Why are there no good AF 50mm lenses available for Nikon?

Started 5 months ago | Discussions thread
Bruce Granofsky
Contributing MemberPosts: 683
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Re: Why are there no good AF 50mm lenses available for Nikon?
In reply to ROOOO, 5 months ago

ROOOO wrote:

I recently ordered a D600, but am having second thoughts about it after having done a bit more research. My question is simple: why does there not seem to be a great 50mm autofocus lens available for this system? My all-time favorite lens is the Leica 50mm Summicron. The 50mm Summilux-M ASPH is a great lens, though a little too big for my taste. Both of them are super sharp when shot wide open. It seems like 50mm lenses are the best focal length from a performance/cost standpoint. In other words, it seems like it easier to make a great 50mm lens than a great 35mm lens.

Both Canon and Nikon offer good, cheap f/1.8 50mm lenses. Leica's 50mm Summilux and its new APO Summicron are probably two of the best lenses in the world. The Noctilux is the fastest at f/0.95. All of these are incredible lenses. Why is there nothing that's a step or two up from the 50mm f/1.8 for Nikon in terms of rendering and sharpness wide open? (It doesn't seem to me like the f/1.4G really delivers exceptional performance at f/1.4.) Thoughts?

Hmmmm....

I have both the Nikon 1.4g and the Leica Summilux.

In fact I've posted tests on both lenses on the Leica Forum.

Yes, the 'Lux' had more midrange detail and smoother bokeh, but not by much.

I have nothing bad to say about the 1.4g at all except that it is a bit slower in focusing on the D4 and D3s compared to other lenses.  (eg; the 24-70, 70-200, 85 1.4g)

Not just my opinion,...but my experience.

Bruce

Edited 5 months ago by Bruce Granofsky
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