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Which 50 for D800e, Zeiss or Nikon

VINCET

Member
I am thinking of getting a 50-60mm lens for my D800e. Planning to use it as all around lens and is looking at either

1. Nikon 50 f1.8G - heard lots of good things about it and cheap
2. Nikon 60mm f2.8G micro - closeup is a good bonus but at a few stops slower.
3. Nikon 50 f1.4G - Not too bad and not too expensive
4. Zeiss 50 f2.0 Makro - really liked the Zeiss color (love my 100mm MP)
5. Nikon 50 f1.2 AIs - would have been nice if it is chipped.

AF is not too big an issue, although can be a bonus. Same with micro/macro capability. More concern about IQ.

Any feedback greatly appreciated.
 

Leigh

New member
Some G lenses are designed for the smaller DX frame, and will not cover the full 24x36 format of the D800E.

The D800E will sense DX lenses when used, and will reduce the sensor coverage area to the DX size. You can't change that.

- Leigh
 
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fotophil

Member
The "G" lenses designated as FX lenses work fine with full frame fomat. The term "G" refers to an electronic aperture not lens coverage.
 

Leigh

New member
It seems only some of the G lenses are DX; others are not.

I thought they all were, since all the ones I own are DX. My error.

- Leigh
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I like my 50/1.4 G -- but it isn't what I'd call a perfect lens. And then I like and wanted AF, so it left many other choices out. My copy of the 1.4 has some mojo at the wider apertures and sharpens up pretty nicely across the frame by 5.6.
 

robsteve

Subscriber
For the price, You can't go wrong with the 50mm f1.8 G. This was shot with the 50mm f1.8 on the D800E at 800iso and f2.4.

 

robmac

Well-known member
Some experiences that may help:

The latest 50/1.8 G is a slam-dunk (D800e, D3s). One of the best 50s I've owned across Canon, Leica R, Zeiss and CY. Pulls WELL in excess of it's weight (price wise). I knew it would be a bargain (much like the Canon version), but it's performance really surprised me - so much so, I see no need to replacing it, other than maybe adding a 50/1.2 AiS (very strong rep, oodles of character) for slower paced private (vs client) work.

The 60G is uber sharp and of course flat field but never took to mine as vignettes VERY heavily wide open (more so than the prior non-G version). Might try again (or get a a copy of the older version) but we'll see.

Unlike yourself, I never took to Zeiss lenses (50/2, 35/2, 100 MP on Canon) due to the T*-enduced contrast (not normally my taste) and, for me, a lack of CA control (especially on the 100) for the price. The upcoming 135/2 APO, contrast aside, may be another matter and is on my list to try.

That said, you like the 100 MP, so contrast aside, my 50/2 macro was readily matched or up-staged by my old beat-to-hell (used on an adapter) Leica 60 macro (WTH did I sell that lens...) in terms of resolving power for a fraction of the price, so the 50/2 was sold.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Jack, have you tried the 50 f1.8G? Many review seems to favor that lens.
I've seen images from it and speaking for me only, it has no "mojo" to it, just kind of there. Why I prefer the 1.4 -- and to my eyes, the 1.4 is at least equal (if not better) than the 1.8 by f2.8 -- but then maybe I have a really good copy. FWIW, Guy has the 1.8 and doesn't useit very much because it is so vanilla -- I suspect he'll end up with a 1.4 before too long, and he doesn't even care for the 50 focal length! :LOL:

Here's a couple of shots I took with the 50/1.4 on our Zion workshop -- none of which are great and I'm a little embarrassed to even share them, but hopefully give some idea of how the lens renders. First is wide open at about 2 feet focus distance on center of dead bush, natural vignette of lens was slightly enhanced in post, but not a lot. I think this shows its bokeh pretty well:



Second is at f8 at about 100 feet focus distance on rick wall, note that a fairly heavy vignette was added during post -- hard to tell of course from this web jpeg, but this image is quite sharp corner to corner:



Here's another shot to show how well it handles flare. The Sun is just out of frame on the upper left side and the trees and fall are heavily back-lit. Again, f8 at about 30 foot focus distance between tree and falls, and again some heavy vignette added in post:

 

D&A

Well-known member
Firstly Jack, I love most everything about that last image you posted , regardless of lens, although I might eventually crop the lower portion of the image. Don't think for myself, it would work in color :) ). There's a lot that draws me in, personally. Very nice!

I can't say a lot about the single focal length 50mm lenses in the Nikon mount that hasn't been expresed already. None of them light my fire in terms of exceptional charater. Competent and sharp performers, yes, the way they draw you into an image, not so much. The Sigma 50mm f1.4 does a good job in this respect, at least on a 12MP it did. I (and others) found it more of an artistic use lens than anything else, although was certainly sharp when stopped down. I agree with Jack, the current Nikon 50mm f1.4 G has more character than the 50mm f1.8G but when price/general performance is considered, it's hard to beat the 50mm f1.8 G lens for outright edge to edge sharpness and compactness.

Dave (D&A)
 
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pophoto

New member
The price of the 50 f1.8G is hard to beat especially when in many cases the lens shows better centre to edge sharpness than the f1.4G. You can't really complain about the price of the f1.4G either, but the f1.4G just doesn't have have any magic in my eyes, and I used to wish Nikon would charge more to make a Canon f1.2 equivalent. In the end I bought the manual focus AIS f1.2. My court back in the Nikon days was with the trinity zoom lenses, but wanted a couple of primes for that something special!

