Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 Lens

Using a fixed focal length requires a certain degree of discipline when you are using it, but in the end you are forced to compose and think within a specific "frame" of composition. Foot zooming ends up being your only choice if you want to draw yourself in and our of a scene.

I'm one of those people who has developed an "eye" for the 50mm focal length. Generally speaking, most photographers end up developing that "eye" for one or two focal lengths.

What's the *real* advantage to this piece of glass? The speed of course. But more so than that, selective focus.

Nikon doesn't make a faster lens than this, although f/1.2 apertures are available with their 58mm Noct (a $1,500 lens) and with their older (but not nearly as good) *55mm*.

I don't have any other lens in my lineup that produces images like this one does. The selective focusing can at times be *startling*. But generally speaking you don't get selective focus (or depth of field) like this lens unless if you're using a fast telephoto prime. But you end up with the same sort of depth of field without having to be so far away from your subject.

The AI-S version of this lens comes with a nice 9-bladed aperture. The AI version is only 7. If you can, seek out the AI-S version if at all possible. The out-of-focus rendering is nicer due to the 9-bladed aperture.

Cons? Some photographers think that this lens is soft. My experience tells me something entirely different, with many 8 by 10 blowups of pictures taken wide open. Certainly I would never put this 50mm up against Nikon's 50mm f/2 in terms of overall performance. This lens was designed to give it's best performance at f/1.2 within the 5 to 15 feet (1.5 to 5 meters) range. If you stop this lens down to f/4, it equals the performance of any 50mm at any aperture.

You would *never* want to use this lens with extension tubes or bellows. The performance of this lens is not designed around macro work. I happen to like the extremely low depth of field with macro work, but I concede that the performance decline is noticeable, even in the viewfinder.

The other con to this lens is that since it does not have a CPU chip, there are many modern Nikon camera bodies that it will not meter with.

Is it worth the $430 USD grey market price? If you are into selective focus, available light, or 50mm lenses (or any combination of the three) then it is very much worth the purchase. It can be had for roughly $250 USD on the used market. I purchased mine used a few years ago, and I think it was the best money that I've ever spent in terms of sheer *usefulness*