Newb question about D, E, and F lenses!

[darrenbeattyphotography]

Ok second newbie question for you a... THanks again to those who helped chime

in on my last question regarding inexpensive telephoto lenses for my D50. I am

a amateur sports photographer and I am looking for something in the pits

(sportbike racing). And an occasional family photo. I have been told numerous

times that this lens that fits the bill is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8. Or perhaps

the Tamron 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5??

 

Either way. On the Nikon side, I am seeing a lot of older lenses. What exactly

are all the different models of the 50mm 1.8? Will the non"D" models work on

the D50? I think it will, but I will have to manually focus? (which i

embarrassingly have to admit) I dont know how to do. Any info on if these older

lenses will work would be very helpful since they are abundant on ebay for

about 75 dollars :) THank you.

[Jerry_]

The 'D' is for the Nikon flash system to determine distance for the flash to work exactly as designed. Your D50 body will handle any AF Nikkor lens (just about) and a check in your instruction booklet will give you the info on which lenses might not work.

 

 

 

If you shoot in sunshine, the AF 28-85mm Nikkor (although old) would give you a bit of variety when shooting.

 

 

 

 

Good luck.

[radfordneal]

A 50mm f/1.8 and a 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 are rather different sorts of

lens, useful for different things. If you have a kit lens for the

D50 already (18-55, 18-70, or 18-135) there is very little reason

to get a 19-35 f/3.5-4.5. If you don't have a lens yet, the 19-35

plus the 50mm would be an OK combination, though not what most people

would use. However, even if you have a kit lens,the 50mm f/1.8 would be very useful when

there isn't much light and you don't want to use flash.

 

The difference between an AF and an AF-D lens is slight, and only

of relevance for subtle improvements in matrix metering and flash.

An AF with no D lens will work fine on the D50. It wouldn't autofocus

on a D40 or D40x, however.

 

The AI and AIS lenses will also work on the D50, but without autofocus

(they're manual focus lenses) and also without metering - so you

would have to guess exposure and check the LCD and histogram to see

if it's right, and if not adjust. The "non-AI" lenses will not work

on the D50, and you shouldn't try (at least unless you know a lot

more about what the issues are).

[darrenbeattyphotography]

Thanks Neal, at the time being I'm using inexpensive but efficent for the time being 28-80mm, and 70-300mm Tamron lenses. Though, I'd really like their 200-400 f/2.8 I will have to wait till I can afford that. So on the short end, I'd like something for portraits with a nice distorted background for wide shots and EWS. I have to admit, you kind of lost me Neal. So AI and AIS lenses WILL work, but they wont have autofocus? Ok one more question then, which 50mm 1.8 lens would i want to be searching for so that it DOES have autofocus? Typically for these quick close ups, i wont have time to focus myself. THanks again.

[tonybeach]

D=distance

 

E=Economy

 

F=F mount (for Nikon F series through modern DSLR Nikon cameras)

 

Go here for a comprehensive explanation of Nikon acronyms: http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm

[radfordneal]

If you want a 50mm lens that is sharper than your 28-80mm zoom and

has a wider maximum aperture of 1.8 (useful for low light work, and

for getting very shallow depth of field), then either the AF-D 50mm

1:1.8 or the older plain AF 50mm 1:1.8 would be fine. The AF-D

50mm 1:1.8 is quite cheap even new, so there may be no reason to

get a used older AF model, just from the point of view that it might

have been abused. You might perhaps get a really good deal, though.

Both AF and AF-D versions will autofocus and meter on the D50.

 

A 19-35 lens would be a useful addition to your 28-80, though some

people might prefer a more "all in one" lens like an 18-135, so that

they don't have to bother changing lenses as much.

[darrengold]

AI/S lenses won't meter either with a D50. Manual all the way.

[darrenbeattyphotography]

Sounds like the AF-D is where its at. I will try to pick one of these up. THanks again guys. I have found them to run about 120 dollars used. I would like that Tamron 19-35 Radford, especially for lanscapes.

[jb17kx]

You may also find G-type lenses about, indicated by something like 35mm 1:2D or 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G (letter after the aperture), which are the same as D-type lenses, but without an aperture ring.