Question about NIKON NIKKOR 50mm f1.4 AI LENS

[kalkulator]

Hello, i recently bought an used Nikon FE2 and NIKKOR 50mm f1.4 AI prime lens. Everyhing seems to be in perfect condition, but i have one question regarding a lens. Everytime i set aperture to 1.4 and turn the focus ring all the way to the infinity, object far away dont seem to be perfectly in focus. Is this normal for this large aperture, or it should be completely in focus no matter what the aperture size is? Just wanted to ask this, because if this isnt normal, i might have to get it repaired first.

Thanks.

 

[hamlet]

That's not out of focus. If you put your lens on an aperture of f1.4, you will have a shallow depth of field.


example i shot with the 1.4:





The letters to the left hand side are not out of focus, the shallow depth of field just makes it look like that. Notice the centre corner to the left hand side in good focus.


So in order to get all of it in the picture clearly, you need to raise your aperture. Try to test this by taking different pictures at different apertures. Slowly go from 1.4 to 2.8 to 3.5 to 5 to 8 to 11 and see what happens without moving your camera.

 

[o hey tyler]

That's not out of focus. If you put your lens on an aperture of f1.4, you will have a shallow depth of field. example i shot with the 1.4: <img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=61167"/> The letters to the left hand side are not out of focus, the shallow depth of field just makes it look like that. Notice the centre corner to the left hand side in good focus. So in order to get all of it in the picture clearly, you need to raise your aperture. Try to test this by taking different pictures at different apertures. Slowly go from 1.4 to 2.8 to 3.5 to 5 to 8 to 11 and see what happens without moving your camera.

Even the corner looks out of focus IMHO IMO TBQH.

 

[hamlet]

That is true, i shot that picture a bit too close. An inch or so back would solve that.

 

[o hey tyler]

That is true, i shot that picture a bit too close. An inch or so back would solve that.

Image quality is not best when a lens is shot wide open. I strongly suggest stopping a lens down at least a full stop to improve sharpness.

 

[hamlet]

That's a different matter and unrelated to that test shot.

 

[o hey tyler]

That's a different matter and unrelated to that test shot.

Uh, no it's not. If you shot that photo at f/1.4 then it directly relates to the test shot. As well as what the OP is trying to understand. However it sounds like he's experiencing this issue through the viewfinder.

OP instead of focusing to infinity have you tried turning the focus back toward you ever so slightly?

 

[hamlet]

That's a different matter and unrelated to that test shot.

Uh, no it's not. If you shot that photo at f/1.4 then it directly relates to the test shot. As well as what the OP is trying to understand. However it sounds like he's experiencing this issue through the viewfinder.

OP instead of focusing to infinity have you tried turning the focus back toward you ever so slightly?

If you insist, my lenses optimal performance is achieved at f2.8 aperture wise. Its a fun fact, but its completely useless to someone who needs to shoot at higher apertures.

 

[kalkulator]

Thanks everyone for trying to help.

@ Hamlet, I understand this, but I wanted to know if it is normal that at 1.4 and infinity focus, watching through my viewfinder as oHeyTyler is saying, object are slightly out of focus.

@o hey tyler, yes i tried it, but the problem is that when I turn focus ring to max, even that is not enough, seems like just a little bit more would have been enough. If i turn it slightly back, it is worse ofcourse.

So if I focus on something far away, for example a long vertical stick/line it looks like this, but obviously more focused, just not enough:

 

[Braineack]

why are you shooting at f/1.4 in this manner?

Even set to infinity, you still only have a limited DOF to work with.

assuming you are shooting at 200' away, things beyond 500' or so will drop out of focus, but it you stopped down to f/4.0, you'd open the window to pretty much infinity.

also, I've heard of a lot of lenses can focus past infinity so you might need to find the correct spot on your lens, maybe use live view to confirm you're nailing the focus.

 

[kalkulator]

Well I am not shooting in this manner, I'm just trying to figure out, if this is normal or not. And it doesnt go past infinity, as even max is not enough, according to what i see through viewfinder.

 

[o hey tyler]

why are you shooting at f/1.4 in this manner? Even set to infinity, you still only have a limited DOF to work with. assuming you are shooting at 200' away, things beyond 500' or so will drop out of focus, but it you stopped down to f/4.0, you'd open the window to pretty much infinity. also, I've heard of a lot of lenses can focus past infinity so you might need to find the correct spot on your lens, maybe use live view to confirm you're nailing the focus.

Pretty sure an FE2 has the antithesis of live view bro.

 

[Braineack]

whoops, didn't notice the body

 

[astroNikon]

I went to go grab my film body and test this .. but I realize I sold it a few months ago.

does it focus on subjects up close and as you move further away, but just not to infinity ?

 

[kalkulator]

Yes, if it is close enought i can focus it no problem, but if it is far away, i cant.