FYI: NEW Nikon 50 / 1.4

[feathermm]

$440 to $500 (Sigma) for a normal lens?
That's pretty insane, even at f/1.4.

 

[weiran]

HELLO!! Anyone? I hope its not a cheap Chinese offering ... PLEASE!!!!

Why would that make any difference now? All of Nikons plants have very high QA otherwise they wouldn't make it there. I wouldn't be surprised if this is made in China due to the fairly low price though?

IIRC a lot of the made in Japan stuff was 90% made in Thailand anyway and sent to Japan for assembly just so they could stamp the made in Japan logo on it.

 

[weiran]

I don't see a gold 'N' on the lens

It's lacking in acronyms isn't it? I don't see NanoCrystalCoat, ED, or ASPH.

 

[JCole]

It's lacking in acronyms isn't it? I don't see NanoCrystalCoat, ED, or ASPH.

Let's see...... Nano add $100, ED add $50....... oh you want ASPH that's another $100 please
Nikon would only add those features if they would improve the lenses optical performance:smile:

 

[mood]

I think it is a smart move
as mentioned by Jeff above, it could have been a $700-800 lens easily

now more people will think twice about the Sigma, et al, since their price is higher than Nikon, perceived performance aside...

 

[Leif]

Let's see...... Nano add $100, ED add $50....... oh you want ASPH that's another $100 please
Nikon would only add those features if they would improve the lenses optical performance:smile:

Or if the price is acceptable. My guess is that they could improve it, but that marketing has dictated a price, hence we get what we get. My guess is that it will not be much better than the old one which is a shame. We will see.

 

[romanh]

Will an 85mm with af-s surface this year then?

This is the one I'm waiting for!!
A AF-s 85/1.4 G (maybe with VR) would be great!!

 

[Geof]

Or if the price is acceptable. My guess is that they could improve it, but that marketing has dictated a price, hence we get what we get. My guess is that it will not be much better than the old one which is a shame. We will see.

Judging by the MTF charts Resolution and Contrast should be better (especially near the center) and according to Nikon this lens has a 9 bladed diaphram whereas the existing one has 7 blades so Bokeh may be better (Nikon says: "The rounded diaphragm opening combined with the nine-blade aperture contributes to a substantially more natural appearance of out-of-focus background elements"). The new version is larger in diameter and takes larger filters so I gather it has a bigger diameter front element which may translate to less vignetting in the corners. Finally Nikon's Press release states: "A newly developed optical formula effectively corrects sagittal coma flare and coma aberration, delivering astonishing image quality" so there is hope (at least for me) that this is a nice improvement over the existing lens. But you're right, in the end we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Joe Marques]

I think it is a smart move
as mentioned by Jeff above, it could have been a $700-800 lens easily

now more people will think twice about the Sigma, et al, since their price is higher than Nikon, perceived performance aside...

Or actual performance aside. :tongue: Sigma may win the IQ comparison but will still lose sales for being a Sigma. Oh well.

 

[cleoent]

sweeeeeeeeeet!

 

[sasdallas]

WOOPS.

Noodle lash.

SAS

 

[Joe Marques]

This is the one I'm waiting for!!
A AF-s 85/1.4 G (maybe with VR) would be great!!

I wouldn't count on VR and if you want to see a similar upgrade that wasn't much of an upgrade for the price look at the Canon 85 1.2 MkI vs. MkII (AF difference hardly worthwhile).

I'm sure I'll be keeping my 85 1.4 since AF is good enough, AFS won't be dramatically better, and IQ improvements would be theoretical.

 

[weiran]

Yeah I'm thinking the Sigma will just pip the Nikon, but the size, weight, and price will be a factor for many people when deciding. Personally if the Nikon is 90% of the Sigma I'd go for size and weight every time.

 

[mood]

Or actual performance aside. :tongue: Sigma may win the IQ comparison but will still lose sales for being a Sigma. Oh well.

very true Joe

to drive home that fact
I was in B&H this Sunday, to try/ feel the Sigma 20 1.8 and Nikon 20 2.8

no comparison at all in the build/ feel/ finish of the two
in the end, the stop and 1/3 may be important, may not

if they were both 2.8..........no contest which I would buy
price is almost the same

 

[Paul.r.lindqvist]

Considering the sigma dosent outperform the current nikkor on FF id say the new Nikkor is most likely to outperform the Sigma. If not... Nikon sure dissapoint alot of customers eagerly awaiting a new prime lens lineup.

 

[rotxlk82]

As noted above 58mm filter thread... that's odd

The same as my Sigma 105mm however.

I'm not aware of other Nikkors that have that thread.

 

[nykonian]

This will be the ticket for me to get back on Nikon. Can't wait...

 

[timkoo]

As noted above 58mm filter thread... that's odd

The same as my Sigma 105mm however.

I'm not aware of other Nikkors that have that thread.

I think the new 18-105 has a 58mm thread

 

[TMR Design]

Can we get a mod to combine this with this other thread?

https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=189750

 

[dmwphoto]

sure!