Nikon 50mm 1.4 D lens issue

[vclifford]

Hi ,
This is my first post. I am an enthusiastic amature. I am posting two photographs. They were clicked handheld with D800E and 50MM 1.4D lens at f/1.4 . DSC_2284 was clicked at 1/80s at ISO2500 and DSC2276 was clicked at 1/40s and ISO 1600. My gripe with these photographs is that none of the light bulbs is crisp. they have sort of flare or halo around them and it seems flare is directional.
I also realized all the photos of night light scenes I have clicked have this issue. The lens is new and it does produce crisp photos of other objects.


I clicked same scenes with 24-70mm lens at f/2.8 and much high ISO but they crisp and clear. so is this a lens issue or some fault on my side.
I have also uploaded one 24-70mm photo for comparison.It was clicked at f2.8 1/40S and ISO 5000 but it is much clearer, all the lights are crisp.

Any ideas?

Regards,

 

[goodguy]

I am not an expert and I am sure there are people with much more knowladge that might give you more insigt but to me it looks like simply camera shake.

 

[Tailgunner]

As mentioned above, I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in soon. In the mean time I wonder if it was something to do with the 1.4 having a very shallow dof? Camera shake is my next guess.

 

[dxqcanada]

It appears that this particular lens is not that good wide open.
Nikon AF-Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4D review: Digital Photography Review

 

[Mach0]

I can't view the photos without the app crashing. Try stopping the lens down. Difference between the 24-70 @ 2.8 and the 50 1.4 @1.4 is big. That lens is not known for being sharp wide open and I can see it flaring wide open. You can also try the 1.8g.

 

[tirediron]

No, it's not camera shake, this is just the lens, if you look at the street part of the scene, they're comparatively sharp & focused.

 

[robbins.photo]

No, it's not camera shake, this is just the lens, if you look at the street part of the scene, they're comparatively sharp & focused.

I'd agree, Depth of field issue would be my guess.

 

[davf]

I have to agree. There is no camera shake visible on the arm rest of the park bench in the second shot.

 

[goodguy]

Gotta say I have this lens and I use it fully open at 1.4 and while not perfect I am getting better results then you see in this picture but it really is impossible to compare one pic to another, this is more of a general point of view.

Here is a night shot I took with f1.4

I am not claiming to say this is the sharpest picture in the world but I think its pretty good considering this is a crop sensor camera

 

[D-B-J]

I'll postulate that the reason for lack of sharpness was the combination of "high" ISO, low shutter speed, and ultra shallow DoF. With settings like those you are pushing your gear to its limits, and that lens is not best wide open. Stopped down to f2.2 or f2.8 would likely have made a huge difference.

Best,
Jake


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[D-B-J]

Not to mention, the 36 megapixels of the D800 are unforgiving. They will exacerbate ANY flaw in the photo.


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[goodguy]

I'll postulate that the reason for lack of sharpness was the combination of "high" ISO, low shutter speed, and ultra shallow DoF. With settings like those you are pushing your gear to its limits, and that lens is not best wide open. Stopped down to f2.2 or f2.8 would likely have made a huge difference.

Best,
Jake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not to mention, the 36 megapixels of the D800 are unforgiving. They will exacerbate ANY flaw in the photo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree with everything you say, if posible the 1.4D is at its best at 2.8 and above but it is still plenty good even at 1.4
I only shoot at f1.4 if I have no other choice.
And the 36MP sensor gives great results but is not very forgiving if you dont give it perfect settings.

 

[goodguy]

I might be mistaking but the only lens that really shines at f1.4 is the Nikon 85mm 1.4G but this lens is just a tiny bit more expensive then my poor second hand 50mm 1.4D LOL

 

[Derrel]

What you are seeing is sagittal coma, often just simply referred to as "coma". It's an optical aberration that shows up on the periphery of your mages, and it makes a point source of light look like a bird flapping its wings. Correction for coma is a highly prized quality in a lens to be used for NIGHT TIME photography of stars, city lights, and so on...unfortunately, the 50mm 1.4 AF-D has very weak correction for coma.

Here's a similar example from the newer 50/1.4 AF-S G, showing sagittal coma issues with that lens Nikon Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.4G lens review | Cameralabs

When one gets into very expensive prime lenses, the really high-dollar lenses often have excellent correction for this aberration. "Most" lenses leave something to be desired in terms of coma correction at widest f/stops, but are usually "decent" with the lens stopped down a few stops from maximum aperture. See the following article for some examples; BAD coma wide-open, but pretty good correction for coma at f/4.

Nikon 50mm f/1.2 Coma

 

[goodguy]

What you are seeing is sagittal coma, often just simply referred to as "coma". It's an optical aberration that shows up on the periphery of your mages, and it makes a point source of light look like a bird flapping its wings. Correction for coma is a highly prized quality in a lens to be used for NIGHT TIME photography of stars, city lights, and so on...unfortunately, the 50mm 1.4 AF-D has very weak correction for coma.

Here's a similar example from the newer 50/1.4 AF-S G, showing sagittal coma issues with that lens Nikon Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.4G lens review | Cameralabs

When one gets into very expensive prime lenses, the really high-dollar lenses often have excellent correction for this aberration. "Most" lenses leave something to be desired in terms of coma correction at widest f/stops, but are usually "decent" with the lens stopped down a few stops from maximum aperture. See the following article for some examples; BAD coma wide-open, but pretty good correction for coma at f/4.

Nikon 50mm f/1.2 Coma

Very interesting, I never even heard of this COMA, I always learn new things from reading your posts.