| | | |  - High-speed normal lens
- Great for travel and for shooting full-length portraits in available light
- Distortion-free images with superb resolution and color rendition
- Provides high-contrast images even at maximum aperture
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| | | |  Product Description:
A compact and fast lens that is perfect for travel and portrait pictures, as well as general photography / f/1.8D / 50mm / Compatible with 52mm Filters Stops down to f/22 for excellent depth-of-field control | | | | |
Average Rating : 
Rating : - Best value in a Nikon lens
Hmmm.
Maybe I've just been around too long, dating back to the age of the prime lens. Years ago I read an article by the late, great Bob Schwalberg of Pop Photo. One of his monthly columns was devoted to the "nifty fifty" and I'll never forget it. Most SLR cameras of the time were sold with these as "normal" lenses. The angle of view on a 35mm camera was about the same as the human eye at 47 (or so) degrees and they had some characteristics of both a tele and a wide angle, plus the wonderful aspect of faster speed to aid in focusing (which at that point in history was manual). In short, a simple lens formula that was probably the sharpest one most people owned. Zooms back then were not the greatest.
A 75mm equivalent focal length (which a 50 is on most APS-C DSLR's) is actually closer to our angle of concentration, within our angle of view (if I dig I can find my old reference article for this fact). Several have noted that this short tele effectively restricts the use of this lens for group, interior, tight quarters shots. Also, that you have to move you to get the shot, not a ring on a lens. Yep. But what you gain is better auto focus in dim light (more light making it to the AF sensor), shallow depth of field option to isolate your subjects (with wonderful, clean bokeh), tighter and more intimate images of specific individuals without a lot of surrounding or background clutter, much better inherent contrast for snappier images (in many cases, when compared to the std zooms found on most DSLR's), better flash range. Of course, all of these apply when not in those situations too, for formal or informal portraits, landscapes, etc.
I know I sound like a curmudgeon, but I think every photographer should own one of these; there are that many situations where your images will stand out from the fray. The use of a single focal length is a great way to learn to see in a new way and improve your work, not just with a 50mm, but any focal length. Sometimes just zooming isn't enough. Sometimes, even with a zoom, a different perspective will yield a better, more interesting image.
Yes, this lens is plastic. What does that really matter? Yes it uses the camera body focus motor so it's a little loud. Don't have an answer for this one (other than the fact that Nikon has the f1.4G out now with HSM focus). Yes, the optics are superb, supporting a long tradition of excellence (which in all fairness is shared with Canon, Olympus, Pentax, Sony (Minolta), Leica) for this type of lens.
Dollar for dollar, this is the best money on lenses you will spend. And the faster f1.4 big brother is only an improvement (but no where near as good a value owing to its cost).
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