Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1.8G: Hands On Preview

Read My Full Review of the Nikon AF-S 50mm F1.8G

I received the new Nikon AF-S Nikon 50mm F1.8G this morning and will commence testing once I'm finished making this post.


Initial impressions:
The build quality of the lens is far superior to that of the previous 50mm F1.8D, in just about every way possible. I would even be tempted to say that the build quality is a little better than the slightly more expensive AF-S DX 35mm F1.8G. The plastics are higher quality and are more tightly assembled. There is a rubber gasket on the mount to help prevent dust and moisture from entering the camera that it is mounted on. The manual focus ring moves smoothly, making manual focus much easier. The lens also comes with a plastic, circular hood, unlike the old AF-D lens, which had an optional rubber hood.


Auto focus speed is very similar to that of the AF-D 50mm F1.8D, although the process seems a little slower due to the smoother focusing. Auto focus is very quiet, unlike the squeaky AF-S DX 35mm F1.8G, so that is a step in the right direction from my point of view. The focus distance scale is now under a plastic window, rather than on the focus ring, which is also nice to see.

I have not taken any test shots yet, so I cannot comment on image quality, but I'll be posting samples and comparison shots with the old 50mm F1.8D within the next few days.


Links:
AF-S 50mm F1.8G Hands On: Day 2 
AF-S 50mm F1.8G: Day 3 
AF-S 50mm F1.8G: After One Week 
Nikon AF-S 50mm F1.8G VS Nikon AF 50mm F1.8D

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