Nikon is all set to launch a new 50mm lens for its SLRs, according to a page which popped up and then promptly disappeared from its website. The new lens is the long-awaited 50mm AF-S Nikkor 50mm ƒ1.8G.
Nikon historically has a pair of fast 50mm lenses in its lineup. The always cheap ƒ1.8 (I own one. It is excellent) and the more expensive, faster ƒ1.4. The these decades-old designs have aperture rings and lack the internal AF motors of the more modern S lenses. Recently, Nikon added the AF-S 50mm ƒ1.4G lens, which ditched the aperture ring and added the fast, internal motor.
Why is this important? Because almost all new Nikon SLR bodies lack the motor and spindle to focus these older lenses. This means that the entry-level cameras can only use these older lenses with manual focus. That would be fine, but the viewfinders in these bodies just aren't designed to make manual focusing easy.
The specs are similar to the older ƒ1.8 G lens, although the internal layout has changed, adding an aspherical lens element and grouping seven elements in six groups (the older lenses groups six elements in five groups). The lens can be used on both FX and DX bodies, and will turn into a nice 75mm portrait lens on the crop-sensor DX bodies.
It looks like a great entry-level lens, just like the 50mm has always been. The only thing we don't know is price. That wasn't revealed on Nikon's short-lived product page. So here, to give you a guide, are the current prices from B&H Photo:
Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G Lens . . . It’s About Time! [Photography Bay]
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