Nikon 50mm f/1.8D Nikkor AF

jorgemonkey

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Ebay

Summary:
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.

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

Weaknesses:
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

Similar Products Used:
Nikon 50mm 1.8 AIS

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

JGaban

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $110.00 from Kuala Lumpur

Summary:
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

Strengths:
cheap
fast & accurate autofocus on my d80
light

Weaknesses:
very soft picture at wide aperture

Similar Products Used:
none

Sosh

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
1 votes

Price Paid:  $79.00 from microglobe.co.uk

Summary:
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.

Strengths:
Low price

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

sharpie05

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2 votes

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Ritz Camera

Summary:
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.

Strengths:
SHARP
Fast
Great DOF control
Fast focus

Weaknesses:
Touchy depth of field! Be careful!

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

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
3 votes

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Foto Rembrandt

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

Strengths:
Superb optical quality
Compact size

Weaknesses:
Worthless build quality

Similar Products Used:
Zuiko 50
Canon 50/1.8
SMC Takumar 50/1.4