Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 AF-D by Alpha Whiskey Photography
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Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 AF-D

  • Jul 06, 2012
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Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 AF-D

I have written this blog as an homage to my Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 AF-D. It has served me well on a number of occasions, but I just don't use it enough and thus I have decided that I will sell it and hope that it finds a more worthy home.On the occasions that I have used it, it has obtained some really pleasing images for me, and is beautifully sharp. I sometimes take it with me on my travels and whenever I chose to use it has not let me down. I use it on a DX sensor, making the actual field of view more like 75mm, but it has still been an easy lens to compose and shoot with. I have shot everything from action to landscapes, portraits and wildlife with it, and it has returned excellent images in each subject. The fast aperture allows a fast shutter speed at a lower ISO in low light, and this flexibility is sometimes invaluable, especially at night or indoors.But I simply do not use it enough now to warrant keeping it. So I will hope to find a better home for it :)

Jul 06, 2012
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Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 AF-D

This post has 20 photos Jul 06, 2012Comments (14)6144 views
I have written this blog as an homage to my Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 AF-D. It has served me well on a number of occasions, but I just don't use it enough and thus I have decided that I will sell it and hope that it finds a more worthy home.

On the occasions that I have used it, it has obtained some really pleasing images for me, and is beautifully sharp. I sometimes take it with me on my travels and whenever I chose to use it has not let me down. I use it on a DX sensor, making the actual field of view more like 75mm, but it has still been an easy lens to compose and shoot with. I have shot everything from action to landscapes, portraits and wildlife with it, and it has returned excellent images in each subject. The fast aperture allows a fast shutter speed at a lower ISO in low light, and this flexibility is sometimes invaluable, especially at night or indoors.

But I simply do not use it enough now to warrant keeping it. So I will hope to find a better home for it :)
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St Stephen's Tower and Big Ben.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0093b_030 Upload Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:39 PM
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St Stephen's Tower and Big Ben.
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River Vtlava through Prague at sunset.

Jul 06, 2012
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View_from_Letna_Park Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:41 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/80 secAperture:f / 4.5Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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River Vtlava through Prague at sunset.
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Richmond Park in the autumnal sun

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_3985 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:41 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:800Exposure:1/60 secAperture:f / 13.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Richmond Park in the autumnal sun
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Juggler, Prague.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0421b_204 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:800Exposure:1/60 secAperture:f / 2.8Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Juggler, Prague.
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It makes an excellent portrait lens, as demonstrated here on my friend Genka.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0535b_887 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 07:04 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/500 secAperture:f / 3.2Focal Length:35 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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It makes an excellent portrait lens, as demonstrated here on my friend Genka.
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More here!

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0804b_917 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 07:05 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/1000 secAperture:f / 2.2Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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More here!
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Young fallow deer in the woods.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_3707 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:41 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:800Exposure:1/500 secAperture:f / 4.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Young fallow deer in the woods.
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Turtle, New York Aquarium.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0749 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:41 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:640Exposure:1/160 secAperture:f / 2.2Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Turtle, New York Aquarium.
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DSC_0720

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0720 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:41 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:720Exposure:1/160 secAperture:f / 2.5Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Polar Bears duke it out!

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0618b_074 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:41 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/500 secAperture:f / 1.4Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Polar Bears duke it out!
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Not a macro lens, but I still managed to get some satisfying flora and fauna shots with it. See below for more examples.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0557b_859 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/1250 secAperture:f / 3.5Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Not a macro lens, but I still managed to get some satisfying flora and fauna shots with it. See below for more examples.
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DSC_0390b_790

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0390b_790 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/80 secAperture:f / 4.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Garden fauna.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0460b_801 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/800 secAperture:f / 3.2Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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DSC_0545b_856

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0545b_856 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/1000 secAperture:f / 3.5Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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DSC_0529b_852

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0529b_852 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:280Exposure:1/250 secAperture:f / 3.5Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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DSC_0292

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0292 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/250 secAperture:f / 4.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0287 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/2000 secAperture:f / 4.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Pelican in flight, St James's Park.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0483b_844 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/200 secAperture:f / 9.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Pelican in flight, St James's Park.
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St James's Park.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0452b_843 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/125 secAperture:f / 11.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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St James's Park.
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Horseguards Parade as seen from St James's Park.

