Fairly good build quality, low price and average sharpness (not taking price into the concideration).

Poor contrast (no, -not due to the film used). The lens does not have a good defined area of focus, -or in other words it isn't as sharp as other reviewers say it is (again i'm not taking price into concideration).

This lens is sharp, if you concider price. But an AF 50 mm lens can't compete with non-af normal lenses. And then again there isn't that mutch of a point having AF on this lens since the focus would have to be the best in the world. At f/1.8 it is almost impossible to focus with AF.

I would however like to recommend this lens for people only owning f.ex. the 28-80 zoom lens. This lens is far more usable then the 28-80, -after you discover that it is possible to run around to get the correct picture. Zooms however are for the places were running is not possible or just not an option.

Customer Service

-

Similar Products Used:

Schneider Kreuznach 50mm f/1.8 SL Xenon

lightweight, sharpness,price, nikon optics

at this price, none that I can find!

What a bargain!!! After reading reviews on this lens, I found one for sale at a camera show for $50.00. Performance is unbelievable at this price. colors are vibrant, the lens has excellent sharpness and it is so light. This will be one of my workhorse lenses. Coupled with my 28-105,I think I haveall the lenses I need for a while. Nikon is finally becoming affordable! Everyone needs to have this lens in their arsenal. Oh yeah, I use this with a Nikon N80.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 28-105, 28-80, 35-80 Yashica 50mm1.4, 135mm

Great little lens, and very nice for macro with tubes.

front is a bit wobbly but nothing to worry about.

This is a great little lens, nice in landscapes, great with extention tubes. It's sharp. Because my other lenses have a 62mm thread, so to keep every thing the same I decided to upgrade the 50mm with a 52-62 step ring.. and with a Hoya 62mm UV and lens hood on the front it looks kind of sexy.

Customer Service

Just get another one, I wouldn't bother getting it fixed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 20mm 2.8
Nikkor 85mm 1.8

Razor sharp, small and light, descent AF performance. Simply a steal for the price.

None...all lenses should have this kind of bang for the buck

Incredibly sharp optics...I can't think of anything sharper. Maybe the Nikon 85/1.4. But that costs 10x as much...at least.

Customer Service

Not used

Similar Products Used:

Canon 50
Wide variety of zooms and primes from Canon and Nikon

This is a very fast and lightweight lens, with nice a finish and a metal mount. I don't know that you can take discernably sharper photos with any other lens. Now reread what I just wrote and consider that this lens costs only $90-100 for a new USA version, with a 5-year Nikon warranty. It auto-focuses quickly enough, even on my N60, and though it is mostly plastic, does not feel cheaply made like the inexpensive consumer zooms that Nikon makes for beginners. This lens also provides a "normal" view, or roughly what the eye sees, and has virtually no distortion. Color and contrast seem about the same to me as my 24mm f2.8 - which means they are excellent.

The biggest is that this isn't a "D" lens. That fact doesn't allow me to take advantage of the 3-D flash capability of the N80 and SB28 - which is one of the main reasons why I chose the Nikon system over Canon. I also am finding less uses for this focal length now that I have a 28-105 zoom. It isn't really wide enough for indoor snapshots, as you can't always get far enough away to capture your subjects and compose properly, and it has no pulling-power for even moderate distance work.

This was my first Nikon AF lens, along with the 24mm, when I bought into the system with the N60. I love it, and am very comfortable with this lens, since my primary lens while learning photograpghy was the 50mm f1.8 Canon FD. I love the speed and the feel of the lens. Nevertheless, I find myself avoiding it in certain situations: mostly indoor snapshots and anything with people and flash. I tend to use my normal zoom for those situations, and the "D" flash system rarely misses an exposure. BUT...when I have time to compose, and the concept of the photo and working environment allow, I almost always use this lens. I know that the photo will have no distortion, a normal perspective, good color and contrast, and that I can use the lens wide open if need be, without fear of sharpness degradation. It is the best lens to start out with. One more piece of advice: if you are about to buy an N60/65 with a 28-105 lens, then buy an N80 with this 50mm lens instead, for the same overall cost. You won't be sorry.

Customer Service

Never used, but the 5-year warranty is a comfort (especially on zoom lenses).

Similar Products Used:

Canon FD system
Nikon N80, N60
Nikon 24mm f2.8, 28-105mm f3.5-4.5,
70-300mm f4-5.6
Nikon SB28 flash

-Low price
-Great "Bokeh"
-Light Weight
-Small size

At times the lens seems to "normal", as opposed to "wide", for indoor use.

I really like the lens. I enjoy using it at night, because it is really fast, and lets in a ton of light. For travel use, I also find the low weight very agreeable. This is a great lens!

