Nikon 50mm f/1.8 G Review
The nikon 50mm f/1.8 is an update to the legendary 50mm f/1.8D. This lens has optical improvements expected from Nikon, as well as the negatives associated with modern Lens design.
Build
My reactions here are mixed. The lens is mostly made of plastic, though thankfully has a metal mount. It has weather sealing which is always a wonderful features. A major strike against the lens for me is the lack of a manual aperture ring, only relying on the electronic coupling, as well as having the focus motor in the lens (All motors break eventually, having the AF in the lens instead of the body always makes me nervous). Overall it’s a solid design, and one that most photographers will love. But I will always prefer the metal construction of pre-2000’s photo, Zeiss, and cine lenses.
Handling
So light that almost feels like the lens is not there on my D7000 with battery grip. Because of this it is incredibly easy to use on any body. And though is relatively small, the focus ring is far enough away from the body to be comfortably adjusted on the fly for those who love MF. AF is incredibly fast, quiet, and accurate. It’s a match made in heaven with a smaller body such as the D5100 or D3100. I had a blast shooting a wedding with this lens on a D5000 as a second body.
Optics
Simply incredible. It’s very usable at f/1.8. It’s sharp at f/2. From f/2.8 on it seems unreal. Bokeh is smooth and clean, distortion is not noticeable, and falloff is natural and gone by f/2.8. The lens renders colors and tones beautifully. Skin tones seem accurate and transitions are smooth. A near flawless lens optically.
f/1.8 Notice the lack of Color fringing and the sharpness of the figure.
f/4
Video
This is not a good lens for video use. On nikon bodies with these modern lenses you have to exit live view to alter the aperture view, and for any on the fly shooting this is a nightmare. The focus ring, while fine for photo work, is not smooth enough for clean focus transitions. There are no focus distance marks on the lens and the displayed focus distance is not accurate enough to rely on for focus pulling. Due to the lack of an aperture ring, the lens cannot be used on any other camera system. A big advantage of manual aperture Nikon glass in video is that they can easily be adapted to canon bodies when they are needed.
If your looking for a great lens for video work, try the Nikon 1.8D (if you need autofocus) or Nikon f/2 or f/1.4 AIs lenses.
Video Sample: Nikon D7000 f/4 1/50sec ISO250
Summary
Every Nikon shooter should have this in their bag. It’s incredibly sharp, relatively cheap, covers full frame, and is weather sealed. It’s the perfect prime lens at a bargain price. If you want slightly better build without weather sealing and are willing to sacrifice a tiny bit of optical performance (and I mean tiny), grab the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D for $100 brand new.
