Sensational lens. For the price, a must-have. I used to manually focus with it when I had a D40 and I got great results. Now I shoot with a D80 and I can autofocus with it.

They say this is a portrait lens but its great for other stuff too. I love it in concerts and its very good for indoor sports too like basketball. I just shot college basketball with it, wide open, shutter set at 1/640 or 1/800 at 800 iso. I got some great keepers! I think that for indoor sports, f/2.8 just won't cut it.

The old f/1.4 50mm is more than twice the price. The new AF-S version is FOUR TIMES the price. This one is much, much better value. The sharpness is terrific, as is the bokeh. Every Nikonian needs one. :)

This is a very sharp lens even at f/1.8. At f/1.8 the DOF is very shallow so nailing the focus is very important. In my opinion some of the complaints of softness come from the unfocused results. It is hard to focus in dim places and at night inside homes. The focusing light on D80 helps so it should be turned on. 50 f/1.8 is at the same league as 50 f/2 AI which is sharp from corner to corner, f/2 to f/16. 50 f/1.4 is not very good from f/1.4 to f/4 but sharpness peaks at f/5.6 and f/8. I can easily get the same results from 50 f/1.8 at f/2.8 compared to 18-135 at f/7.1 with of course DOF difference.

It is very weakly built. It gives a lot of resistance when screwing the lens compared to smooth operation of 18-135 or 70-300VR.

I had a D80 with 18-135 and 70-300 VR. I bought this lens to use mostly in museums where flash is not allowed also to use it with Nikon CLS system with my SD600 flash. I also own older lenses and Nikon bodies. I used 50 f/2 AI and 50 f/1.4 AI on my D80 before.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 50 f/2 AI, 50 f/1.4 AI, 55 f/3.5 non-AI micro Nikkor, 50 f/1.7 Minolta

F1.8 aperture
AF speed
Price is by far one of its greatest strengths

Build quality. I would like to see a version build on a metal body
Lens is a little noisy while focusing, but isnt' annoying until its really quiet and you have to focus

I got this lens as a freebie when I bought one of my D2h's. I didn't use it at all because of the $100 price tag on it, I didn't think it would be that great of a lens.

After my son was born 3 months ago this lens has stayed on my camera. Its sharp from 1.8 to 22. It focuses quick and it does the job. Personally I think Nikon could raise the price by $100-$200 and people would still buy this lens.

It is built on a plastic body, so it feels cheap and like you'll break it easily. Thats one of the reasons I didn't use it at first.

Customer Service

I've used Nikon's service a couple times, and have been very impressed with them.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 50mm 1.8 AIS

cheap
fast & accurate autofocus on my d80
light

very soft picture at wide aperture

Took a series of photo from 1.8 to 22.0 to see sharpness and bokeh. Very soft at 1.8 and improving as the aperture decreases. Maximum sharpeness achieved at 6.3 with no discernable change in sharpeness thereafter. Background blur (Bokeh) at 1.8 is very good but not as great as some of the photos I have seen. Bokeh effect becomes ineffective at 3.2.

camera: D80

Similar Products Used:

none

Low price

Soft
Very poor build quality
No lens case supplied
Slow focussing
Poor colour reproduction and contrast

I don't know why so many people rave about this lens. Perhaps it's a quality control issue, but I've been extremely disappointed with my copy.

I was hoping for a reasonably sharp prime lens, but this lens is soft - even compared to my 18-70 zoom.

Admittedly it does get better after f/2.8 - but still not great. Less that 2.8 is unacceptably soft in my opinion - so is of little use. Colour reproduction and contrast are also not great.

The build quality is very shabby - it feels like 'disposable' kit. The aperture ring is loose. The lens requires some degree of force to twist on to the body, I can only assume this is because of poor engineering tolerances.

Maybe the 1.4 is better, but I will be likely be selling mine.

SHARP
Fast
Great DOF control
Fast focus

Touchy depth of field! Be careful!