To this day, Nikon still hasn't brought to market an expensive or MAGICAL 50mm lens. In the end I think the choices are really simple, do you want AF or MF? Do you want f1.4 or f1.8? And so on...
 

Alon

Not Available
To this day, Nikon still hasn't brought to market an expensive or MAGICAL 50mm lens. In the end I think the choices are really simple, do you want AF or MF? Do you want f1.4 or f1.8? And so on...
Magical? What is Magical.

Lenses with their on personality?
In this case the Nikkor 50/1.2 Ais and the Noct.

Did you try them?

They have some Magical dust in them.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
You have plenty of choices but no real standout 50 that handles everything exists ( a disappointment ). AF is a big deal for most D8ooE users . If you are open to manual focus alternatives ...you have several not mentioned .

The Zeiss 5o Makro is a superb all around lens similar to the 100 in how it renders . If you like the 100..this is a great choice . Generally I didn t like my 50 Makro because of the macro focusing (too slow) and the very strong macro contrast . This is subjective for sure .

Three you didn t mention ..all are crazy expensive generally over $3K .

1. 58/1.2 NOCT Nikkor ... a limited edition Nikkor long out of production. Amazing character ..Nikon s version of a Noctilux . A special purpose lens best wide open at night .

2. Leica 50 1.4 60mm Summilux . IMHO as good as it gets in a 50 . One of the last R lenses released . Character is Leica . Downsides are severe ...requires a Leitax mount exchange and you have to deal with a manual aperture . Size and handling are excellent .

3.New Zeiss high performance lenses ..I believe the first lens is a 58/1.4 . The design parameters were to produce the very best IQ without cost or size constraints . The lens is huge larger than the Leica S lenses . These aren t available yet but they had prototypes at ProPhoto Plus last OCT .
 

ShooterSteve

New member
I am thinking of getting a 50-60mm lens for my D800e. Planning to use it as all around lens and is looking at either

1. Nikon 50 f1.8G - heard lots of good things about it and cheap
2. Nikon 60mm f2.8G micro - closeup is a good bonus but at a few stops slower.
3. Nikon 50 f1.4G - Not too bad and not too expensive
4. Zeiss 50 f2.0 Makro - really liked the Zeiss color (love my 100mm MP)
5. Nikon 50 f1.2 AIs - would have been nice if it is chipped.

AF is not too big an issue, although can be a bonus. Same with micro/macro capability. More concern about IQ.

Any feedback greatly appreciated.
Well if you really like your 100mm Zeiss, then the 50mm version should be a no brainer for you.

I am also looking for a 50 for the D800E. I already have three Leica R's but the prices of the Leica 50's are crazy right now. So for me the Zeiss is the next logical choice. Is the Zeiss 50 1.4 not a good performer? No one seems to talk about it. It is very confusing for sure.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
FWIW, I demoed a ZF.2 50/1.4 and was NOT impressed at all -- it never got sharp corners even at f8. However, the center was sharp all the way through -- so if somebody wants a lens with a unique look wide open, it may be worth looking at. But IMHO it's a lot of money to lay out for a manual focus lens that never gets critically sharp outer-third edges. If I were going to a ZF 50, it would be the f2 version...
 

jlancasterd

Active member
I have the Zeiss 50mm f2 Makro-Planar for use on my D800E and am very pleased with it. I'm not a particular fan of autofocus, preferring to focus manually whenever conditions allow, and I'm really impressed by how easy it is to focus this lens on the ground glass of the D800's screen - the ZF.2 focus confirmation is nice but not essential.

I find the colour rendering, sharpness and contrast to be excellent – but I don't often use it wide open.

It is well served by the profile correction tool in Lightroom.
 

VINCET

Member
Jack, I agree with the sentiment of Manouch regarding embarassing shot :)

Guys, great discussion and feedback. I was surprise initially that there were no mention of the Zeiss 50 f2 MP but eventually, it started and they were mostly positive.

For me, I ended up getting the 50 f1.8G. It seems like a good lens already and I paid $185 for a used mint one so can't go wrong at that price. The price I paid is probably less than the depreciation of the 50mm f2.0 MP :) which is what I wanted initially.
 

Jan Brittenson

Senior Subscriber Member
Just be aware that critical manual focus with any sort of limited DoF is very difficult with the D800, because of the AF-optimized bright screen. Even using the center AF point and refocusing for a static subject will yield vastly better results. You can get plenty of shots acceptably sharp but very little critically so, leaving you wondering why you'd use a 36MP camera. Live view will become essential, but it's very slow to work with. For moving subjects, forget it; it's a waste of time, unless you're happy with ~10MP'ish worth of image. For this reason I'd recommend anyone to get an AF lens, unless we're talking very wide or shooting at f/8 on a 50 at modest distances.

For a portrait anywhere wide open you have to choose between watching for focus on a live view or watching the subject. Smiles held will quickly look strained and if you can't work efficiently and shoot on emotional reaction your work will suffer. For this reason, for medium-format like portraiture results, I'd strongly recommend an AF (even an old AF-D) lens used in AF-C mode, AF tuned, with an AF point laid over an eye or wherever else you want to draw attention. You don't have the screen of a Pentax 67II or RZ67 in there...
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I'm just not a big 50mm focal length fan myself so I been putting money on other focal lengths more but I still need a 50 on occasion and have the 1.8 since its sharp and cheap. But the Zeiss 50 macro would be my choice if I was fond of that focal length. I'm tempted by the Sigma 35 1.4 but have the Zeiss 35mm F2 which I really like. Not sure the Sigma would be better but my next lens out of pocket money would be the Zeiss 135 f2 that I want without gang something else up.
 
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