Gift of Nikon AF Nikkor 1:1.8 D

akamarcus

New member
Hi, I've been posting a bit recently and really appreciate everyone's help! A friend of mine is a Nikon enthusiast and I shared with him my recent journey into the Nikon world. Out of the blue, he gives me a 50mm 1.8 prime to try out and keep it if I like it.

Here's the issue - it doesn't have an autofocus motor in the lens, so it does not autofocus when used with my D5100. Should I learn to use it with manual focus, or just move on to the 50mm AF-S 1.8 G?
 

Dave_W

The Dude
What an awesome gift from your friend, you're a lucky guy to have such a good friend. The problem with using an AF lens in manual mode is that the turn ratio is too tight for easy fine tuning. With the fully manual lenses you have a much wider fine tuning making it a lot easier to zone in on the perfect focus. That's not to say you can't do a good job manually focusing an AF lens, some people swear by them. But for me and my not-so-perfect eyes, I just don't trust them nearly as much as I trust my camera's AF.
 
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akamarcus

New member
What an awesome gift from your friend, you're a lucky guy to have such a good friend. The problem with using an AF lens in manual mode is that the turn ratio is too tight for easy fine tuning. With the fully manual lenses you have a much wider fine tuning making it a lot easier to zone in on the perfect focus. That's not to say you can't do a good job manually focusing an AF lens, some people swear by them. But for me and my not-so-perfect eyes, I just don't trust them nearly as much as I trust my camera's AF.

I agree. So what do to about the lens?
 

akamarcus

New member
Do you ever see yourself owning a camera that will AF this lens?

Yes, maybe 5-7 years down the road, since I'm new to DSLR photography and could see myself buying an inexpensive full frame at that point.

I am also interested in getting skilled at manually focusing this lens just for the experience.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
Well, I guess you have your answer then. It's a great lens with an even greater story behind it and developing the skill to manually focus this lens can't be a bad thing.
 
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