Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

The is a great lens for an armature that needs to take photos in low light. You can't beat it for the price.

I love everything about this lens except AF not supported by D40 and D60, D3000, D5000 cameras. Since I have a Nikon D5000, I need to use it manually. So for the people who have mentioned cameras should think before they buy if they will be comfortable with manual focus. Otherwise It is a great deal and great quality for the price.

This lens is perfect for portraits because the 1.8 aperture lets in a lot of light. It's a very versatile lens at 50mm, which makes this the perfect lens to take out on adventures when you don't want to lug around a bag full of accessories.

This lens is very nice and great for the price. Does not work on auto with certain Nikons but doing it manually isn't that bad. Gives a nice sharp image however I found the lens a little difficult to use and understand. Also, the your view is very constricted and would not be good to use on a day to day basis in my opinion. I like my 35mm much better.

After using the Tamron 18-270 zoom, I found myself missing something. I wanted to get a macro lens, but instead found myself getting this lens and the AF-s DX 35mm F/1.8G and a set of extension tubes.

Certainly I must have been crazy going from an "ultra zoom" to this thing. But so far after just a day and a half of playing around, I've found this lens to run circles around my Tamron lens when it comes to certain shots.

Back to what makes this more versatile than the ultra zoom Tamron:
- 52 mm filters are cheaper than 72 mm filters (something not to overlook)
- It takes less light to get the shot. Higher shutter speeds and F stops are possible with this lens, more than the zoom lens. I don't have to set the ISO as high, so less grain with a lower ISO.
- affordable. At $120 this is about a 3rd of the price of what I paid for the zoom. With an added extension tube, it was still cheaper than the zoom.
- Image quality is better. The focus is sharp. So far I've found myself using this lens a bit more than my 35mm G lens, which is also supposed to be sharp but didn't work as well with the extension tubes.)
- small and light weight (this also can't be overlooked, especially if hand-held.)

This lens also has a bit of a learning curb. Being a prime, takes getting rather close to the subject to "zoom in" and stepping back to "zoom out". With the crop factor, I get a bit of working room in front of the minimum focus. (which can also be a pro, depending on the situation such as using extension tubes.) Not being able to zoom may also be a drawback in some settings like in zoos or places where you can't or not allowed to get close. It also took me a day to figure out how to get manual focusing out of this lens. On a camera with an autofocus motor, you flip the switch on the camera to switch from manual to auto. There is no switch on the lens itself.

A few drawbacks I've found:
On a crop sensor camera, there is no wide angle to be had. Getting landscapes and building shots will require some playing around with composition to make it work. (you may not be able to get the full thing in the frame.) There doesn't appear to be vibration control on this lens so it may take a few shots to get one in focus, but then again even with a VC lens, there may be drawbacks of its own. I wouldn't have minded if it were to cost a little more and included the lens hood. Without it I have to be careful not to get too close to my subjects and also have to keep cleaning the filter to get rid of dust, smudges and and fingerprints. It is also not the most quiet lens to be had. But for most of my shooting, it doesn't bother me.
- 7 blade bokeh (please see photo added to gallery.) Light sources may show up as heptagons which may or may not be what I want in a particular shot. But each lens is a tool, and each tool has its own use and drawbacks.