Home    Search    Gallery    How-To    Books    Links    Workshops    About    Contact

adorama

Nikon 50mm Lens Comparison
© 2006 KenRockwell.com

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-D Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AI Nikon 18-200mm VR Nikon Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-s

Please help KenRockwell..com

Index of individual test pages

Top of 50mm comparison

BOKEH what is Bokeh?

I focused each lens at 9 feet and shot a backlit tree which was at about 40 feet. Of course the wind was blowing, so no two shots will match exactly.

Bokeh Guide

Guide image, full frame. I cropped about a quarter of each reduced image. I then put those slices, one from each lens, together below for comparison. The slices were saved at 80% quality in Adobe ImageReady Save For Web, so they look exactly as they did on my screen.

 


Wide Open: f/1.4 and f/1.8

They all suck. The f/1.4 AF-D sucks the most, with the others tied. They all have condom-like rings at the edges of their blur circles. Oddly the f/1.8 AF at f/1.8 has about the same bokeh as the other lenses at f/1.4, but a little less obnoxious. I'd call the f/1.8 AF the winner among losers.

 

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-D
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AI

1.4 ZF at f/1.4

1.4 AF-D at f/1.4
1.8 AF at f/1.8
1.4 AI at f/1.4

 


f/2.8

Stopped down a stop or two these look very similar. The f/1.4 AF-D has the most neutral bokeh and you can see clearly it's seven-bladed diaphragm.

The 55 Micro is wide open and has the worst bokeh at f/2.8.

The f/1.4 AF-D has the largest and dimmest blur circles. I find them the least annoying, and prefer it. The f/1.4 AI has the softest blur circles, equally as good as the AF-D.

The f/1.8 AF has sharper-edged blur circles. I'd rate it mid-pack.

The Zeiss has the smallest and brightest blur circles. I'd rate it last along with the 55 Micro.

 

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-D
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AI
Nikon Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-s

1.4 ZF at f/2.8

1.4 AF-D at f/2.8
1.8 AF at f/2.8
1.4 AI at f/2.8
55 AI-s at f/2.8

 


f/5.6

It's too hard to tell with the images below at internet size.

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-D Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AI Nikon 18-200mm VR Nikon Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-s
1.4 ZF at f/5.6
1.4 AF-D at f/5.6
1.8 AF at f/5.6
1.4 AI at f/5.6
18-200 VR at f/5.6
55 AI-s at f/5.6

 

Swell guy that I am, I redid the Photoshop work for the f/5.6 example above at twice the magnification so we can see. Here's the guide image for the next set:

Guide image, full frame.

f/5.6, twice the magnification

I see big differences now. The VR lens is in this comparison for the first time, since it's not fast enough to work at f/2.8.

The VR lens is the only aspheric lens in this comparison, and like every aspheric I've used, it has weird bokeh. It has a smaller donut inside a larger blur circle!

Weirder than weird, the 18 - 200 VR lens has bokeh very similar to the Zeiss ZF at f/5.6! The Zeiss has better looking blur circles, but they are smaller and brighter than any other lens, so potentially more annoying. The Zeiss and the 18 - 200 VR tie for last.

The four remaining are similar to each other. You be the judge. I like the AF-D best at f/5.6.

 

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-D Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AI Nikon 18-200mm VR Nikon Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-s
1.4 ZF at f/5.6
1.4 AF-D at f/5.6
1.8 AF at f/5.6
1.4 AI at f/5.6
18-200 VR at f/5.6
55 AI-s at f/5.6

 

SUMMARY

Bokeh varies wildly by aperture, and reverses depending on if your out-of-focus area is behind or in front of your subject. There is no one winner or loser. The f/1.4 AF-D was the worst at f/1.4 but best at f/5.6.

I prefer the f/1.8 AF wide open, the f/1.4 AI or AF-D at f/2.8, and the AF-D at f/5.6.

All these lenses are bad to neutral. None has the desired Gaussian distribution, but few lenses do. Most tend between neutral and reverse-Gaussian, which is bad.

After making these head-to-head comparisons I realized from where the myth of bokeh and Zeiss lenses may come. The Zeiss lens had well-shaped blur circles, however they were smaller and therefore brighter and more annoying than the others. If one compares images made at different times and places with Zeiss and Nikkor lenses then one would note the better shape (bokeh) of the Zeiss blur circles. One would not notice that the absolute overall size was smaller unless one compared two identical shots made with different lenses as I did here. Yes, the Zeiss has a better shape, but no, it's not better because it's smaller and brighter, as if you shot at a smaller aperture on the other lenses.

PLUG

I spent almost two months shooting and writing this comparison of 50mm lenses. No one pays me for this. If you find this as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me write more with a donation.

Thanks for reading!

Ken

Next: Chromatic Aberrations

Index of individual test pages

Top of 50mm comparison

 

Home    Search    Gallery    How-To    Books    Links    Workshops    About    Contact