AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G Announced

I can’t say it’s unexpected, in fact it’s been long awaited, and if you even remotely follow what Nikon has been doing with their cameras the idea that Nikon was moving away from their old in-body auto-focus system towards an in-lens system has pretty clear. All new professional glass has been made AF-S with silent wave/ultrasonic focusing motors and their low end cameras lack in-body focusing motors. The conspicuous abasement though, is the lack of AF-S wide angle and standard focal length primes.

Today, with the announcement of an AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens, that starts to change. Though of course this isn’t Nikon’s Thrifty 50, with an expected release price of nearly $440; a hefty premium over the current AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D, which currently retails in the $290-300 range. And that’s even with the cost saving loss of an aperture ring.

Nikon USA’s AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G page