5200 upgrades

[Khun3248]

Thanks for everyones input. As for my other question...since she has the 18-55 kit lense..doesn't that mean it includes the 50mm? so it would be pointless to get the 50 right?

No, not at all. The 18-55 kit lens can only achieve a maximum aperture of about 5.6 at 50mm, whereas the fixed 50mm prime can open all the way to 1.8 (an extra 3 stops). This "opens up" a world of possibilities the 50mm can do that the 18-55 can't. The lens will be much much useful in low light settings, and the larger aperture will allow your wife to explore more options with the Depth of Field and Bokeh that shooting at a wider aperture allows, and it's much sharper than the kit lens at 50mm all the way to f/8. This would have been a much better lens to use for the two images you posted as examples, and is a good lens for taking portraits.

This is a comparison I quickly found online: Old vs. New: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens vs. Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G AF-S | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The image on the left was taken with the 18-55. You can see compared to the right, the baseball isn't as sharp. Also look at the purple plant in the background, at 5.6 the DOF is much larger and it retains a lot of detail, where on the right the larger aperture shortens the DOF significantly and smoothly blurs the purple flowers and leads to a much more pleasant looking, sharper image, drawing your focus on the baseball.

The 35 or 50mm 1.8G is typically the first lens someone will buy to supplement the kit lens both offer great performance for a really great price. Next would be a 55-200, 55-300, or 70-300mm.

 

[Khun3248]

I neve the nikkor 50mm 1.8D.
Could you tell me the difference between the D and the G you were talking about?

 

[goodguy]

I neve the nikkor 50mm 1.8D.
Could you tell me the difference between the D and the G you were talking about?

First I don't get why wake up a dead post from 2013 ?
Just open a new post and ask away.

Anyways to your question........................

Prime lenses which don't zoom and have fixed focal number are sharper and faster then most zoom lenses.
Nikon today sells mostly lenses with auto focus motor lenses so you will have auto focus on all current Nikon cameras.
But there are still very few lenses "D" lenses like yours that need a camera with an Auto Focus motor in the camera to have the lens auto focus.
So to be able to have auto focus on your lenses you need to have higher model like the Nikon D7100, D7200 or D500
Cameras like the D3200, D3300, D3400, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500 or D5600 don't have this in body focus motor so you will be forced to manually focus your lens.
My advice is before you buy ANY photographic equipment DO YOUR HOMEWORK so you will know what you are getting and to know its pro and con, shame to throw your money on something that doesn't deliver the performance you need or expect.

 

[Khun3248]

My appologies for "waking up a post from 2013." I was just reading and have been reading a ton on different things. I wanted to kinda lay low and not bother with opening a new thread if I could find an answer to my question through someone else's questions. Also I have been trying to do my homework. That's why I'm here... I have a 50mm "D" lense and I dont at all like it. It was the first lense I bought and I've learned from it so I was just getting other input.
I have a D3300 camera and have read that an auto focus lense will work fine with the camera and i've read it won't.
Thank you for your help
Ps.. I'm new to the forum so forgive me if I make a few mistakes here and there.

 

[goodguy]

My appologies for "waking up a post from 2013." I was just reading and have been reading a ton on different things. I wanted to kinda lay low and not bother with opening a new thread if I could find an answer to my question through someone else's questions. Also I have been trying to do my homework. That's why I'm here... I have a 50mm "D" lense and I dont at all like it. It was the first lense I bought and I've learned from it so I was just getting other input.
I have a D3300 camera and have read that an auto focus lense will work fine with the camera and i've read it won't.
Thank you for your help
Ps.. I'm new to the forum so forgive me if I make a few mistakes here and there.

I've owned few 50mm Nikon lenses, two 50mm 1.8G, one 50mm 1.4D and one 50mm 1.8D
My favorite and sharpest hands down was the 50mm 1.8D even though it was the cheapest but I used it on Nikon D7100 and D750.
Since I owned the Nikon D5100 and now the D3300 I got the Nikon 50mm 1.8G that will auto focus on my D3300
Get the Nikon 50mm 1.8G to AF on your camera or the Nikon 35mm 1.8G DX
Unless you are totally committed to portrait then don't bother with the Nikon 85mm 1.8G which is a super sharp lens but is really good mainly for portraits.
Of course there are many worthy zoom lenses that you can consider too.

 

[KmH]

. . .I have a 50mm "D" lense and I dont at all like it. . .
I have a D3300 camera and have read that an auto focus lense will work fine with the camera and i've read it won't.

What about the lens do you not like?
It's one of Nikon's best lens values.

The 50 mm D lens doesn't have an auto focus (AF) motor in the lens, but it does have a CPU in it that communicates with the AF module in those cameras.
AF lenses like your AF 50 mm f/1.8D lens don't have a focus motor while AF-S and AF-P lenses do have a focus motor in them.
The D3x00 and D5x00 don't have Nikon's AF motor and screw drive system in them, which makes them 'compact' DSLRs. All other Nikon DSLRs have the AF motor and screw drive system in them, and can auto focus the 50 mm D lens with the motor in the camera.
The in the camera AF motor and screw drive system is not used if an AF-S or AF-P type lens is mounted on those cameras. The motor in those lenses is used instead.

The D3x00 and D5x00 have a function called Rangefinder that shows in the viewfinder which way to manually move the lens focus ring to manually achieve focus. You know when focus has been achieved when the In Focus indicator in the viewfinder stays lit the See pages 84 & 248 in the D3300 Reference Manual that is on the software disc that came with the camera.
Or download the manual here: Nikon | Download center | D3300