few questions on the nikkor 50mm lens and general lens questions

[staphkills]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF lens for my Nikon D80 and a potential Nikon F100 (film).

I'm more interested in getting it used, but when I go onto websites like ebay to find them, it seems like there are many versions of the lens. Are they all the same? How can I tell the difference? The only way I can tell it's different is just by looking at the provided photo if the lens.

Are the newer 50mm lens better than the old ones (i.e. the E series)? Would all of the Nikkor 50mm lens work on both the D80 and the F100 despite the different versions of the lens?

Also, what does the f/ thing mean? I was orginally lookin for the 50mm with f/1.8, but I've noticed some 50mm with f/1.4 as well. Are lower f stops better?


Thanks for answering my questions! I'm just starting to get into slr photography and any advice is appreciated.

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[Sw1tchFX]

You want the 50mm f/1.8D there's only one version of the D model.

[potownrob]

Are the newer 50mm lens better than the old ones (i.e. the E series)? Would all of the Nikkor 50mm lens work on both the D80 and the F100 despite the different versions of the lens?

Series E is an old manual focus lens - great lens but it won't meter on the D80 (you'd have to shoot in manual mode) and you would have to manually focus it. You want one of the 50mm lenses that has AF or AF-D after it. The 50mm f/1.8 AF-D is good; the 50mm/1.4 AF-D is better since it lets in twice as much light and is built better.

Also, what does the f/ thing mean? I was orginally lookin for the 50mm with f/1.8, but I've noticed some 50mm with f/1.4 as well. Are lower f stops better?

Whoops, I kind of started explaining that above. The lower the number after f/, the bigger the maximum aperture and the more light that goes through the lens. For just starting out, the 50/1.8 is usually good enough, unless you shoot in the dark a lot or drop your lenses a lot.

[staphkills]

Thanks for all your help!

So I think I now get it. There's a few versions of the 50mm: the series E (a old 50mm that doesn't AF), a newer 50mm that doesn't AF, a more recent 50mm with AF, and then the most recent 50mm f/1.8D.

I'm a bit concerned about getting a fixed lens though. If there's auto focus, does that mean I can technically zoom? (i.e. I stand further or closer to the subject I want to photograph...since it's fixed lens that means that I can't zoom so the photo will be blurry. However, since the lens can autofocus will it correct the blurryness?)

Again, thanks for helping me out!

[Sw1tchFX]

you'll see when you get it, it's really simple.

[JustAnEngineer]

The AF 50mm f/1.8D will work fine with your D80, including auto-focus and auto-metering.
The more expensive AF 50mm f/1.4D has a slightly larger aperture (can let in more light and provide a shallower depth of field)
The most expensive AF-S 50mm f/1.4G also autofocuses with the low-end Nikon D40, D60, D3000 and D5000 cameras that do not have mechanical focus drives.

[Eco]

Thanks for all your help!



I'm a bit concerned about getting a fixed lens though. If there's auto focus, does that mean I can technically zoom? (i.e. I stand further or closer to the subject I want to photograph...since it's fixed lens that means that I can't zoom so the photo will be blurry. However, since the lens can autofocus will it correct the blurryness?)

Again, thanks for helping me out!

Zoom= it has a step zoom feature, you step closer to the subject to get more of it in the frame This applies to all fixed lenses (35mm,50mm,85mm....)......BUT, the 50mm 1.8,1.4 or 1.2 will generally deliver better images than the same 50 on a zoom lens.

Blurry= only if you fail to FOCUS. Even if you get an old manual focus lens you can still manually focus which is not the end of the world. With that said, I got tired of manually focusing my old 1.8 E series and just bought a 1.4MF. If money is an issue see if your camera shows a little green light when you are in focus in the manual focusing mode.

If you end up wanting to buy an old 1.8, look for package deals on Ebay where people are selling cameras with lens. I got an old Nikon film camera with a 50mm 1.8, 80-200 and a flash unit for $35 or $60 (bad memory).

Good luck