sorry about your broken back. good that you stay active though.
I have the 1.8 D version and had 2 different opportunities to get the 1.8G version when it was on sale at $400 in the beginning half of the year with nikons sales. I almost bit the bullet. but couldnt bring myself to doing it.
there are pluses and minuses to both.
1.8D
-EXTREMELY fast AF. blistering fast. theres no competition between the D and G. D wins hands down. twice as fast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ataDgMph_wI
-build quality. no comparison. D wins hands down. metal hood which you dont have to deal with removing and remounting as the cap sits inside it perfectly. I have it sitting with the hood mounted in its upright position in my bag without an issue. the same can be said about the G. its wider in size but not so tall you wouldnt be able to close the bag
funny how the G weighs less and includes the SWM inside, and im certain its because inside its plastic as well. it even feels very hollow and light. the D is very dense and feels like a quality lens. the D has metal filter threading.
-only cameras with motors inside can use them
-has an aperture ring so if you have fuji or sony and want to use the lens on them, you can. many pro videographers use older nikon AIS lenses on their non nikon cameras. because till the D750/800/810, video on nikon cameras is crap.
-9 straight blades which is better than the 7 "partly" round of the G. but the G shows the bokeh a bit nicer.
-the D is no slouch. weird how when nikon releases a new gen of that lens everyone bad talks the older one like the new is the best thing since sliced bread. "omg what a POS lens nikon made that D. thank god for this G cause we were suffering till now" when the new 80-200 AFS came out everyone talked badly about the AFD and when the 70-200 VR came out the 80-200 AFS was crap to people. psst..although the 80-200 AFS is better than the 70-200VR.
1.8G
-color, bokeh and sharpness is better
slightly.
sharpness-you have to stop down the D another 2/3 stop to get the same sharpness as in the G. this is only from f/1.8 to f/4 after this, they are on par.
color is just a bit better. this is personal preference though. for me no issue. but the D is just a smidge warmer. you wouldnt notice this though. Ive worked in a print lab so my eyes are too sensitive to color.
bokeh is the main reason I wanted the G over the D. its a bit nicer. a bit more rounded.
-cheap plastic build. you would only know this if you ever used a lot of lenses. its a very cheap feel. you will think its fine, but one you even held an old metal AIS lens that was build with good work ethics (something nikon doesnt have today IMO) you will clearly see the difference. plastic filter threading, plastic hood threading, very cheap plastic hood. lets just say they took build away so they can invest in better IQ. because metal costs a lot to make and it can only be that the lens is completely plastic because its not possible for the lens to be bigger (the size of the 1.4D), have more elements, have a SWM and still be lighter. not possible. and the weight comparison is better lenses naked with no hoods/caps.
-AF is half as fast as the D, but for the enthusiast, its enough. I didnt buy it because of its slow AF. I could handle the crap build, but not AF. if it cant perform and catch the moment, it doesnt matter how much better the IQ is.
-reproduction ratio is a bit better on the G. 1:8.1 vs 1:9.2 which might not say a lot to you. you can compose closer in the frame. dont know why they cant get the lens to do 1:6/7 though.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/images1/85mm-f18-g/D3S_7790-1600.jpg
side by side picture of D and G lenses 1.4 and 1.8
Bottom line, for enthusiasts who dont work with the lens, the G is the better choice. for me, im content with the 1.8D but im waiting patiently for sigmas 1.4 ART lens when they decide to announce it. will be less than the nikon, with better build and perform better for certain.
