Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8d

LAUNCHED 20 YEARS AGO, THIS ICONIC NIFTY FIFTY STILL HAS A LOT TO OFFER RELEASED: 2002 PRICE NEW: £135/$132 SECONDHAND PRICE: ‘Excellent’ £67/$79 ‘Good’ £59/$69 Originally launched for 35mm film cameras, the AF 50mm f/1.8d is a cracking little lens. As with other AF-D lenses, it enables light metering and auto exposure control with any and every Nikon DSLR. However, it lacks an internal autofocus motor, so only manual focus is available with entry-level DSLRS including the D3xxx and D5xxx series of cameras. On higher-range DX format DSLRS and all full-frame DSLRS, autofocus is driven from an in-camera motor. Image quality is excellent with superb sharpness, even at f/1.8. It’s compact and light, yet well-engineered and smartly finished.

Key points

Nikon’s Super Integrated Coating is applied to improve contrast and colour accuracy. You can get AF drive from cameras that feature a built-in motor. You need to twist the aperture ring to its narrowest f/22 setting. Group elements: 6/5 Full-frame compatible: Yes Effective focal length (DX): 75mm Min focus distance: 0.45m Max magnification: 0.15x Autofocus: In-camera motor Diaphragm blades: 7 Filter size: 52mm Dimensions (dia x length): 64x39mm Weight: 155g