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50mm nikon lenses

Her D5100 doesn't have an autofocus motor, so she needs an AF-S lens. That narrows it down to:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...C?tag=at055-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...U?tag=at055-20

I own the 50/1.4, but at $440 it isn't a great value. The 50/1.8 is half the price and has 95% of the performance; all you're missing is that extra 2/3rds of a stop at the maximum aperture. Realistically, your DOF is so shallow wide open that it works for very few subjects. For example, if you're shooting portraits, you'll want to dial it down to f/2 or f/2.8 anyway, which both lenses can do.

Save your money and get the 50/1.8. And if you're looking to expand your lens collection further, I highly recommend the 35/1.8:

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-1-8.../ref=pd_cp_p_0
 
alright I appreciate it. you mirrored what I've already read that for her skill level the 1.8 is good enough. I'm glad I didn't buy the cheaper non -s version because I had no idea about the auto focus.
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jpeyton said:
Save your money and get the 50/1.8. And if you're looking to expand your lens collection further, I highly recommend the 35/1.8:
Click to expand...

If she has the kit lens, have her lock it at 35mm and take the type of photos she likes.
Then, have her lock it on 50mm and take similar photos.

The point I'm getting at is this: 50mm, on a DX body.. it's sorta zoomy. You might find yourself backing up a lot.

Conversely, with the 35mm, you might find that you're not close enough.
 
I own the AF-S 50mm f/1.8 lens, and I use it on a Nikon D7000 -- a DX format body.

CuriousMike has some very good advice above. The image quality on the lens is excellent, to be sure, but I have been feeling like I should've gotten the 35mm lens instead. I don't intend to get rid of the 50mm lens, but having used it a while now I think I'll soon be picking up the 35mm. In hindsight, I would've preferred getting them in the reverse order that I did.
 
The d3100 doesn't have an internal ficus motor, right? If that's the case, you can ignore any non AF-s lens, as you will need the lens to include the auto focus motor.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
tdawg said:
The d3100 doesn't have an internal ficus motor, right? If that's the case, you can ignore any non AF-s lens, as you will need the lens to include the auto focus motor.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

I briefly owned the D5100 which also does not have a focusing motor, and I grabbed a AF 50mm f/1.8 off CraigsList for $100 and played around with it for a while. It was kind of interesting being forced to manual focus, which wasn't too much of a challenge.

Ultimately, I sold the AF lens for exactly what I paid and got the AF-S lens, though.
 
jpeyton said:
I own the 50/1.4, but at $440 it isn't a great value. The 50/1.8 is half the price and has 95% of the performance; all you're missing is that extra 2/3rds of a stop at the maximum aperture. Realistically, your DOF is so shallow wide open that it works for very few subjects. For example, if you're shooting portraits, you'll want to dial it down to f/2 or f/2.8 anyway, which both lenses can do.
Click to expand...

Bingo. The bokeh you'll get from the 1.4 will not justify the cost difference. I'd go with the 1.8 and put the difference into filters or accessories (or hell, just save it). I just did several headshots of my brother with the 55-200mm f4/5.6 and at f4 it the background was just right.
 
iGas said:
http://nikonrumors.com/2011/11/03/s...r-nikon-f-mount-compared-by-cary-jordan.aspx/

Enjoy.
Click to expand...
I've owned all of those, except the Zeiss.

My favorite was the Sigma 50/1.4. It was the only one that ever produced outstanding images wide-open (@ f/1.4).

I sold it to buy the Nikon 50/1.4G, and part of me wants to go back. On paper, the Nikon and Sigma are both technically very good lenses, but the Sigma had some indescribable quality at f/1.4 that the Nikon doesn't have. The Nikon is a better lens at smaller apertures. Nikon's AF-S focusing locks faster than Sigma's HSM, which hunted/micro-adjusted more.
 
Get the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX for that puppy. It shoots like the 50mm on a full-frame camera and lets in a lot more light in low-light conditions compared to the 50. It's a great indoor lens. Move your feet to zoom in and out.
 
If she wants a 50mm because she has heard that a 50mm is a "normal" lens...be aware that is true only for full frame cameras. The field of view of the 35mm f/1.8G lens from Nikon is much closer to a "normal" on a DX camera like the D3100. However....if she wants the 50 and knows it's more like a short telephoto on a DX camera then that fine. The AF-S 50 f/1.8G is the one you want.
 
omghaxcode said:
I know nothing about cameras but my gf wants a 50mm lens for her Nikon 3100. Can someone explain the difference between the following 4 lenses?

Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens
Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens
Click to expand...

50mm lens does not really go well with crop camera like 3100. It makes it ~75mm lens. She may want to get 30-35 mm lens, so on 3100 it'd be ~50mm. Make sure that she understands this difference first.
 
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