A 50mm is one of those perfect lenses everyone should have in their bag. If you're a Nikon shooter, you might already be following some of their new lens releases. Eager to get your hands on Nikon's redesigned 50mm F/1.8G? If you want it now, B&H has all the goods in stock.
Nikon 50mm F/1.8G
Hein
@Mike, this is the updated version of the 50mm lens. Its has a built in focus motor as well. Compare the 50mm AF-D with the Canon one before you say its to expensive 🙂
Joe horvath
I've owned several copies of the old 1.8d and I pre ordered the G version the day that it was announced. The old version was a great lens and the new version is even better (and worth the extra cost). The biggest reason for the increase in cost was the addition of the focus motor, something that the canon doesn't have. This is only an issue for folks with entry level cameras, but I will say that while there is not much difference in focus speed from the old version, the accuracy is much better. Other features that the canon lens doesn't have: a metal mount, bayonet lens hood, weather sealing, and full time manual focus over ride. As to video: you'd be better off with one of the full manual lenses that nikon still makes, the focus ring has a longer travel and is better dampened.
Kenrik
@Mike Yes it's plastic but it's heavy duty plastic with a aluminum mount and weather sealed butt. Slap on a UV filter and no portion of the lens is ever exposed to anything.
I have this lens and it has the best Bokeh of any lens I have ever used.. I don't even bother putting any other lenses on the camera now unless I really need wide angle or telephoto. (rare for my shooting style)
Mike
Too expensive.
Canon's equivalent lens goes for half the price, and both are plastic.
Ronn
I'd seriously suggest you get the "D" instead of the "G" - "G" stands for "gelded" - no aperture ring. The "D" is $140 - got mine at Calumet but they're everywhere - sharpest lens Nikon ever made and maybe the cheapest. It's #1 on Ken Rockwell's hit parade: https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/10-best.htm
soy
@Olphus: its a FX lens. Its actually the only nikon 50mm with an asph element. I'm waiting on a comparison to the 1.4G
@M505XL: this lens is the newer version of the older nikon 50mm f1.8D. The old 1.8D was comparable to build and cost as the canon 50mm f1.8.
Abe
the one thing I miss about switching to Canon is the build quality of the Nikon Lenses. Even their "cheap" less expensive lenses just seem to feel more rugged and sturdy. This 50mm is a little more expensive than the older "D" version that I own but I can see that it being an AF-S makes it worth the extra cash. You have to admit it, the design of Nikon lenses are far superior than Canon, at least this lens has a usable manual focus ring.
Matt
@M5 I'd say (and hope) that the Nikon is built with a higher quality plastic housing. The Canon lens is nice 'kuz it's cheap, but it's rather fragile material.
My Canon 1.8 50mm suffered a bump on a cold winter day in Canada and broke apart. Boop!
HD-tography
Why only available to ship to USA and not Canada? I hope this is not the start of a growing trend... I order hundreds of dollars in merchandise every month and thousands upon thousands per year from B&H...
Not Nikon... mostly Canon...
Olphus
Unfortunately it's DX only.
M505XL
Why so expensive. I bought my Canon 50mm f/1.8 for just under $100 and got a free filter too.
Matt
I use Nikon lenses on my 7D and 5D. The ones without a "G" of course. Hey, my girlfriend had a nice collection of glass, why not take advantage of it?
I prefer to run my cams all manual anyway, so it works.
Emm
Post author@Florian - Whoa, Nikon does video? JK..
Florian
...and besides, a 50mm only is a normal lens on a full frame camera (like the Canon 5D). On APS-C/DX bodies, 50mm is a portrait tele, and 35mm is a normal lens.
Florian
"G" means, in Nikon code, that the lens has no aperture ring. How's that an advantage (especially for DSLR video)?