
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