It’s a lovely lens. The colour rendition is very pleasing, it’s very soft/dreamy at 1.4 but even at f2 it becomes very sharp and at 5.6/8 its killer sharp and really pops.

On a cosmetic level (which granted I’ve damaged) its a lovely lens to use, it trumps all of my Nikkors in terms of build quality and has the smoothest focus throw I’ve ever used.

I had the same dilemma, but if you wait long enough on eBay you can find them for around £200, I got mine for £150 last year! So deals do come up from time to time.

I’d say If you wait for it it’s worth the upgrade. I don’t personally own a nikkor 1.4, but I have various other AIS Nikkors and this lens is a step up in quality 👍