Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.8 G Lens Review for Sports Photographers

The first photo taken with my new lens. This is the Indiana State Capital Building taken out the window of my hotel hand held. Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.8 on a Nikon D700 body. 1/60 Sec. f1.8 at ISO 1600.

I was able to finally get my hands on one of the new Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.8G lens this weekend. The inexpensive lens, $219.97 from Roberts Distributing in Indianapolis, Indiana, is what I feel should be the default lens for anyone buying a new Nikon DSLR at any price point.  Forget the ‘kit’ 18-55mm zoom or whatever your camera may come with.  Buy this lens for less money and then buy the camera body alone from most any major retailer.

The biggest question about this new lens is focus speed.  The older version was not very fast, but neither is the Nikon AF-S f1.4 version which sells for twice as much money.  My seat-of-the-pants opinion is that this new version is faster than the older version and is a bit faster than the 50mm f1.4.  But, it is way faster than any kit lens I have tried. I regularly use a 400mm f2.8 Silent Wave lens and no, this lens is nowhere close to as fast as it is. But, this little baby cost less than the lens hood on a big pro lens.

Focus speed is not blazing fast, but it did a great job keeping up with this speeding stock car at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. This racer was competing in "The Dream" which pays the winner $100,000.

The Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is Nikon's latest version of the classic 50mm f/1.8 lens, first introduced in 1978.  It is Nikon's first 50mm f/1.8 autofocus lens that offers instant manual-focus override simply by grabbing the focus ring. It's also the first 50mm f/1.8 that autofocuses on Nikon's cheapest DLSRs like the D3100 and D5100. The previous version did not have a built-in focus motor (the S stands for Silent Wave motor).  This feature not on lets you use it on the new lower end bodies but it noiseless, making it perfect for video on the Nikon D7000 or Nikon D5100 bodies.

Pinconning Michigan's Jeep VanWormer finishes 6th in Saturday night's race. The AF-S 50 performs well in low light but even it would not overcome the terrible light fluctuations on track.  For this shot I added a little fill flash from a Nikon SB-800 to even the shadows and fill inside the car for detail. I panned to blur the background and track. Ninety one cars entered the two day event that paid the winner $100,000.

I have used the D version for years on a Nikon D2H body for indoor basketball and volleyball.  It has always been a favorite and up until now has been a loaner system for our staff photographers.  This upcoming year I am planning to pair this new lens with our new Nikon D7000 body, for what I think will be a perfect indoor pair for many sports, and a great system for available light anywhere! When used on a DX camera, it gives angles of view similar to what a 75mm lens gives when used on an FX or 35mm camera.

A team member takes a photo of the scoreboard. The image quality of this lens is perfect for grabs shots in any light.

This new lens is very light but I feel it is very well build, as any pro lens.  The body is plastic but the lens mount is metal.  Lens includes a pouch and a very nice 58mm hood Nikon HB-47.  We always add a good quality Hoya Skylight filter to all of our lens to act as a lens cap and protect from scratches and dust.

Final verdict:  

I was hoping that it would focus faster, but price, build quality and image quality are better than expected.  This is a great little lens for a great price!