Nikon has announced a new 50mm f/1.4 lens for its full frame Z-series cameras, adding to the lens choice for Nikon users.
It follows on from the 35mm f/1.4 lens which we recently reviewed. Features of the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4 include:
- Fast quiet AF, driven by Nikon’s multi-focussing system
- 0.37 m close focusing, a clickless control ring for adjusting aperture, ISO and exposure compensation
- A relatively low weight of approximately 420g.
- For video, focus breathing is suppressed and linear focusing can be enabled for accurate manual focus pulling.
- All moving parts of the lens barrel are also dust and drip resistant.
The Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4 is onsale now for £499. Don’t forget to also check out our guides to the best Nikon Z mount lenses.
From Nikon, 10th September, 2024 (abridged)
Designed to capture a natural perspective with extraordinary finesse, this bright new 50mm prime lens is anything but standard! With its fast f/1.4 aperture, sharp optics, swift autofocus, and impressive rendering performance, users can let their creativity thrive as they capture diverse scenes with stunning depth, clarity, and sharpness in any light.
Offering exciting flexibility to create in available light, the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 lens is the perfect all-round prime for creative everyday photography and it makes a brilliant travel or event lens. From unique portraits of people and places to sharp close-ups of details and textures, the wide f/1.4 maximum aperture and normal field of view combine to enable intuitive creativity day or night. Nikon’s fast multi-focusing system accurately locks onto subjects even when shooting at f/1.4, and this lens’ impressive rendering performance ensures colours are vibrant and true, contrast is crisp and clear, and brightness is beautifully even throughout the frame.
Photographers and video shooters who shoot wide open at f/1.4 will be rewarded with large, beautifully soft bokeh, perfect for portraits that set a subject apart as well as creative backlit shots. In addition, low-light scenes can be captured in stunning detail at lower ISOs, and faster shutter speeds can be used to freeze action without sacrificing brightness. For those who want to achieve impactful close ups, a short minimum focus distance of just 0.37 m allows plenty of space to fill the frame or focus on fine details.
The NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 is the second f/1.4 full-frame lens to join the Nikon Z lineup and it boasts the same boundless portability as its sibling—the NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.4. Both f/1.4 prime lenses are carefully sealed for worry-free durability and they’re easily light enough to keep on a Nikon Z camera while exploring.
Summary of key features: NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4
Versatile 50mm full-frame prime lens: from intimate landscapes or cityscapes to vivid street scenes. From authentic portraits and detailed close-ups to smooth videos. Create with the focal length that’s loved for its versatility and embraced for its natural, undistorted perspective.
Fast f/1.4 aperture for creative flexibility: enables large, beautifully smooth background or foreground bokeh, as well as more freedom to shoot low-light scenes. Capture more detail at lower ISO settings and freeze action without sacrificing brightness.
Impressive rendering: whether shooting up close or at a distance, wide open or stopped down, subjects are captured with real depth, clarity, and sharpness.
Fast, quiet autofocus: confidently and discreetly capture moments that might otherwise vanish in the blink of an eye. Driven by Nikon’s precise multi-focusing system, this lens accurately locks onto subjects, even when shooting at f/1.4.
0.37 m close focusing: allows plenty of space to fill the frame, reveal fine details, or comfortably record video in tight spaces.
Video prime: this lens is a natural fit for gimbals or cages and its normal field of view is great for interviews and first-person perspectives. Focus breathing is suppressed and linear focusing can be enabled for controlled, accurate manual focus pulling.
Intuitive control: the clickless control ring can be used to smoothly control aperture, ISO, exposure compensation, and more.
Boundless portability: weighs just 420 g (approx.), and all moving parts of the lens barrel are carefully sealed for worry-free durability.*
- The lens is not guaranteed to be dust- and drip- resistant in all situations and under all conditions.
