Review by Klaus Schroiff and Markus Stamm, published October 2014

Special thanks to Dr. Roland Rudolphi for providing the lens!

Introduction

"58mm" may sound like an unusual choice but this is actually not a first for Nikon here. Back in the old days, they offered a Noct-Nikkor Ai-S 58mm f/1.2 - a legendary lens renowned for great performance at max. aperture. We'll see whether the current AF-S 58mm f/1.4 is capable of following this guidance.

While just as fast as the much cheaper AF-S 50mm f/1.4 G, the AF-S 58mm f/1.4 G is a massive lens in comparison although, again, it's compact when thinking of the Zeiss Otus.

The build quality is high which is, of course, something you can expect considering the price tag. However, the lens is actually quite a bit lighter than you'd expect by its size. This is partly because the lens body is made of high quality plastics (based on a metal mount) and also because the actual optical system is quite short and compact.

The broad, rubberized focus ring operates smoothly. The mount is sealed by a rubber ring albeit the lens is not weather-sealed.

As for all new Nikkors for many years now, the AF-S 58 is a G-type lens and thus does not offer an aperture ring.

The AF is quite fast and near noiseless. However, the motor shifts the whole optical system (linear extension system). Nonetheless, the physical length of the lens remains constant because the optical system is deeply recessed in the lens body. Manual override is possible without switching to manual focus mode.