Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D Lens

Nikon F-801 fitted with a Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 AI lens. Photographed with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens on a Nikon D700. ISO 3200; f/5; 1/100th.

Ecclesiastes 3:2. Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

Photographed with a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens. f/2.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D + Nikon No.4T Close-Up supplementary lens.

On 2nd February, 1916, St Peter's Church, Poulshot, was almost destroyed by fire. By 1925 it had been rebuilt. That event puts a date on the craftsmanship of this pew. Nikon D2Xs and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

This photograph shows a Canon EOS 40D camera fitted via an adapter with a Tomioka-manufactured, Chinon badged, 55mm f/1.4 lens made around 1975 to a Planar design by Johannes Berger. The photograph was taken with a Nikon D700 fitted with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens. That camera-lens combination is very capable and unquestionably superior to the kit in the picture, yet the old Chinon lens is nevertheless a pleasure to use, if a bit challenging to focus sometimes. Because the Canon EOS 40D is a crop-sensor camera, the field-of-view is 55mm x 1.6, that is equivalent to 88mm, and thus more of a short telephoto. These old lenses, with little or no coating, and no computer technology involved in their design, seem to imbue your photographs with particular colour characteristics which are a bit different to modern day lenses. On researching this particular lens, I was glad to discover it is generally well-regarded. One reviewer was especially enthusiastic: The following are highlights from a review of this lens at erphotoreview.com/wordpress/?p=1264 'The lens has very strong center performance wide open for an f/1.4 lens, especially considering its age. Contrast drops off quickly towards the corners, but the lens still has decent resolution. Even at f/2 the resolution is exceptional in the center, and the corners are very good resolution by f/2.8...Flare resistance is terrible...Distortion is a fairly minor barrel distortion. Fairly easy to correct, and likely not an issue for most situations. This lens really surprised me. I was expecting junk and it ended up being the biggest surprise of the lenses I tested. In terms of sharpness, the only place this lens is lacking is wide open at the corners, otherwise it is comparable to the best of the best.' To the reviewer's remarks I would add that 'sharpness' is a general term to describe the clarity of detail in a photograph. Fundamentally, only two factors contribute to the perceived sharpness of an image: resolution and acutance, the latter being the contrast. Resolution relates to closely-spaced details in a picture, whereas acutance is a question of whether edges are well-defined or blurred. When we apply 'sharpening' to a photograph in post-production, it is only the acutance which is altered; the resolution is determined at the instant the photograph is taken.

In June, 2010, it was reported that plans were being made to decommission and demolish the Lafarge Cement works at Westbury in Wiltshire. Cement manufacturing had ceased in February, 2009, because of difficult trading conditions. 68 people lost their jobs. The industrial activity in an area of great natural beauty had sometimes been controversial. The production of cement on the site was permitted shortly after the end of World War II because of national need for building materials. The location was fine from an industrial point of view, because both of the necessary raw materials of chalk and clay could be quarried close to the plant. Later, the local authority did a deal with the factory to burn rubbish, which for a time seemed to suit both parties. About that time many new houses were built in the area under the chimney. People who lived there checked the wind direction carefully before putting their washing out to dry. Nikon D2Xs and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

This Italian visitor to Avebury now lives in Ireland. She was enjoying her visit to England and a glass of real ale. The landscape of Avebury had its limitations, she said. You walked a bit, and saw 'a pile of stones'. You walked a bit more and there would be 'another pile of stones'. Never before had I heard Avebury Circle described as 'a pile of stones' but she had a point, and she certainly expressed it amusingly. In days of yore the locals broke up the stones to make building materials, and so they didn't overdo the reverence and awe. They probably just said, 'here be a handy pile of old stones'. Photographed using a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens on a Nikon D2Xs.

Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire. Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens. F/13.

Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire. Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

Cloisters, Lacock Abbey. The ceiling is decorated by heraldic badges and little carvings of mermaids and sundry other devices which amused the masons who worked on it. Nikon D700 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

Botanic Garden Plant House, Lacock Abbey. Nikon D700 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

Nikon D700 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

One of the first M42 Helios-44 lenses. Later iterations were accorded the suffix -2, -3, -4. On this early example you can focus with the lens wide open and then close it down to your chosen aperture using that knurled ring at the front. The Helios-44 lens has a focal length of 58mm and a maximum aperture of f/2. This lens is a Soviet copy of the Carl Zeiss Biotar lens and has distinctive bokeh characteristics. So Helios = Zeiss. Maybe. Photographed with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens on a Nikon D700

Nikon D90 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

Photographed with a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens. f/1.4.

Photographed with a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens. f/1.4.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.