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I tried real hard to find a reason to not give a 5 star rating to such a low dollar lens but in the end I couldn't. Most people will pay between $100 and $130 for this lens. Don't think twice if you're at the higher end. You're still getting a deal. The 50mm lens on the DX bodies gives you a 35mm equivilent of 75mm. This is a good length for portraits. Combine that with the fixed focal length and wide f/1.8 max aperture and you have a great little portrait lens at an unbelievable price. Wide open at f/1.8 you may see just a little softness in some images. For me this only happens in lower light. At f/2.8 it's tack sharp. The fixed focal length results, as it should, in good crisp images. Good bokeh, not as creamy as some of Nikon's higher level lenses but again, THE PRICE! The size of this lens makes it great for a walk around lens and adds almost no weight to your bag as a 2nd or 3rd lens. On the down side, the lens feels very cheap. The movement of the aperture ring really shouts cheap (more on that in a second). The focus is just a touch slow on my D90. As stated above this lens has an aperture ring. The ring needs to be locked in as f/22 for your body to control the aperture setting. When putting the lens on or taking it off you may bump the lock and change the setting resulting in an error message from your camera. No big deal, more of a heads up. Overall, for the price, you will not be disappointed. This may be your sharpest lens if you're not invested in some higher end glass. If you're thinking about buying just do it. You'll like it.Read full review
This lens has some of the sharpest glass I have experienced. Focusing is spot on and very precise. Even though this is an E-series lens (which is supposed to be cheap) I am impressed by the quality of the images I am getting. Being manual focus don't expect to take pictures at a party. However, if your objective is to take pictures of still life then you must own one. This is also a very serviceable portrait lens on a DX format digital camera, as it becomes a 75mm lens. With so many people switching to auto focus, this manual focus lens can be had used for a very reasonable price. You can opt for the more popular 35mm or 105mm lenses, but for the price and usability you cannot beat this 50mm gem.
I used my lens this weekend (a friend had given me their Nikon D70 as a gift). It worked great in many different lighting situations. We were camping at the beach, and photo's turned out wonderful in bright sunlight, around the campfire, and in a dark lighthouse. I decided to buy this lens along with the Nikon 18-55 AF/3.5-5.6 VR zoom lens, after researching Nikon lenses. I could not afford the all in one Nikkor AF-SDX VR Zoom 18-200mm lens (around $500) Most research recommended the two lenses I purchased, one for portrait and low light situations, and one for zoom. I was able to purchase both lenses and filters, staying within my budget of $200. I hope to save my money and purchase the 18-200 eventually, for the convenience of one lens. For now I am pleased with the two I purchased. I take lots of family photo's in many situations, birthdays, special occasions, our grand babies, sports and camping trips. I love that this camera has very little delay between shots, and when on auto is a great point and shoot camera. It takes great night photo's, I think that is the biggest difference between my last camera. This lens is doing everything I expected of it and more.Read full review
This probably is the sharpest prime lens, and for that matter, the sharpest lens I have ever used. It has such a precise focus that locks perfectly to the subject. As soon as I started using the lens I was getting better results than I ever had before. Another plus to it is it's size and weight. It is very tiny, small enough that it takes up no room in your bag, and it weighs so little as well. The open apertures work so well in low light also. At f1.8 you sometimes don't even need a flash, provided there is still some ambient light. Only in pitch black night have I been using flash setups, or you can lower the shutter speed to make up for external light. Overall, this lens is really amazing for anything, I use it for action photography, although it is supposed to be more of a portrait lens. I find that it is ideal for every situation (except needed zoom of course), and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is going to pick up their first prime lens.Read full review
Nikkor E series 50mm 1.8 is optically the same as the latest 50mm 1.8 sans AF. But the E series has a distinct flavour. The picture quality is excellent, as most Japanese 50mm made in the 70s/80s are superb (Nikkor, Ricoh, Pentax, etc). The built is great and the pan cake design is great. If you are careful, picture quality can be on par with the Contax 45mm F2.8 on 4R prints on computer images. The Contax 45mm is plagued by the lack of reliable camera bodies, while the Nikkor is backed by great cameras galore. Be careful though these are all second used lenses. Watch out for seller's description as each has different standards. Watch out for front element coating wear, or fungus. If you are not comfortable with manual focus, get the latest AF 1.8. But the latest lenses do not have the feel of the old E series, both in the lens itself and 'air' of the picture.Read full review
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