Nikon AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G Lens Review

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G Other sample images

Bokeh | 1/200 sec | f/1.4 | 58.0 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Wide-open | 1/160 sec | f/1.4 | 58.0 mm | ISO 400 High-Res
Lucy | 1/250 sec | f/2.0 | 58.0 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Lucy | 1/250 sec | f/2.0 | 58.0 mm | ISO 200 High-Res

Nikon's major claim regarding the performance of this lens relates to how it can control coma flare at maximum aperture, we thought it will be interesting to do a comparison with a 50mm f/1.4D and 50mm f/1.8D lens we have available to see what differences, if any, are apparent. 

This night scene was shot hand held with all three lenses at maximum aperture. We've compared a section cropped from the bottom left corner | 1/40 sec | f/1.4 | 58.0 mm | ISO 1600		Very little flare can be seen from the street light near the centre of this crop. Contrast is good and sharpness is fairly good. | 1/40 sec | f/1.4 | 58.0 mm | ISO 1600
The older D-series lens produces a much softer image in the corners with less contrast, although a faster shutter speed has resulted in roughly the same exposure. Coma flare can clearly be seen from the street light, which resembles a bird in flight. | 1/50 sec | f/1.4 | 50.0 mm | ISO 1600		Contrast is lower still in the image produced by the f/1.8D lens. Although details are marginally clearer than those produced by the 1.4D lens, the corner is still softer than the image produced by the 58mm. Coma can be seen, although it is milder than that produced by the 50mm f/1.4D | 1/30 sec | f/1.8 | 50.0 mm | ISO 1600

To conclude, the 58mm does exhibit superior control over coma flare when compared to similarly specified, and less expensive optics. This will matter when taking images with point sources of light at maximum aperture, such as hand-held night scenes, or for some astrophotography applications.

Value For Money

There is no denying this is a very specialised lens, that comes with a highly specialised price tag. £1560 does seem a lot to justify, especially when Nikon's 50mm f/1.4G can be picked up for £270, and the 1.8G optic can be had for around £140. Sigma also produce a 50mm f/1.4 lens, which can be picked up for around £320. All of these prices make the 58mm Nikon seem very, very expensive. Even the Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 in ZF fitting is only around £600, which makes it seem like a bargain! To put things into perspective Zeiss' new Otus 55mm f/1.4 lens costs around £3175, so the Nikon 58mm still isn't the most expensive standard lens available for their cameras.

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