Nikon 58/1.4G and Sigma 50/1.4 Art on a Nikon F5 anyone?

film_man · Jan 19, 2021

Hey folks,

I'm after an autofocusing 50ish lens with a bit of character to use with my F5 so have a couple of question for those that have first hand experience.

A: Does the Sigma 50/1.4 Art work on film cameras? I have read conflicting reports of Art lenses but not all the Art lenses have E-type apertures. Can anyone confirm if the 50/1.4 Art works on their F5 (or other film camera). Thanks

B: I've been eyeing the 58/1.4G as it seems to be quite a nice portrait lens (I like 50 lenses with a bit of character, eg Zeiss 50 Planar and Sonnar, Takumar SMC, Canon 50L etc). For those that do use the 58/1.4G on a film are there any issues that make it less than ideal?

For clarity, I have no interest in the 50/1.8 variants, if both the 58 and the Sigma are problematic I'll get a 50/1.4D and be done with it. Also, I have plenty of manual focusing lenses in that range so not interested in other manual options.

Many thanks everyone!

zanxion72 · Jan 19, 2021

I own both of them. I bought a used Sigma first and after a year the AF stopped working. Then I bought a used Nikon G. I have used them both on my Nikon F100, so they will work on your F5 too.
The sigma I own is the "Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art" for Nikon F. From both, the Nikon is a lot smaller and lighter. The Sigma has better performance, but also costs more.

film_man · Jan 19, 2021

zanxion72 said:
I own both of them. I bought a used Sigma first and after a year the AF stopped working. Then I bought a used Nikon G. I have used them both on my Nikon F100, so they will work on your F5 too.
The sigma I own is the "Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art" for Nikon F. From both, the Nikon is a lot smaller and lighter. The Sigma has better performance, but also costs more.

Ok thanks for letting me know about the Sigma, good to know it is one of those that work on film cameras!

For the Nikkor, I'm talking about the 58/1.4G, not the 50/1.4G, which is quite a bit more expensive than the Sigma. In fact I can get a new Sigma for a lot less than what a used 58G goes for.

zanxion72 · Jan 19, 2021

film_man said:
Ok thanks for letting me know about the Sigma, good to know it is one of those that work on film cameras!

For the Nikkor, I'm talking about the 58/1.4G, not the 50/1.4G, which is quite a bit more expensive than the Sigma. In fact I can get a new Sigma for a lot less than what a used 58G goes for.

Sorry missing that one. I have never owned a 58/1.4G, I cannot say much about that.
This one might be useful for you:
https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Comp...F14G-on-Nikon-D750__1307_975_199_975_1254_975
And this one:
https://fstoppers.com/education/art-versus-art-sigma-art-50-14-vs-nikon-58-14-126764

Huss · Jan 19, 2021

I use the Sigma Art 50 and 35 on my F6, F80 and F75. Works great. Most of the other Art lenses have the E aperture and will not work.

film_man · Jan 20, 2021

Huss said:
I use the Sigma Art 50 and 35 on my F6, F80 and F75. Works great. Most of the other Art lenses have the E aperture and will not work.

Thank you for confirming that.

tom43 · Jan 20, 2021

Just another remark: The Sigma 50mm Art works with all Nikon film bodies designed for AF-S lenses, e.g.F65, F75, F80, F100, F5 and F6.

Sharpness is exceptional, but is only of advantage for slide film and projection with a high quality projector and lens, e.g. Leica with 90mm Super Colorplan. The combination with Fuji Provia translates in stunning presentations.

The lens is heavy and outresolves all negative films easily. But this holds also true for the much lighter and cheaper Nikon AF-S 50mm 1.8. Makes no sense here...

Huss · Jan 20, 2021

tom43 said:
The lens is heavy and outresolves all negative films easily. But this holds also true for the much lighter and cheaper Nikon AF-S 50mm 1.8. Makes no sense here...

Yes and no. The Sigma is far superior wide open than the Nikon 50 1.4 and 1.8. It is noticeable on film. Stopped down they all out-resolve film.

film_man · Jan 21, 2021

Thanks for the comments, for anything f/4 and down I have a 55/3.5 micro which is sharp enough. I intend to use the lens wide open to f/2 for family portraits (and general shooting too of course stopped down). I already have a collection of manual focus lenses but want something with autofocus that I can use on a metered camera that still has some kind of character like the Zeiss 50/1.5 I use on my M4.

Anyway, I just found a used 58/1.4 with a good return policy so ordered it. So the waiting for the man with the van full of parcels begins. I'm half hoping it is great half hoping it is not so I can return it and get a much cheaper lens . Thank you all for your comments.

Huss · Jan 21, 2021

Please post pics taken with it! I'd love to see how it performs wide open/near to wide open on film.

Scott Micciche · Feb 2, 2021

It works fine aside from some back focusing on my F6, but I only use it manually focusing. The rendering is very accurate for my taste and I find I prefer the older, AI-S rendering.

film_man · Feb 2, 2021

Scott Micciche said:
It works fine aside from some back focusing on my F6, but I only use it manually focusing. The rendering is very accurate for my taste and I find I prefer the older, AI-S rendering.

I haven't sent the film for development yet, it does work fine on the F5. I do like what I've seen so far on the D600, though I hate using that thing so only took maybe 10 shots just to make sure the lens works!

I will agree, the AIS stuff is great and the 50/1.2 is simply fantastic but I just wanted an autofocus one this time around.

