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Nikkor 58mm f1.4 - 1st hands on views

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I think he nailed it with these comments: it's not really sharp enough for portraits wide open; it's got wonderful bokeh compared to the 50/1.4; it's better than my copy of the 50/1.4G, but I can't say it's $1200 better.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
I think he nailed it with these comments: it's not really sharp enough for portraits wide open; it's got wonderful bokeh compared to the 50/1.4; it's better than my copy of the 50/1.4G, but I can't say it's $1200 better.
This depends on what the photographer plans to shoot and how he wants to allocate his equipment budget . The 58/1.4 produces a different rendering from the 50/1.4 ..which one is better depends on the subject and the aesthetic the photographer is after .

Canon has had this option for years between the standard 50/1.4 and the 50/1.2 L . My daughter shoots events,weddings ,families,kids etc and she wouldn t give up her 50/1.2L for any lens she has . So in her case its well worth the difference . My wife shoots with the 50/1.4G on her D600 and loves it ..so she isn t looking for an expensive upgrade .

I think a better question is does the 58/1.4G deliver a signature aesthetic that can be used to produce the photographers vision . Its different but it doesn t have the richness of my 50/1.4 summilux ....I am not sure at this point .
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I agree Roger. On the one hand if you want AF and smooth bokeh, then this new 58 is the ticket. Problem is for guys like you and me and everybody else that owns the 50/1.4G and has seen the magic signature from a 50 Lux or even the unique look form the manual 50/1.2 AIS, it becomes a tougher calculus to justify this one IMHO.

Arguably the OUTUS at over 2x the price seems a better value to me -- at least I see a look that is more "unique" than Nikon's new 58.
 

Jan Brittenson

Senior Subscriber Member
Greenspan looks bulbous even in person :eek:
I don't particularly like that shot - the DoF is too narrow and there's no background to frame the subject or give it context. The background doesn't add or create negative space. Such a shallow DoF IMO is a gimmick comparable to HDR, grunge processing, tone mapping, vignetting, etc. All of these can be useful tools when applied with subtlety, to enhance an image. But they can't really make one to begin with, at least not to my eye. Once the "effect" is visible (and they can be spotted from a mile) it takes over.

There ARE exceptions, but this isn't one of them IMO...
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
58mm Portrait on-axis

I took this as an experiment. Looking at my test files it was clear that wide-open, the aberrations off-axis made the subject look rather soft off of the lens axis at fairly close range.
So, I shot this with the center of the lens aimed at the eyes and cropped accordingly.
It is not so much focus shift off-axis, it is the intentional set of off-axis aberrations that are causing the soft appearance.
Here is a view at 100%. Probably sharp enough especially for a woman.

-bob
 

Jan Brittenson

Senior Subscriber Member
It's hard to tell if it's worth three times as much... For who, and what purpose? Being used to Leica prices I don't think it's too bad... And performance isn't too dissimilar from the pre-APO Summicron 50/2.
 

Dustbak

Member
I have not had much time to extensively use the 58. Yesterday actually for the first time. Initially I was startled with the softness of the lens. After that I realized I was shooting at ISO1250 or higher which doesn't help either. After opening the files I sort of relaxed, the lens has a very nice rendering. I think this is one of those lenses you need to learn to love next to learning how to use them.

I have attached some snaps that I needed to take yesterday (well the flowers were not necessary but they simply were around :)). My daughter was taken at ISO1250/f2.0/125th, flowers at ISO1250/f1.4/125th

Full

100%

Full

100%
 

RVB

Member
I agree Roger. On the one hand if you want AF and smooth bokeh, then this new 58 is the ticket. Problem is for guys like you and me and everybody else that owns the 50/1.4G and has seen the magic signature from a 50 Lux or even the unique look form the manual 50/1.2 AIS, it becomes a tougher calculus to justify this one IMHO.

Arguably the OUTUS at over 2x the price seems a better value to me -- at least I see a look that is more "unique" than Nikon's new 58.
I agree and these figure from Roger Cicala compare the Otus to the Nikon at 1.4.. the figures are for centre ,average and corner average,,

Nikon 58mm f/1.4 700 560 480
Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 965 810 690

The Zeiss is a lot better,but in favour of the Nikon is weight ,AF and price,But is the 58mm much better than the 50m 1.4G at 3x the price..?these figures include the 50mm 1.4g and 58mm 1.4G..

Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 @ 2.8 1255 1090
Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 @ f/5.6 1105 990
Zeiss 25mm f/2 @ f/4 1215 1015
Nikon 58mm f/1.4 @f/5.6 1160 940
Nikon 24mm f/1.4G @ f/5.6 1185 845
Nikon 50mm f/.14 G @ f/5.6 1075 890
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
OT I've been saying this all along look at the Zeiss 25f2 one of the best if not the best in the 24/25 range. I need to buy that lens back. I had it and loved it.


Okay my issue with this lens is I never would put someone's eyes dead center they will always be off center and I just don't see the performance there. That's what's bugging me about this lens . I have yet to see one shot with really sharp eyelashes wide open. I can do this at will with my Sigma 35 1.4 lens for 900 dollars I may add. It's actually almost too sharp. I want a 58mm like that. The Otus looks to have it but 4k really is not in the cards.
 

Dustbak

Member
Yes, the zf2 25 is really nice. maybe I will treat myself to an Otus too but I just know I will use it differently.

In the coming weeks I will try to use the 58 more often to see where its strenghts are. Indeed sharp eyelashes doesn't seem to be one of those at 1.4. I suspect not even at 2.0 but at the moment it is too early to say. Kind of like the voigtlander apo-lanthar. Not particularly sharp but really pleasant in rendition. I ended up selling that 125, magical colors and rendition but I could not get used to its softness compared to the sharpness of the nikon 105VR which is boringly sharp (I guess it is never perfect)

We will see.

BTW, I think the lens is not that much less off center. Apparently it has some weird field curvature where there is a bulb/dent in between the center and corners. This means that you can get the eye lashes sharp off center but that the field of sharpness in the center and corners will be in another plane at that moment. So this is definitely not a lens to be used for copy purposes ;)
 

Jan Brittenson

Senior Subscriber Member
Here's a snap made with the 58 today... Nothing remarkable, but a lot of lenses would either not be clear and sharp, or would make a mess of the background as it's pretty cluttered. Generally pretty damn well behaved. There was a fire about a block away, so of course I grabbed the camera and dashed out... :)

 
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