Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Handling and Features

Weighing only 185g, this lens is incredibly lightweight and shouldn't be too much of a burden to stow in a kit bag until needed as a result. Despite the light weight, the build quality hasn't suffered. The lens mount is constructed from metal, which has a rubber gasket to keep dust and moisturise from getting into the camera, although the rest of the lens makes no promises about weather sealing. The rest of the lens body is made from high quality plastics with a matt textured finish. Due to the light weight and compact size, it balances well on the Nikon D700 used for testing, making a compact, travel-friendly combination.

Although the lens doesn't employ an internal focus design, it does not extend during focusing, with all movement back and forth kept inside the lens barrel. This design also means the front filter thread does not rotate, which makes this optic perfect for use with graduated and polarising filters via the 52mm filter ring.

Focus speeds are reasonably fast and manual adjustments can be made at any time, thanks to the silent wave focusing motor. The narrow manual focusing ring is well damped, making it a pleasure to use when focusing manually. A focus distance window with hyperfocal markings for f/16 is provided. Although these markings are a welcome addition for hyperfocal shooting, they are very close to the focused distance marking, making them difficult to use effectively.

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