Huss · Feb 3, 2021

Scott Micciche said:
It works fine aside from some back focusing on my F6, but I only use it manually focusing. The rendering is very accurate for my taste and I find I prefer the older, AI-S rendering.

That's too bad. For me the point of AF lenses is to be able to use the AF.

Huss · Feb 3, 2021

F6 +Sigma Art 50 @ 1.4. Point of focus was the Nikon text on the camera. Super sharp, with super smooth fall off. (TriX, DF96)

Focused on eye:

Focused on the writing:

@ F4

Here with Fuji C200, @ f4

NortheastPhotographic · Feb 3, 2021

film_man said:
Hey folks,

I'm after an autofocusing 50ish lens with a bit of character to use with my F5 so have a couple of question for those that have first hand experience.

The Sigma will work well on the F5, 100, and 6 because you can get the dongle and fine tune the focus. However, it shouldn't but underestimated how large and heavy this lens is. The F6 is already a big camera, and the 50mm 1.4 ART is like carrying a 24-70/2.8 instead of a 50mm. It is very very high performance but as a consequence it has a lack of character.

The 58mm 1.4G makes 35mm format portraits look like they were shot with a medium format camera, it's an utterly lovely lens...on digital. On film it's a coin toss as to whether it's going to focus accurately. Half the folks here will have a copy that does, and half will not. On digital this is no issue! Fine tune the AF and you're good to go. On film, with high res scanning what it is these days, you'll see the difference and you'll find yourself stopping down.

I might be taking the air out of the 'fancy lens' people's tires but IMHO the old 50/1.4D is a suburb lens for film. Take a look at the block diagrams of the Zeiss 50mm 1.4 ZF Planar and then take a look at the Nikon 50/1.4D. Guess what, they're identical! The Zeiss probably has different glass and coatings, and frankly something must be there to explain why it's worse wide open than the Nikon...perhaps just the possibility of manual focus misses. Anyway I've personally found the 50/1.4D to be both sharp enough for any film I use, and has enough character to make pleasing images when shooting at 1.4. It has the old school look, so if you want the more current fad of smooth bokeh you can always opt for the G version. Personally I prefer the older style. What's more, it's so tiny and light weight that you hardly notice it.

I think for film shooters the old D lenses have entered 'under-rated' territory. Thus, I am buying them. I have a 28mm 1.4D, a 50mm 1.4D, and I plan on getting a 135/2D. In the past I've owned the 35/2D and found it equally wonderful.

Huss · Feb 3, 2021

Love the 50 1.4D on my F4. Zero issues with that lens. I bought the Sigma Art lenses for digital use, it's just a bonus that they can be used on Nikon film bodies. I would not specifically go out and buy a Sigma Art lens for the sole purpose to shoot it on film. Same thing with the 58 1.4G.
Know what feels fantastic (and I love the results) on the F6? The 50 1.8G.

Huss · Feb 3, 2021

Nikon F4 w 50 1.4D, Fuji Superia 400

StepheKoontz · Feb 3, 2021

The 58mm f1.4G is not sharp wide open at close distances. If you want a clinically sharp lens, buy the Sigma. If you want a lens with lovely rendering, especially for environmental portraits it's a gem. I've shot with both and purchased the 58 1.4G.

It's an interesting lens in that at longer distances and infinity, it is extremely sharp with almost no coma wide open. And again the Bokeh is to die for.

Scott Micciche · Feb 4, 2021

Huss said:
That's too bad. For me the point of AF lenses is to be able to use the AF.

From what I read when I bought it (for a D810), the focus is hit or miss with different models. I have the coupler to adjust the 4 focusing distances for the D810, but would be too slow to do such tests on the F6. Another note is its manual focus rotates in reverse to other nikon lenses, so, in the viewfinder, the arrows are reversed as to the direction of cranking. A minor annoyance.

Scott Micciche · Feb 4, 2021

Huss said:
Love the 50 1.4D on my F4. Zero issues with that lens. I bought the Sigma Art lenses for digital use, it's just a bonus that they can be used on Nikon film bodies. I would not specifically go out and buy a Sigma Art lens for the sole purpose to shoot it on film. Same thing with the 58 1.4G.
Know what feels fantastic (and I love the results) on the F6? The 50 1.8G.

This is a sleeper of a lens on the F6, indeed! I have a split prism focusing screen within my F6 and the autofocus matches it in all cases I've used it.

film_man · Feb 4, 2021

Well sent the two rolls to the lab today, so I should know in 2-3 weeks what the deal is. Focusing on the D600 was accurate and judging focus on the F5 finder after autofocus was just as good. Let's see what I get back.

If it is as sharp as the Canon 50/1.2L wide open (ie not that sharp) that is good enough for me if the rest of the look is as interesting as people make it out to be.

Huss · Feb 4, 2021

Scott Micciche said:
This is a sleeper of a lens on the F6, indeed! I have a split prism focusing screen within my F6 and the autofocus matches it in all cases I've used it.

I had replaced the standard screen on my F6 w/ the split image, but put the standard one back in as I found it great to focus manual lenses. The F6 really has superb manual focusing capabilities. Really strange that Nikon dumbed this down with their DSLRs.

iakustov · Feb 7, 2021

Huss said:
Please post pics taken with it! I'd love to see how it performs wide open/near to wide open on film.

+1
Please share the pictures

Nikon 58/1.4G and Sigma 50/1.4 Art on a Nikon F5 anyone?

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