Camera Labs

Comments and suggestions on Lenses for DLSRs without autofocus motors can be made here

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

Great post, saves us a lot of typing everytime!

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

My thoughts exactly

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

Indeed a very productive post!

Well I can begin by leaving a comment on the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF

I does, as we all know, not feature AF motor. It's a very nice lens that delivers great quality images, but I won't go into detail as I am not an expert in this area.
If anyone plan to buy it, be aware that it delivers an equivalent of 75mm on a cropped sensor, and this means that its hard to squeeze much into the picture, and does not make a good travel lens. It's main benefit is the capability of isolating smaller objects. But that is general and more of a focal lenght discussion, but I think it still is important.

I think that the lens is quite hard to manually focus and get the focus spot on when aperture is wide open, often I happen to place it a little bit in front of or behind what I really want to to focus on. But by consulting the in built Af motor in my D90 this can easily be solved. So be aware if you dont have AF motor in body.

But overall I am very satisfied with it, main issue if I may call it so is correct focus and wide angle capacity, but I didn't buy if for this purpose so its okay.

Thats my thoughts about this lens, hope someone find it useful.

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Nikon D90 | Nikkor 18-105 AF-S f/3.5-5.6 VR | Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D | Nikon MB - D80 battery grip | Lowepro Flipside 200

Nokia 6220 5mp - Carl Zeiss optics



Flickr

I'll add by talking about the 85 mm F/1.8 AF-D
Also does not feature an AF motor, but it's a relatively cheap lens to get into portraits (if the 50's too short). It suffers a bit from fringing, the AF isn't always accurate, but overall: I like it!

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

The more a reason to buy it and use it manual focussing Or what are your experiences with the manual focus, and the focus rings?

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

Compared to the manual focus film SLRs (mine are Minolta), manual focusing with APSC DSLRs is a bit of a challenge.

First, the viewfinder is relatively small on most of them.

Second, the optical enhancements to give a brighter image can make it less easy to focus.

Third, there are no focusing aids (apart from the "focus confirmation" light) such as rangefinders or microprisms (unless you buy a special screen).

On the other hand, AF is pretty good these days, and my tired old eyes appreciate it!

For ctitical applications, there are ways to help things out such as a burst of shots or using the more sensitive focusing sensors (such as the centre one on the D90).

In all, under 5% of my shots would be MF.

In performance terms, I see no real difference between the 50/1.8 and my other lenses, except that it will only MF on the D40!

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HCC
Nikon DSLRs, film cameras from Leica to Linhof

I can really agree with HilaryC here.

The viewfinders on modern DSLRs are pretty small if you compare to the SLR days.

Manual Focus can therefore be a challegne with a non in built AF motor lens on lets say a D40.

I have tried focusing on Nikon FE2, old film slr, and it was way easier as it had a type of aid system and a much bigger viewfinder.

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Nikon D90 | Nikkor 18-105 AF-S f/3.5-5.6 VR | Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D | Nikon MB - D80 battery grip | Lowepro Flipside 200

Nokia 6220 5mp - Carl Zeiss optics



Flickr

I love the focus ring, feels very smooth and works great. Manualfocus is NOT an issue

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Just to start on another topic regarding lenses for all DX cameras.
There are still differences in build quality between lenses to consider when buying a camera + kit-lens. For instance, the focus ring on the 18-55(VR) is less comfortable to use than say a 18-105VR. Both those lenses also have a plastic mount, so when you are sure you will put your camera through some slight abuse be aware.
A much asked question is also, what kit lens to take and the differences. For instance differences between the much chosen 18-105VR and 16-85VR (step-up kit-lens) are not only in the focal lengths of these lenses, they differ in optical and build quality too. The price may seem high, but there are significant differences that may make you consider one over the other. The 18-105VR for instance as said, features a plastic mount and "only" first generation VR (3 stops longer handholding possible), while the 16-85VR has a metal mount and second generation VR offering 4 stops, 1 stop more, longer handholding.

Most of the things mentioned may not really matter to a real beginner, but there are some things you might consider when buying lenses. More information can always be offered on request

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

As I see, it is not that clear anymore, and people are asking for the lenses that focus on D3100/D5000 again. Please look it up yourself, it saves us repeating ourselves Maybe the mods can add some recent info, like the D3100 in the cameras affected.

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

True, I've seen the posts as well. Perhaps you should add to the post the lenses that DO focus on those cameras (All the AF-S models) or perhaps even make a new thread.

I also agree with your suggestion, we should post the cameras affected by it, or make another post as I suggested. We should also remind all new Cameralabs users to read the sticky posts that may affect their post, before they start making many new threads.

-Evan

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

I wish to correct myself: Manual focusing on DSLRs with fast lenses is a pain. Not because of the lenses themselves, but because our viewfinders don't show the depth of field past F/2.8!

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

PLEASE NO, that will be just another thread on the forum, it is easier to update the lenses to current available lenses (if there is a change) and add only the D3100.

BTW, I have said for Nikon that all AF-S lenses focus, no need for that to be added!

PS: I need the mods to do so, it is a locked thread, and I have no right to update...

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

Alright, put perhaps we should change the thread's title then.

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams