'Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G' |
There
was a time when almost every 35mm film camera came with a 50mm prime (fixed
focal-length) lens because on a full-frame camera, the 50mm focal length
captures roughly the same angle-of-view as is seen by the human eye. Today,
50mm primes have two further appeals; they provide a good focal-length for
portraiture on APS-C digital cameras and they often have a very wide maximum
aperture with which to exploit creative focusing techniques.
Nikon's
G-series 50mm f/1.8 lens is an excellent example of its type and feature the
same deeply-recessed front element design that has been seen on Nikon's
standard primes for decades. The front half of the barrel is given over to a
manual focusing-mode switch. When AF operation is set, manual intervention can
be applied at any time. The feel of the manual-focusing ring is excellent, with
a silky movement and just the right amount of resistance over an approximately
100 throw. The feel is the same regardless of
which focusing mode is selected. There is a nod towards the provision of
depth-of-field information but this is nothing more than a small and
easily-missed pair of indices for the near and far in-focus regions at f/16.
The
smallest aperture o f/16 may seem limiting given that apertures of f/22 and
beyond are typically found on most lenses, but in fact this tactic helps to maintain
top-notch image quality across the range.
Focusing
is carried out quickly and quietly when the AF mode is set to M/A
(manual/auto), and manual intervention works seamlessly. It’s also good to see
a weather seal at the back of the lens. Image quality was either very good or
excellent in every case.
Not
only is a lens hood provided, which reverses over the lens for storage, but
also there is a soft carrying pouch. Some users might worry about the prime’s
low mass in case this indicates a prevalence of plastic rather than metal but
there is nothing warm of any problems in this respect.
MTF
(Modular Transfer Function) testing returned excellent results for full-frame
images and the lens would easily have taken maximum points here were it not for
the spontaneous decision to reshoot the test targets on a DX format (APS-C)
sensor. There were clear sign of chromatic
aberration under these conditions though it is clear that this is due to
the lens itself. And this weakness was not seen in real-world images except as
the very faintest trace.
Overall,
50mm primes can look outdated in a world where zooms are dominant but they are
often high performers despite their low prices. There is little to fault in Nikon’s
lasted G-series 50mm lens. If you want the simplicity and purity of a standard
prime on a full-frame body, or a modest portrait lens on an APS-C body, this
lens is like to be a very satisfying purchase.
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