Nikon's new AF-S 50mm f/1.8 G

[dieselpower]

A few test shots.

Wide open:

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G aka. "Fantastic Five-Oh". Wide Open test. by dieselpower83, on Flickr

f/2.8:

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G aka. "Fantastic Five-Oh". by dieselpower83, on Flickr

[dieselpower]

Some more samples:
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...643#post868643

[Tommo1965]

looks very good..pretty sharp wide open ..whats i like in the corners wide open a it hyper focal length

[dieselpower]

I'll try grab a test shot for you today. I'm heading out 4wding but if the opportunity presents itself I'll snap on the 50mm and grab a few more shots with it.

[nightbringer]

Wow, really beautiful - I'll have to post up some of mine once I get my mitts on that lens as well.

[Lani]

I just received one of these today, I am pleased with the sharpness and afs speed, but the bokeh is defintely not the prettiest, but for my intended usage, it is good value.
The above shot is wide open on a D700, levels adjustment, but no sharpening at all.

[nightbringer]

Very nice and creamy

[peterb666]

The bokeh looks very smooth. As nightbringer says "very nice and creamy". I am quite surprised.

The old 50mm f/1.8 AF-D doesn't have bokeh to write home about so I would say that's a big improvement.

[Lani]

Ah, i should have posted an image with backlighting to show what I mean about the bokeh, I will later.

OK, here is one example of what I mean, the bokeh in the top of the image looks a bit harsh to me.

[arthurking83]

..... the bokeh in the top of the image looks a bit harsh to me.

It can do this, and in fact I think it's a common occurrence with the 50mm focal length.
One reason why the Nikon 58mm f/1.2 of old was such a well regarded lens(albeit expensive), had nothing to do with the focal length, nor the f/1.2 aperture. Simple design brief that ensured a much smoother OOF rendition, which is much better than any of their 50mm's could ever consistently produce.

While in some instances it can look 'smooth'.. and you can do this with any lens, given the right circumstances(I've even got decent images with smooth OOF areas from the 500mirror lens!! ).

One of the main attractions I had to the Sigma 50, is that it's less prone to harsh bokeh(than any of the current model Nikon 50's).
It still produces it's occasional share of harsh blurry bits. But it's far less than I get with the Nikon 50/1.2(and I haven't had enough time with a friend's Nikon 50/1.4 to note the differences).

[I @ M]

OK, here is one example of what I mean, the bokeh in the top of the image looks a bit harsh to me.

Subject to background distance and the contrast or lack of it due to the rear lighting are the factors behind the appearance in this shot I reckon Lani.
Early days yet and I think being more selective with backgrounds and lighting will show better results.

[nightbringer]

I took it out shooting yesterday, and one thing that hit me was how well it does portraits. I just love the bokeh and depth of field effects on this baby. It's definitely now my go-to portrait lens for my DX body.

On my FX body somehow I still feel like I like the 24mm length better - maybe it's because I got so used to shooting with my 24mm prime so much.