Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G Autofocus Lens

brettmc

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So I currently have a nikon D40, I believe this lens is compatible with a D40 if not please tell me, and I'm not a big fan of using the on camera flash. So currently I'm looking at this lens:

Nikon | AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G Autofocus Lens | 2180 | B&H

I am looking for something that can shoot fast in low light, has anyone had any experience with this lens? If so, what are your comments on it?

Another question, if I decide to upgrade to a different camera body will this lens still work even though it has its own autofocus motor?
 
By all accounts this is a great lens. It is a FX lens so it will work on all of Nikon's current body lineup, so no worries there. And you are correct, this will work on your D40 and will allow you to shoot in low light conditions.

Another lens you may want to have a look at though is the Nikkor AF-S 35mm f1.8 G DX. It's $200, so it's $300 cheaper than the 50mm and is only a bit slower. The only deal breaker with this lens is that if you ever wanted to go full frame (an FX Body such as the D700 or D3) it wouldn't be compatible.
 
I have a D40 and a Nikkor 50mm f1.8 as well. It's a great lens--the best in my ginormous collection of 5 lenses (second is a 30-year-old 100mm AIS). I can only imagine that the 1.4 AF-S will be better. A bit faster, plus the motor in the lens for auto focus.
 
This is good, however if you want a wider view, look at the 35 DX.
 
It will work with the D40, on B&H, go to the features, usually it says NOTE: AUTO FOCUS NOT SUPPORTED BY D40 and D60 CAMERAS if its not compatible.

Just look for the note, sometimes it wont be compatible with early model AF Film cameras, however, this lens is compatible with the D40.

Also, if you arent aware already, this lens is the equivilent to a 75mm lens. If you want a 50mm equivelent, get a 35mm lens.
 
I have both a 35mm and 50mm both in the 1.8mm and i find my self using the 35mm more.

Also the DX len's will work the the d700/D3 if you put them in DX mode but it defets the purpose of geting an FX camera.
 
Thanks for all for all of the help everyone. I was not aware that the 50mm is equivalent to a 75mm I still have a lot of information to look at, but I appreciate everyone's help.
 
35mm f/1.8?
 
What do you mean?

I know it exists, which is why i mentioned it. I'm at a loss with your post. I don't get it.

This is funny to me because I knew that you knew that lens exists. He thought you didn't know because you put a question mark at the end like " there is a 35 f1.8???" even though your comment was meant as a weak suggestion. Now you're confuse lol.
 
What do you mean?

I know it exists, which is why i mentioned it. I'm at a loss with your post. I don't get it.

Sorry. I thought that you didn't know it existed because it had already been mentioned in the thread, and then you posted with a question mark at the end. I was confused... I didn't neccesarily think you aren't up to date on what's going on, but considering the context of it already being mentioned and the question mark, I thought you were somehow confused? I don't know.

Anyways, my apologies ;)
 
Thanks for all for all of the help everyone. I was not aware that the 50mm is equivalent to a 75mm I still have a lot of information to look at, but I appreciate everyone's help.


Do not worry about it too much. If you already have the kit lens that shipped with the D40, you may already know what it will looks like in the viewfinder (Field of view) in 50mm.



Really, I think those crop factor stuff are just for people who switching from 35mm film based (or full frame) camera. So that they know roughly what to expect when using a particular focal length on the cropped body. (field of view)
 
So I currently have a nikon D40, I believe this lens is compatible with a D40 if not please tell me, and I'm not a big fan of using the on camera flash. So currently I'm looking at this lens:

Nikon | AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G Autofocus Lens | 2180 | B&H

I am looking for something that can shoot fast in low light, has anyone had any experience with this lens? If so, what are your comments on it?

Another question, if I decide to upgrade to a different camera body will this lens still work even though it has its own autofocus motor?

That's basically the king of 50mm for digital SLRs.

Yes, it will shoot fast in low light.

As far as I see it, there's a few different kinds of "upgrades":
a) upgrade to a better, newer DSLR: Yes, it will work.
b) upgrade to an older automatic film SLR: Yes, it will work, because the camera will be able to set the aperture electronically (i.e. Nikon F100).
c) upgrade to an older manual film SLR (i.e. Nikon FM series): No it won't work, because those require an aperture ring and G series glass does not have aperture rings with which to set the aperture.

It basically comes down to this: you can spend however much this is (>$500 new, right? since no one's selling theirs yet so used isn't available) and get somewhat faster, quieter AF performance, or you can get the older f/1.4 D version (which I have), which by the way I think has phenomenal build quality, spend $270 used (so, almost 50% of the price) and it will work on pretty much any camera Nikon has made since the 70's.

There is a slight image quality benefit with the G version but it's only really evident if you use complicated electronics to find the differences - 99.9999% likely you would never find a difference in image quality; and if you did, odds are the glass was smudged/had dust/etc.

I'd personally go (and I did) with the older f/1.4D version, use the money left over to buy a wide-angle f/2.8 prime, also with phenomenal image quality. 2 lenses for the price of another, can't beat that! :D
 

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