Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4 review: portraiture on a budget x

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4: two-minute review

The nifty-fifty lens is a staple in many a photographer’s camera bag – a typically compact lens for portraiture that offers good control over depth of field to make your subjects stand out. It’s the lens that I would recommend to beginner photographers having grown out of their kit lens and looking for a second lens to elevate the quality of their photos – and if they have a Nikon camera I would recommend the new Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.4.

Where mirrorless lenses can often be much pricier than DSLR equivalents – the classic 50mm f/1.8 lens for Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras is just about the cheapest lens you can buy at around $100 / £100 secondhand – Nikon is looking to buck this trend by creating affordable options for mirrorless, and the new Z 50mm f/1.4 is its cheapest Z-mount f/1.4 lens so far.

This isn’t Nikon’s first 50mm lens for its mirrorless cameras. It follows the optically-excellent Z 50mm f/1.8, which was one of Nikon’s first lenses for its Z-mount, launched back in 2018, while there’s also the 50mm f/1.2 pro lens with ‘S’ moniker, and the beastly 58mm f/0.95 Noctilux which costs a cool $9,000. However, the new Z 50mm f/1.4 is a stripped-back variation, with minimal external controls, a lightweight build, and offering decent rather than spectacular image quality.

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.4 lens in the hands

(Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

It’s pretty much in the same mold as the Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.4 lens which I reviewed recently – the pair share practically the same size, weight, 62m filter size and design. One on hand I respect what Nikon is doing; where Canon launches the pro-grade RF 35mm f/1.4 for mirrorless which costs around $1,500 / £1,820 / AU$2,699, Nikon is launching a lens for enthusiast photographers for around a third of the price.

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