Jul 06, 2012
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DSC_0432b_840 Capture Date: Aug 6, 2011 06:40 PM
Camera:NIKON D90ISO Speed:200Exposure:1/80 secAperture:f / 14.0Focal Length:50 mmFlash:Did not Fire
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Horseguards Parade as seen from St James's Park.
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Comments

RatulAug 11, 2011 05:51 AM

These are awesome shots. Great use of the portrait lens for different uses.

ParrishAug 25, 2011 03:51 PM

Hi Alpha, sad to see the 50mm go but im sure you have a plan in your head and the proceeds are going to fund something new Lol.

Excellent collection of images from the 50mm.

We must meet up again soon...maybe another night shoot ?

Alpha Whiskey PhotographyAug 26, 2011 07:00 PM

Amen to that Skidzey!

SlybenNov 19, 2011 11:12 AM

Great homage ! Very nice shots !
I love this 50mm 1.4 D too.
That's my fave in my gear. Just need to use it with FF, cause with my D7000 i feel it's a bit too long.

sudipApr 17, 2012 06:08 AM

awesome shots.

Vipul KapadiaApr 25, 2012 04:00 PM

Amazing pictures. How did you capture "St Stephen's Tower and Big Ben"? It's stunning. Would you be willing to share your settings and any special effect, if at all added, that gave you such a beautiful color and stars around the street lights? Thanks.

Alpha Whiskey PhotographyApr 28, 2012 02:55 AM

@Vipul: F/14 at 30 seconds, small tripod. Curves adjustment applied in CS5. The star effect is caused by the aperture blades of the lens. It is more pronounced at narrower apertures. :)

Vipul KapadiaMay 4, 2012 12:00 AM

Thanks a lot for sharing these settings. I appreciate it. I will try to use these setting (well lay with them) to get the result I like. I did not know that we could get those star effect with narrower apertures. I have 50mm 1.8g - hope it does this job.

SSMay 20, 2012 08:27 AM

Alpha, what was the ISO setting for the Big Ben picture? Would a normal 18-55m lens produce a similar result at F/14 at 30 seconds?

Alpha Whiskey PhotographyMay 20, 2012 03:16 PM

@SS. The ISO was 200 as the shot was a long exposure on a tripod. Usually prime lenses tend to create that effect, depending on how many aperture blades they have. Not sure if it would be the same on an 18-55mm lens. But you could try it. The Nikkor 18-55mm is quite sharp!

Jorge BalarinJun 28, 2012 05:28 PM

Thank you for your photos and advice. I have the 50mm f/1.4 AF-D. I didn't use it very much but I got some nice portraits with it. Lately I'm not using my old 50mm (it is in mint condition) because the new 50mm F/1.8 G has better press, so I'm using this last lens instead of the other. Wich lens do you think is better ?

Alpha Whiskey PhotographyJun 28, 2012 05:41 PM

I eventually missed my 50mm so I have the 50mm F/1.8G now, and really like it. It's much sharper wide open than the F/1.4 AF-D was at F/1.8.

I have a bunch of pics taken with the F/1.8G here:
slickpic.com/u/AlphaWhiskey/photoblog/post/50mmStreetShootingInLondon

and here:
slickpic.com/u/AlphaWhiskey/photoblog/post/ConferenceDay

JenaJun 30, 2012 07:49 AM

The prime lenses 50mm F/1.8 and 35mm F/2 are my two favourite lenses among the collection of canon lenses I have, not just for producing a sharp image quality and the star light effect caused by the aperture blades in the lens at narrow apertures, but simply for the challenges the set focal length have on a photographer to find the right position to fill the frame and yet create brilliant composition without the need for a zoom!!
The other distinctive quality in particularly with the 50mm prime lens is mainly promoted as a portrait lens whereas in reality it produces great macro shots which is more tempting to carry than the actual heavy macro lens.
I happend to buy these prime lenses upon recommendation by my friend Alpha Whisky and the astonishing results these lenses produces from the numerous photo shooting we do! Great lenses to own.

tanndaJun 27, 2013 05:18 PM

wow, these are some amazing pictures!

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