Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 AF-D

Lenses in the 50 mm range used to be the standard on 35 mm film SLR cameras.  On film these lenses provided an approximately “normal” perspective, supposedly seeing a scene pretty much as the human eye does.  Theses lenses were often included with camera bodies as a kit, were often large aperture lenses (f/2 or better making excellent depth of field and low light photography possible) and were generally the most affordable lenses in the lens line-up of each manufacturer.

In the digital age, on the “standard” APS-C size sensor with 1 .5x crop factor, the 50 mm lens has lost some of it’s popularity.  On these camera bodies these lens’ field of view is significantly reduced compared to what they would be on a full frame 35mm camera (Nikon’s frame digital cameras are called “FX” format in their marketing speak).  This change in field of view relegated this lens to a box in my camera equipment closet for the majority of the time that I have been shooting digital bodies.  A “normal” perspective on a digital body would be more like a 30 mm or 35 mm lens.  If this is what you’re looking for there are several options, the Sigma 30 f/1.4 (digital only, and reviewed elsewhere on this site) is even faster, the Nikon 35mm f/2 (slower but full frame), and the new digital only 35 mm f/1.8 (recently introduced as of this writing and a good value at $220).  Please note that AF-D lenses (including this one) will not auto focus on Nikon’s lower end digital bodies, including the Nikon D40, D40x, D60, and the latest D5000.  The lens will AF on all Nikon film SLRs, and on Dxx bodies (D70 and up), Dxxx bodies (D100, D200, D300), and all single digit D series bodies.  There are also several other 50 mm lenses, the Nikon 50 f/1.4 AF-D, the Nikon 50 f/1.4 AF-S G (autofocuses on ALL bodies), and the Sigma 50 f/1.4 (also auto focuses on all Nikon bodies).  The f/1.4 lenses are nearly one stop faster than the f/1.8 reviewed here, and all are from nearly double to nearly four times the price.

While no longer the absolutely cheapest lens in the Nikon line-up, it’s the second cheapest (and not by much), and is still one of the sharpest lenses Nikon makes, and certainly the best value in Nikon’s lineup.  Since the field of view is not that of a normal lens on digital, what’s it good for?  Well, a 50 mm lens on digital makes an excellent focal length for portraits.  The 50 mm focal length gives you just about enough working distance to do head and shoulder portraits without being directly in a person’s face.  Although the 30 mm lenses mentioned previously can be used for portraits, it is necessary to get very close to the subject (can be disturbing to the subject), and there can be some distortion evident to the images.  No so for the 50.

Because if it’s large aperture of  f/1.8, this lens is also great for available light photography.  This means that you can often shoot using ambient light, using no flash.  These images often look more natural than casual on-camera flash, and the wide open apertures used give excellent subject to background isolation.

Here are some samples from a recent shoot I did of what the 50 mm f/1.8 lens can do.  These images were taken with my Nikon D300.  All images are with available light and no flash all wide open at f/1.8.

Anthony, at ISO 1600.  This image would make an excellent 8×10 in or larger print.

Anthony, Nikon 50 mm f/1.8, D300 at ISO 1600

Pippin, a West Highland Terrier.   This image was shot at ISO 500.  Note the reflection of the photographer (me) in the dog’s eye!

Pippin, Nikon 50mm f/1.8, D300 at ISO 500

The last image shows Copper, an Australian Shepherd.  This image is at ISO 200, slight crop.

Copper, 50 mm f/1.8 AF-D, Nikon D300 at ISO 200

Lastly, a 100% crop of the previous image showing the detail produced by this lens wide open.  Notice the slight lateral chromatic aberration in the catch lights in the dog’s eye.  This is probably the weakest point of this lens - but remember this is a 100% crop!  This is the level of detail you would get from this image at a size of about 20 x 30 inches, a poster size print.

Copper's Eye, 100% Crop