nikon 50mm f1.4 review

this is a superbly built lens. it's a simple and sturdy design which delivers stunning results. It's all metal and glass with a nice rubber grip on the focusing ring.

the optics are great and are capable of delivering very usable pictures even at wide open. the problem I experienced at f1.4 was a slight glow in the contrasty parts of the pictures. but I really didn't mind it as it gave the picture a little bit of a glamor look.
the bokeh is very smooth and pleasant. this is what really sets it apart from the nikon 50mm f1.8 lens.
the depth of field is very small. if, for instance, you focus on the nose when shooting a portrait, the eye will be visibly out of focus. this can become a real problem as far as I am concerned. it is almost impossible to get a clean focus. at least not with the nikon D90 body. you cannot rely on the in body focus confirmation of the DSLR. the depth of field is far shallower as the tolerance of the focus confirmation. you can test this on your own DSLR if you focus on an object and then move the camera back and forth. you will probably notice that the focus confirmation will be on for a distance of 10 millimeters and up to 10 centimeters depending on how far away you are from the object. now with a depth of field of just 2-3 millimeters at wide open this is obviously too much in order to get clean focus when relying on focus confirmation with this lens. It is also very hard to rely only on your eyes when focusing. even with the quite large viewfinder of the D90 body you cannot be sure about the results. out of 10 pictures I took only one was really in focus where I intended it to be. I had to ask the subject not to move at all and use the magnified live view in order to get a good focus on the eye. But this way you can't compose your picture and you also loose the capability of taking candid pictures. and those are the pictures you really want to take with a small lens like this.

although I really like the lens I decided to sell it in the end as I wasn't really able to use it at wide open due to the focusing problem. Unless you are a very good manual focus-er you should try and get a version with AF. you could also consider the  nikon AF 35-70 F2.8 D as an option which also has a superb bokeh but also has auto focus as well as a zoom.

here are a few pictures taken with the nikon 50mm f1.4 lens. all except the second one which is shot with the nikon 180mm f2.8.

retezat - august 2012

 

lumanarica pamantului ( Gentiana asclepiadea)

desi nu am gasit prea multe flori, avand in vedere ca era august, totusi in padure era plin de lumanarica pamantului, un fel de gentiana care e folosita ca planta medicinala.











apa limpede din rauri si din lacuri iti permite sa bei direct din ele

 

taul dintre brazi

varful retezat

zâmbru

Zâmbrul este un conifer specific zonelor alpine, cu dimensiuni mai mici si cu niste conuri albastrui. datorita formei si a dimensiunilor mai reduse pare luat dintr-o gradina japoneza.

september sunset in the bucegi mountains

ciucas mountains in august

 

 

for a few more pictures of these mountains click here and here.

Transylvanian hills in spring

To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU, Walden

 

primavara la rezervatia Reci

deditei (nikon 35-70 @ macro @ f2.8)

lalea pestrita (nikon 180mm @ f2.8)

 Cateva imagini care le-am facut in primavara 2012 in rezervatia de la Reci. Am fost sa vedem Lalele Pestrite si Deditei. Obiectivele pe care le-am folosit nikon AF 18-200 mm VR, nikon AF 35-70 mm f2.8, nikon MF 180 mm f2.8 . deasemenea am folosit in anumite cazuri un filtru de polarizare circulara de la Kenko. Mai multe poze din rezervatie cat si cateva informatii in limba egleza gasiti aici.

vedere inspre satul Santion Lunca

delta dunarii - sulina

dunarea la Tulcea

ponton pe plaja de la Sulina

pe bratul Sulina

cateva poze facute in aprilie 2012 in Delta Dunarii. Natura abia incepea sa inverzeasca si pasarile nu erau inca toate venite. Pe deasupra temperatura la Sulina era inca destul de scazuta si era accentuata de un vant rece dinspre mare. Partea buna a fost ca nu am avut deloc parte de tantari. In schimb am fost nevoiti sa ne imbracam cu tot ce am avut la noi.

farul vechi de la Sulina

lacul Rosulet

 

vapor esuat pe insula K

dunele de nisip din padurea letea

vaci de delta

pozele sunt facute cu Nikon D90 si cu obiectivul Nikon AF 18-200mm VR.