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Nikon 50mm f/1.8

September 3, 2009 By

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8Nikon calls this the Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D. I’m using this lens for almost one year. Yet I never had the opportunity to see it’s impressive performance for it’s small price. If you’re a Nikonian you need one…here is why:

This is a very sharp lens even at f/1.8. At f/1.8 the DOF is very shallow so nailing the focus is very important. As a traditional AF lens it works with every Nikon ever made, digital and film, auto and manual focus.

It’s a full-coverage FX lens, so it works great on FX digital, DX digital and film. It works especially well on the Nikon D3 , Nikon D3X, Nikon D200 and D300. Like all of Nikon’s 50mm f/1.8 lenses, this has almost no distortion. Its distortion is so low that it was never visible in film days, and I only can see it today in digital by blowing up images to the equivalent of 6 feet (2m) wide on a computer screen and dropping an electronic straight edge on them, and then only if I deliberately shot a test.

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Nikkor 18-135 mm review

May 18, 2009 By

 

nikon 18 135 mm compact lens

nikon 18 135 mm compact lens

The first thing you notice about the 18-135mm DX lens is that it’s rather compact. Where the heck is the 135mm stuffed in? After all, this is a lens that’s smaller and lighter than most previous mid-range zooms Nikon has made. On the flip side, it’s not that much smaller than the also compact 18-200mm, though it is significantly lighter.

The 18-135mm focal range gives you angle of views from ~10 to 66 degrees across the horizontal axis on a DSLR; it’s effectively the same as using an 28-200mm lens on a 35mm body. For some users, that’s a stay-on-camera range. There’s no denying that this is a much-asked-for focal length range. Indeed, even I find it interesting to walk around with this lens, the 10.5mm, plus a small extension tube–that makes for a very compact, light kit that covers a pretty incredible focal length and focusing range.

This is a two ring design; like most recent consumer Nikkors, the zoom ring is the front most ring and the focusing ring is closer to the camera. Yuck. The lens does not have a distance scale, and no depth of field or infrared markings.

The lens does not have VR (vibration reduction), a big disappointment to many potential purchasers. At 135mm and f/5.6, this lens really could use VR.

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