Nikon AF FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras

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I am a total novice at photography and have only had my (2nd hand) Nikon d70 DSLR since July, but recently learned enough to get my camera off of fully automatic settings and I now shoot in RAW format with manual settings. The transition from JPEG/automatic to RAW/manual already improved my photos, but this lens has been an incredible asset to the quality of my photos. In the week Ive had this lens, it has become my "standard" lens - I only change it out when I absolutely need features provided by other lenses. SO worth the money. A must-have for any beginner/enthusiast.

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I dont know why it took me so long to buy a 50mm prime lens... but this thing is simply incredible. Super fast focusing, *beautiful* bokeh. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Takes ordinary images and makes them smooth and beautiful. I started using it with my Nikon D7000 and have recently been using it with my Nikon d810. Of course, theres hardly a comparison between the d7000 and d810... but this lens works fabulously with both. I cant say enough about it. As for the 1.8 vs the 1.4, Im not really sold on the 1.4 for what I do. I do pretty much exclusively portraits taken from a distance relatively close to my subjects, and if Im shooting in 1.4, theres always a good chance that I will get a shot with the nose in focus and the eyes slightly out of focus. I rarely even risk it. For some situations it would be fine, though. For the extra $300 or so, I dont know that the 1.4 would be worth it. About the 2 photos attached: both are shot with this lens; the photo of the baby is with my d810 (inside, natural lighting @ f/8), the one of the young lady is with my d7000 (outside, natural diffused lighting, @ f/2.8).

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This is the only lens I ever use. If you love film photography youll love this digital lens. Its completely manual, including aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and its almost identical to the lens of your standard 35-55mm film lens you first learned photography on. The feeling is nostalgic. It does not take wide angles, however, so it would be terrible for landscape photography. I also wouldnt recommend it for wildlife photography, because it takes a minute or two to adjust the focus, which could mean your target gets away or the picture comes out blurry. I am a figure photographer and do fine art and fashion and this lens is perfect for this, especially in natural lighting because the iso can be brought down to 100 to take super crisp photos. Ive been using the lens on my Nikon 3200 for four years, and I cant remember the last time I put another lens on. Getting the focus can be tricky by just looking through the viewfinder so I recommend zooming up on the target while you focus and then zooming back to normal once youve found the sweet spot. Absolutely wonderful lens!

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This prime lens from Nikon is one of the great bargains existing in lenses today. Ive a Nikon user for more than 40 years and Ive owned just about every lens that Nikon makes (with the exception of the 600mm f/4 that I have borrowed but not owned and I lust for, lol) and this lens is incredibly sharp. I bought this lens because I decided that, despite having the focal length covered by at least three zoom lenses that I owned, that none of them was as sharp as a prime lens. I was photographing the New York skyline (an expensive trip, three days in a hotel in Jersey City) and using a few different zooms (primarily a 24-120mm--I wouldnt buy that lens again, its not as sharp as it should be, though a nice range) and none of the images was as sharp as I wanted. I was using a self timer (I now use a remote wireless trigger) and a heavy tripod but at 2 seconds, I still wasnt happy with the results. When I returned home I ordered this lens on a whim and a few weeks later shot the skyline again--wow, what a difference. For $104 you cant get a better lens. Yes, you can buy the f/1.4 for three times as much, but do you really need to spend an extra $200 to get a fraction of a stop? Thats nuts. I ended up loaning this lens to a friend who liked it so much that I gave it to him and bought another. Zoom lenses are the norm today, but having a few good prime lenses in your bag is worth it. (The other one I would highly recommend is the 105mm Micro Nikkor--perhaps the sharpest Nikkor lens ever).