Customer Service

not used

Similar Products Used:

Pentax SMC 50mm/f2
Nikon 28-80mm AFD/f3.5

Super sharp, close focusing, affordable and well made.

Huh?

First of all, my reasons for buying this lens were 1, During my beginner days I read that Prime lenses where better than Zoom lenses. 2, While checking the focal length of my Zoom lens after taking an exposure, about 90% of the time it was set at or around 50mm. 3, It was the least expensive 50mm Nikon lens at the camera shop. Immediately I realized the benefits of having a lens that has a Max. Aperture of 1.8. Especially since I was using it on an FM2n most of the time (manual focus with a slow Zoom lens is a pain). But now, it might as well be hard wired to my N80. After I got the first set of prints back from the lab after using this lens I understood the meaning of what I had read about Primes and Zooms. The pictures were so sharp, 4x6 prints that I compared between the ones made with this lens and the ones made with my Nikon Zoom had a noticable difference in quality. I don't think I'll ever use a Zoom again, despite their versatility. It doesn't match the build quality of the Leica Summicron I used to own, but I have inadvertantly smacked it against a metal bridge railing in below zero weather and it survived (one of the main reasons I got rid of the Leica Summicron was because I couldn't fathom possibly damaging such an expensive lens). It won't give you Nikon's 3D Matrix Metering but it is still worth every penny and according to Photodo.com's lens tests (complete with MTF graphs) it is sharper than the Nikon 50mm 1.4 and comparable in sharpness to the Leica Summicron R 50mm 2. I will never let go of this lens it has proven it's worth many many times!

Customer Service

I've never had to use Nikon Customer Service.

Similar Products Used:

Leica Summicron M 50mm f2, Pentax 35-80mm 4.5 - 5.6, Tokina 28-70mm 3.5-4.5, AF Nikon 28-70mm AFD 3.5-4.5, AF Nikon 35mm 2, AF Nikon 28mm 2.8

Fast
Highest quality optical performance

slowish focusing
Non "D"

This lens is the greatest deal ever. While working in photographic production and sales, I got the chance to use and test a lot of fine lenses and this one ranks up there with the highest of them: superior sharpness, low distortion, great contrast (though not as high in terms of color saturation as some newer lenses). If you need a great 50 and can't afford the 1.4 (The only benefit of that one, IMHO, being the "D" version), this is the hands-down best choice.

Customer Service

not yet necessary

Similar Products Used:

Nikon, Canon, Zeiss & Leica 50/1.4

Extremely sharp. For those of you wondering, there is no such thing as a sharp lens at f1.8. This lens is no expection. But it is super sharp at f4 and above.

The ring tends to go "over" the f22 click causing my F601 to refuse to operate it. A sligth pull fixes this. Would be nice if it had "D" technologie (usually not an issue in non-flash situations).

This is one of the sharpest lens around. Someone stated is was soft at 1.8. All lenses are soft at 1.8. Even the f1.4 that cost 3x mores (and you only gain 1/2 a stop).

It's very solid. To those complaining about the plastic, well It fell off my desk once, and it bounce on my wooden floor. No visible mark is on the lens and it still works like new (don't try this at home...). I also had an old Minolta 50mm fell off my hand on a carpet floor. This metal lens made a huge "CLOK" sound as it hit the floor. It still worked after that, but ever since then there as been a dent on the front. Plastic makes it ligth, I've never seen a broken one so far. Have you?

More importantly, this lens is reliable. It gives great results every single time. It never failed me so far. If you are bying into the Nikon system, get this lens and avoid the usual 28-80. You won't regret it. This lens is better then the old MF version because it's multi coated. You can use this lens without a hood with no problem.

Can only hope that Nikon will release a D version of this lens...

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Minolta MC 50mm 1.7

-super sharp
-compact
-fast f1.8
-f22 for additional depth of field
-52mm filters
-great manual focusing
-cheap, cheap, cheap

-AF is a little on the slow side
-not a D-type lens

This is the sharpest lens I own. Ironically, it is also the cheapest one. (you can buy a pro lens which is 10 times costlier, but this baby is sharper)While very good at f1.8, pictures get perfect at f4. Had no problems with either flare or vigneting.Construction is very good considering the price paid (lens is solid, plastic with a metal mount). The AF is somewhat slow, though I don't mind it. Manual focusing is beautifull, damped just right for my taste, very smooth but not light. I am sorry I first bought a 28-80 f3.5-5.6 Nikon. If I had known then, I'd buy this one instead. I found that 50mm focal length is actually more usefull than you might think. A must-have-it-in-the-bag lens.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Pentacon 50mm f1.8