So, while the emphasis may be placed on the inclusion of an aspherical element, there are a number of other small changes that should significantly improve the performance of the new 50mm f/1.8G lens. Build and handling The Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is an affordable prime lens for Nikon’s range of FX and DX format DSLRs, and as an AF-S model, it’ll autofocus on any Nikon body. It should be clear by now that the latest Nikon Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G delivers great performance for the money, which only leaves me to wrap things up in the verdict. With macro distances, even with the limiter turned on, the focus was more slide-to-focus than snap-to-focus. I again wouldn't call it fast or slow, just a noticeable slide. You’ll see these letters in the names of all Nikon F-mount lenses, and they refer to the sensor size of the camera they pair with. Nikon DSLRs come in two varieties – APS-C sensor (DX) and full-frame sensor (FX). A DX lens will create a smaller image circle, designed to fit a smaller APS-C sensor found on Nikon’s DX series DSLRs, such as the Nikon D5600.

This unassuming lens is the best budget choice for a D3 or D700, much better than any zoom, to get you the fast autofocus, great low-light performance and the sharpness for which you bought a D3 or D700 in the first place. If you do buy one of those expensive cameras, consider as well the 50mm f/1.4 version. Price: The lens has a list price of 279 EUR (incl. 19% VAT) / 297 USD / 249 GBP. The Z 50mm f1.8 S is 550 EUR / 600 USD / 520 GBP, the Z 35mm f1.8 S costs 780 EUR / 850 USD / 800 GBP. [+] I prefer the conventional straight-bladed diaphragms of older lenses that make much better sunstars than this new lens. This lens makes wimpy sunstars, if any at all. The 50mm f/2.8 MC's optical design is relatively simple: 10 elements in 7 groups, with one each aspherical and ED elements. The front element is fluorine coated, but only Nikon's regular coatings are used to combat flare (e.g. no ARNEO or Nano coating). Sharpness is good right across the frame wide open, with the centre improving rapidly on stopping down and the corners not too far behind. Optimum apertures are around F5.6 to F8, at which point the lens is delivering impressive results right across the frame.There's beautiful bokeh, and the lens maintains a lovely smoothness in defocused areas when stopping down a little. Colour fringing is almost a complete non-issue with this lens, even in the corners. The 50mm behaves similarly in our macro test on full frame as on DX. Naturally the close focus, working distances and magnification figures remain the same as on DX at 43.5cm, 34cm, and 0.16x respectively. Eagle-eyed viewers will no doubt have noticed that the MTF50 sharpness data at any particular focal length/aperture combination is distinctly higher on FX when compared to DX. This may at first sight appear unexpected, but in fact is an inevitable consequence of our presentation of the sharpness data in terms of line pairs per picture height (and thus independent of format size). In the corners on a D3, spherical aberration makes it a bit less contrasty (but still well defined) at f/1.8, and it's just about perfect by f/4.

The newer f/1.8 50mm lenses are as sharp, and have none of the barrel distortion of these earlier f/2 lenses.The design of this lens pre-dates any fancy nano-crystal coatings, and as a result contrast is reduced when shooting into the light at wide apertures and flare can be an issue in very harsh lighting conditions. The only difference between this and the 50mm f/1.4 D and 50mm f/1.2 AI-s is that the faster lenses become sharper at f/2, but all are the same by f/4. The faster lenses also cost two to four times as much and have more distortion. The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lenses: Top Left: AF-D. Top right: the new G series. Bottom left: original AF. Bottom right: manual E series