Looking for my first lense but a little confused.

[pcolaheadbussa]

I am on amazon looking at the different 35mm and 50mm nikon prime lenses. There are so many different acronyms like AF-S, DX, AF, D, G, etc, that i just dont know what the difference's are. For example: Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras and Nikon 35mm f/2D AF Wide-Angle Nikkor Lens for Nikon 35mm and Digital SLR Cameras. Then you got: Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras and Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. They two 50mm have the same f stop but whats the difference between the G SIC SW AND D AF? Ahhh so confused!

 

[Josh220]

What camera body will you be using it for? We can tell you exactly which one you need if we know which body it will be mounted on.

If you have a cheaper body, you'll need AF-S lenses, otherwise you won't be able to auto focus. DX refers to a cropped sensor versus a full frame (FX) sensor.

As for the D, G, etc., I refer you to this link for a quick summary of each one. I absolutely hate quoting Ken Rockwell but to save myself time...

Nikkor Lens Technology

 

[pcolaheadbussa]

i am going with the d90. and thanks for the link!

 

[drdobs]

Also consider www.kenrockwell.com - he's a little quirky but his lens reviews are generally very good and will explain the nomenclature (sp?).

I have the D90, I currently have the 35mm 1.8, the 50mm 1.8, the 16-85, 70-300 and am quite happy with my lenses..

Jon

 

[pcolaheadbussa]

oh i like your first two lenses alot man! I am gonna be starting off with those as well for the price and quality and regards to kenrockwell.com, man i i love this guy! He keeps its simple enough for a beginner like me to be able to understand and funny enough to keep me reading. I guess people dont like him for his opinions but come on, its just his opinions. They guy has been shooting for a very long time so i would take his advice before i take my own dealing with photography.

 

[djacobox372]

AF = autofocus lens that requires autofocus motor (the d90 has an af motor)
AF-D = Same as AF but provides distance info to the camera to help with flash photography
AF-S = Silent-wave autofocus motor, needed if your body doesn't have an AF motor. Also much faster and quieter then AF
DX = only works on crop sensor cameras (like the d90)--won't cover the full-frame of cameras like the d700 and D3
G = doesn't have an aperture ring (only matters if you want to mount it to an old film nikon)
SW = another way to say "AF-S" stands for "silent wave"
SIC = Nikon Super Integrated Coating (helps prevent flaring and ghosting to increase contrast)

Of course the other makes (tamron and sigma) have totally different systems.

 

[pcolaheadbussa]

why is the nikon 35mm f/2D AF more expensive than the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX?

 

[JustAnEngineer]

The DX lens is only big enough to project an image circle over the APS-C size sensor. The FX lens is larger, making it suitable for use on cameras with full-frame (35mm film equivalent) sensors.

Lenses for APS-C cameras:
Nikon: DX
Canon: EF-S
Sigma: DC
Tamron: Di-II
Tokina: DX

 

[KmH]

why is the nikon 35mm f/2D AF more expensive than the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX?

The 35 mm f/2D is made with far fewer plastic parts. The AF-D lenses have an aperture adjustment ring and the 35 mm f/1.8G lenses don't making them less costly to make.

 

[djacobox372]

why is the nikon 35mm f/2D AF more expensive than the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX?

Because the 35mm f2 is a full frame lens--it's cheaper to make lenses that cover smaller sensors. Image quality wide, the f1.8 DX is a little better.