Nikon 50mm 1.8D lens

The Nikkor 50mm f1.8D lens is an F-mount prime lens from Nikon that, as of writing, can still be bought brand new. It has a lighter, cheaper construction than alternative 50mm lenses from Nikon like the 50mm 1.4D, the 50mm 1.2 AIS (an amazing but very heavy manual focus lens), and the 50mm 1.4G lens. It should be noted the G lens has no aperture ring so can only be used with full capability on autofocus (D)SLRs.

The 50mm 1.8D has the ability to autofocus when mounted to higher end Nikon DSLRs, that have a focus motor built in, and can be used as a manual focus lens on cameras that don’t, such as manual focus film SLRs, and when adapted to mirrorless cameras.

The lens has maximum aperture of f/1.8. Not as wide as the 1.4 lenses or the 1.2 max aperture of the 50mm f/1.2 AIS lens but still wide enough. I found it performs well at a range of apertures, it's a little softer wide open but still quite good given the price of the lens. It takes a 52mm filter thread, a common size.

I bought my copy of the 50mm 1.8D brand new, actually open box at half price, and it was the first prime lens I bought to use on the two Nikon SLRs I had at the time, the F-301 and the FE2. Even though I usually prefer a prime lens slightly wider, 40mm / 35mm etc, I was on a budget at the time and the deal I got on this lens was too good. I think I paid about $115 NZD in 2013 for this lens brand new but lacking the box.

I think I wrote earlier that the Minolta 28mm MD was the best value lens I ever bought but that’s incorrect. I shot a lot with this lens, particularly during the times when I didn’t have the money to buy the prime lenses that I really wanted, the 35mm and 40mm primes. I took this lens hiking, went traveling with it, and took portraits too. Over time I learned to love the 50mm field of view, I appreciate shooting with a tighter frame from my years with this lens.

From my experience with it this is a good lens for someone on a budget. It is made entirely of plastic, except for the lens mount which is metal, but that was never a problem for me, it just doesn’t feel as well put together as an all metal AI-S or a D series lens. The optical quality is very good though, it is sharp and has nice contrast.

I think Ai-s lenses have a nicer character as far as the colors they produce but they are at a different price point to this lens. Sometimes, in my experience, the color that came out of this lens, in high contrast & bright light, was not that pleasing. This was when shooting color film in harsh conditions. That was in my limited experience of shooting 35mm color film with this lens. For the most part I shot a lot of black and white film and this lens was great for that.

There are definitely more expensive lenses with a nicer character to the images they produce. In my opinion the Nikon Ai-s lenses fit this description. After using this lens for many years I acquired the 55mm micro AIS lens. I bought it for macro work but I like the character of this lens so much it has quickly become my favorite lens of a 50mm(ish) focal length.

Other alternatives are the 50mm 1.4D lens, 50mm 1.4G, and 50mm 1.2AIS all from Nikon. These lenses all have their fans and they are all better Than the 1.8D. They are also all more expensive, some significantly so.

In short, this lens is for someone on a budget who wants a good, normal length, prime lens to shoot with and might want to use it on their Nikon DSLR and a film camera.