This lens is great! Fast aperture and SHARP too! It does bloom a little at ƒ/1,8 but as soon as you start stopping down it gets extremely sharp. I found the sweet spot to be a low 2.8!
The dept of field is crazy. Youll have to watch how touchy it is when you take pictures of people- Its easy to get a second person, or even facial features out of focus!
Autofocus is dead-on, though this may have more to do with the cameras and not the lens. I found the AF to be pretty fast, but then again, I am using it on a D50 and N90S. Others may be slower.

Similar Products Used:

SMC Pentax-M 1:2 50mm
Nikon 50mm ƒ1.8 Series E

Superb optical quality
Compact size

Worthless build quality

Don't expect any mechanical quality for this price. What it does offer, is great optical performance at very low costs. A true bargain.

Similar Products Used:

Zuiko 50
Canon 50/1.8
SMC Takumar 50/1.4

lightweight

it's soft. not sharp.
the people who think it is sharp need to re-examine their photographs.

i LOVED this lens when i first got it. I didn't use anything else for a while.
then i began to notice that it is ever so slightly soft. it's obnoxious.
if your job and your personal requirements demand sharp photos, do not buy this lens. everything i take is soft, manual or auto focus. so it's not my eyes.
i'm working at a military base at the moment and i'm just about ready to let the cadets use it for target practice.

* fast
* sharp images and saturated colours
* compact size
* light weight.

* slow Auto Focus
* Plastic

I. Love. This. Lens.

When I got my first SLR back in 2004 it came with a Minolta Rokkor PF 50mm f/1.7, that lens never really left the camera, nor did it's successor the Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7. However when I got my Nikon System I didn't have my 50mm. So when I saw them at a Black's store I knew exactly what I needed.

This lens works perfectly even with my D70s and is especally good for concerts when you're in the front row (see this photoset: http://flickr.com/photos/axle81401/sets/72157594392772147/). Where using a longer lens would only create problems in the concert the compact size makes it perfect and the fast glass makes it great for shooting without a flash to capture the atmosphere.

This lens is perfect for concert, people, and wedding work, and makes for an amazing portrait lens as well.

Customer Service

none needed.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Rokkor PF 50mm f/1.7
Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7
Canon 50mm f/1.8

Price, you could get one used as low as $70 and brand new for $115. Sharp and colors are nice and bold. Good in low light conditions. Fast focusing. For $115 it is a steal.

would be better if it was 35-50mm zoom range. Wish it had 1:1 magnification but that's what macro lenses are for.

I already own a couple of lenses, the 18-70mm nikon kit lens that came with my D70 and a telephoto zoom lens, the 80-200mm f/2.8. Sometimes I need to bring my camera to school. I wanted a backup lens that would be compact, fast, sharp, and affordable. I needed an alternative to my 18-70mm. I wanted to buy the 50mm f/1.8 in the past but i heard that it was not as sharp as the f/1.4. I read reviews saying that if you had the extra money to go for the 1.4. I lost interest on the 1.8 for a little bit but then decided to give it a try because it is such a low price. First off, I am glad I took the risk and purchased this lens because it is far from being a backup lens like I originally intended to use it as. It is almost as sharp as my 80-200mm which is a $900 lens. This lens is everything I was looking for. It outperforms my 18-70mm on sharpness, DOF, and boldness of colors. The only reason why i will not sell my 18-70mm is because of the zoom range on it. If you are looking for an easy to use compact lens that will produce sharp pictures this is the lens for you. I think it's a lens every amature and professional should carry in their bag. Ignore the people saying to get the 1.4 because I have seen pictures taken with the 1.4 and they are just as clear as the ones taken with the 1.8.

Customer Service

The guy who I spoke with at BH was rude at first which was shocking because BH is usually very professional. He did change his attitude after I told him it was not necessary to have a rude attitude. Delivery was right on time and nothing was damaged. BH still is my favorite place to order from.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 18-70mm, nikon 80-200mm f/2.8