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Under the technical details this is listed as a zoom lens. It is not. It is a prime lens and does not zoom. You must change your position to frame your photo. This lens will not autofocus with many DX cameras. Specifically the D40, D40x, D60, D3000, d3100, D3200, D3300, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300. Autofocus is a critical function for these are cameras aimed at novice/newer to digital photographers. It will mount on these cameras, it will function in all respects but the autofocus. It WILL fully function with the D90, D7000, D7100, more expensive cameras aimed at enthusiasts. They contain a focusing mechanism in the camera body that works with the AF designated lenses. That being said, this is a spectacular lens as others have reported. A prime lens can rock your world in terms of clarity and photo quality. When being used on a DX camera it does NOT function as the "nifty fifty" that many are looking for. That label is a holdover from film photography. It indicates the the focal length that mimics the normal view of the human eye and gets a tad confusing with the development of the DX 1.5 cropped sensor. This is a 50mm lens on an FX camera. Mounted on a DX camera it is the equivalent of a 75mm (short telephoto). In an average sized room you may run out of room to back up to get everyone in the frame. If you want the 50mm view on a DX camera a better choice is the wonderful Nikon 35mm f/1.8 AF-S G. This prime lens will give you the 50mm lens (52mm approximately) you are looking for and works very well in low light/no flash situations. It will autofocus on all DX cameras as it has Nikons Silent Wave Motor in the lens (the S in AF-S). This 50mm lens is a standard lens that is as fine as they come for camera bodies with an internal focusing motor. I love it and use it as a short tele on a D7100. I also have tried it on a D5100 and a D60. It is sharp and the shots are beautiful. You just need the time to manually focus properly, not always possible with fast moving toddlers and pets. These bodies will indicate that a correct focus has been achieved by displaying a dot in the viewfinder. Catching that perfect focus manually takes more practice than the casual photographer has time for. I like Nikons fast accurate autofocus and do not see any benefit in not spending a few bucks more to get the lens that fully works with the camera (I also own the 35mm f/1.8G AF-S ). I have personally muddled through this world of digital from film and I hope this helps the next budding photographer in choosing the best lens for your needs.

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So I have owned this for 4 1/2 years now and for probably 3 1/2 of those I have been looking for a replacement 50 mm because there is NO way this could perform at this price right? Well this lens is the sharpest I have. Its been with me from my D3000 to D7000 and now D750 it is the best. Now I have never even tried any other 50mm lens so I have no comparison but I dont even feel I need to because to me there isnt one that can outperform this one. I just know what I see when I use this one and I love what I see. I have lugged around the 24-70 and 70-200 and those are fantastic but heavy. Put this on your camera and it feels like such a relief. Dont worry about the price or what anyone thinks, if you want a 50 mm get this one. Its always fun to look at new lenses, and I still do, but I think I would feel like a real idiot if I bought any other 50 mm as long as I have this one.

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This is the second of these lenses I have purchased. They work great for all kinds of photography. My use was for field work in nature photography as well as for astrophotography. In the latter case, it provides extreme wide-field views of the sky when coupled with a cable release to hold the shutter open. The new lens works just as good as the old one and Im back to using my Nikon rig and getting excellent results with this lens. Its a low-cost and high-efficiency bit of kit that should be in every Nikon owners bag of tricks. It is my goto-lens for everyday work. The only beef I have with Nikon regarding these lenses is how to return these lenses for recycling or to get a little money off on turning a defective one in when it quit functioning like my first one did. It lasted from 2008 to 2017 and I cant complain about the lens finally giving up the ghost, but I am a little reluctant to toss the old lens. Suggest Nikon develop a program for returning the lenses, or to at least provide a good web page to tell us the best method of disposal of these lenses when they finally die.

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I agree with the other positive reviews but I want to add something different: (I have a D7100 which does autofocus) 1. On the physical part of the lens you will notice the aperture settings of f/1.8, f/2.8, f/4, etc. I thought I would be limited by those stops but when mounted you actually have more settings in between (3 or 2 stops) like f/2, f/2.2, f/2.5, f3.2, f/3.5 etc. I like the added control this gives me. 2. When I received my 50mm the sharpness was not all that great at f/1.8. I did a little test and my autofocus was focusing at 3/4" in front of my subject which is not good. If you have a camera that can autofocus with this lens, you should have an Autofocus Fine-Tune that will correct this problem. There are videos that show you how to fine-tune and the setting is not a global one but is for each individual lens you own. I had to use a +15 to get it sharp. I am very happy with this lens now.

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Superb lens. I had this same lens, that unfortunately fell off a cliff and I immediately bought the same lens that night. Dont spend the extra money for the 1.8G, this is insanely sharp with great bokeh. Great depth, and built like a tank. As a photographer this is my absolute go to lens. Only complaint is some minor sun flares when shooting around sunrise or sunset (See Photo Below.)

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Im really new to photography and I am used to automatic mode. I purchased this lens with the understanding that I would have to operate it in manual. I downloaded a work sheet from click it up a notch that explains everything really easy and with diagrams as well. This has made the switch from automatic to manual easy. With that being said, I am in love, I dont want to put my camera down. Pictures turn out beautiful. Having to operate in manual isnt as bad as lots of people make it seem

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