Is a f/1.4 that much better?
Discussion
audi321 said:
I don't understand lens prices. I mean the 50mm f1.4 is £280 new but the 58mm f1.4 is over £1100!
He's not wrong: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-nikon-58mm-f1-4...So, for those mumbling about 'quality', buy one of those!
audi321 said:
Yeah I can see they don't depreciate! I'm looking at buying 2nd hand and I can save a tenner on a 3 year old lens!
Buy new me thinks!
I don't understand lens prices. I mean the 50mm f1.4 is £280 new but the 58mm f1.4 is over £1100!
Hang on I think you're getting a bit lost in all this, the 58mm has the magic N on it which means it has Nikon’s Nano Crystal coating while the 50mm you listed doesn't, obviously there's more reasons than that to justify the jump in price but I think you should really be comparing the 1.4 and 1.8 50mm Nikon'sBuy new me thinks!
I don't understand lens prices. I mean the 50mm f1.4 is £280 new but the 58mm f1.4 is over £1100!
I've owned both and id say save your money and get the 50mm 1.8 as I've yet to find a reason to justify the extra price of the 1.4
audi321 said:
Cheers, thanks for explaining that. I wasn't even considering the one at £1100 but just wondered why it was so expensive.
The £1100 one has a gold ring around it, that's why 
audi321 said:
So f/1.8 it is then! Now just need to decide on 35mm or 50mm, I think 35mm as the 1.5x crop will mean 52mm anyway!
The 50mm f/1.4 is pretty much a default prime lens for entry level DSLRs, that's why they hold their value so well. I got one for £220 a couple of years ago and can still sell it for the same price - lenses don't depreciate like camera bodies. So if you can stretch your budget to the f/1.4 I say go for that, you'll likely get most of it back when you sell it on anyway.If you want better bokeh get the longer focal length. You can always stand further away!
As a general use lens on DX the 35mm 1.8 is a great lens, it is the "right" length to take general pictures, it is sharp wide open, great bokeh, and its small and very light.
The 50mm 1.8 has 5 advantages on it. It has ( slightly for all these values) less distortion, less vignetting ( dark edges ) , less chromatic aberration ( color fringing at sharp contrast transions ), and is full frame compatible so you can keep it forever, and its sharper. However, it is hard to use indoors as it is too zoomed in on DX, and there tends to be a limit on how far you can stand back indoors. Having tried both, I picked the 35mm as it was the right focal length for me indoors to take family snaps.
The 50mm 1.4 is an older design to the 50mm. 1.8, and the 1.8 beats it in almost every way. So rule that out.
The 35mm 1.4 is very, very slightly worse than the 50mm 1.8, and is 7 times the price, as a rule, the shorter the focal length the harder it is to design a good lens.
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side...
The 58mm is a much misunderstood lens. It is not as sharp on a test chart as any of the above lenses. It was brought out as a full frame Art lens by Nikon, and it is has the best bokeh of pretty much any lens on the market, and the best rendering of lights and is designed to perform wide open. If you want to take arty shots of your child blowing out his birthday cake lit only by the candles, its the best lens, if you want take a shot of your fiancé at the carnival at night, it is the best lens, if you want to take a shot of a cityscape at night, it is the best lens. It is also very very expensive.
This has recently been disrupted by Sigma, The Sigma ART line of lenses recently came along and beat the top end Nikon lenses, sharper, less CA, better wide open and cheaper. However they are still very expensive ( 600 pounds ) compared to the 35mm 1.8 and the 50mm 1.8 Nikons.
Having said all of this, for very fast glass wide open the primary limitation in real use is focus accuracy. The depth of field is very, very narrow, and all the tech specs make no difference if the shot is out of focus. The best technique I have found is to switch to single point AF, select where you want to dot to be in info mode, and then put that dot on the subjects eye.
In conclusion, buy either the 35mm 1.8 or the 50mm 1.8 Nikon, with your decision based on how much field of view you need. Fitted to your 3300, either will absolutely blow your bridge camera away.
The 50mm 1.8 has 5 advantages on it. It has ( slightly for all these values) less distortion, less vignetting ( dark edges ) , less chromatic aberration ( color fringing at sharp contrast transions ), and is full frame compatible so you can keep it forever, and its sharper. However, it is hard to use indoors as it is too zoomed in on DX, and there tends to be a limit on how far you can stand back indoors. Having tried both, I picked the 35mm as it was the right focal length for me indoors to take family snaps.
The 50mm 1.4 is an older design to the 50mm. 1.8, and the 1.8 beats it in almost every way. So rule that out.
The 35mm 1.4 is very, very slightly worse than the 50mm 1.8, and is 7 times the price, as a rule, the shorter the focal length the harder it is to design a good lens.
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side...
The 58mm is a much misunderstood lens. It is not as sharp on a test chart as any of the above lenses. It was brought out as a full frame Art lens by Nikon, and it is has the best bokeh of pretty much any lens on the market, and the best rendering of lights and is designed to perform wide open. If you want to take arty shots of your child blowing out his birthday cake lit only by the candles, its the best lens, if you want take a shot of your fiancé at the carnival at night, it is the best lens, if you want to take a shot of a cityscape at night, it is the best lens. It is also very very expensive.
This has recently been disrupted by Sigma, The Sigma ART line of lenses recently came along and beat the top end Nikon lenses, sharper, less CA, better wide open and cheaper. However they are still very expensive ( 600 pounds ) compared to the 35mm 1.8 and the 50mm 1.8 Nikons.
Having said all of this, for very fast glass wide open the primary limitation in real use is focus accuracy. The depth of field is very, very narrow, and all the tech specs make no difference if the shot is out of focus. The best technique I have found is to switch to single point AF, select where you want to dot to be in info mode, and then put that dot on the subjects eye.
In conclusion, buy either the 35mm 1.8 or the 50mm 1.8 Nikon, with your decision based on how much field of view you need. Fitted to your 3300, either will absolutely blow your bridge camera away.
audi321 said:
I know. Look at me, 2 months ago dead set on having 1200mm and now contemplating whether to buy a 35 or 50mm lens lol
Can I just say that it's been an enjoyable process to watch (and I do mean that in the very best way). All credit to you, you've been willing to but the effort in and not shy to admit when your viewpoint has changed as a result. 
p.s. if in doubt get the 35 - you can always crop a little if you can't get close enough, doing the reverse with the 50 is not an option!
PleasantPeasant said:
50mm for full frame is perfect
35mm for crop sensor is also perfect - I find 50mm a bit too long for general use
I have the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 for DX and the 50mm f/1.4 for FX
I find 50mm for a full frame too long too. 35mm is perfect for full frame.35mm for crop sensor is also perfect - I find 50mm a bit too long for general use
I have the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 for DX and the 50mm f/1.4 for FX
Also, does Sigma not do Nikon mount for their latest 35 and 50mm ART series? I have the 35mm and cannot praise it enough over Canon's own version.
Worth having a look...
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