more nifty fifty questions! New lenses for Nikon D40

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I am looking att getting a new lens for my D40, originally I was looking at telephoto lenses but have recently been very interested in the nifty fifty as it gets such rave reviews.

Can someone let me know if the fifty is more suitable to my needs than a telephoto lens - I enjoy taking shots of people and some landscape. I only have the kit lens at the moment but want to start to expand my kit and am looking at a new lens and flash.
How much of difference is there between the 1.8f and 1.4f (sorry to show my ignorance is this matter but finding there is just SO much info on lens that it is bamboozling my mind!!!

Any help appreciated.
 
I have a d40x which i think is preety much the same as the 40, just bought a 'nifty' myself as i like landscape and animal photography and all i can say is wow, it hasn't been off my camera since i got it (1.8). I think you will really enjoy the clarity of the lens and the manual focus is a h-e-c-k of a lot easier than on a telephoto. Just a recent landscape shot with my 'fifty' :)

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The 1.4 is more expensive than the 1.8 but if you can stretch for the 1.4 i would. i know i'm going to get one when mrs money says it's alright.
 
Nifty fifty won't autofocus on a D40.
Sigma are going to produce one, if not allready, that will though.
Niftys are always a good choice because they are cheap, fast and sharp, cant comment on the Sigma version.
You say telephoto, do you really mean zoom ?
A zoom lens is more useful than a fixed focal length lens, but not always as good.
 
joxby said:
Nifty fifty won't autofocus on a D40.
Sigma are going to produce one, if not allready, that will though.
Niftys are always a good choice because they are cheap, fast and sharp, cant comment on the Sigma version.
You say telephoto, do you really mean zoom ?
A zoom lens is more useful than a fixed focal length lens, but not always as good.
Click to expand...

Sorry yes I did mean zoom!
 
I would say zoom's don't even compare to primes myself... maybe they can be as sharp or technically as capable but they never look as good in my opinion. Manual focus is fine for people and landscapes too.

For the money you can't really go wrong especially if you go for a second hand 50mm that's designed to manually focus anyway (it'll be much nicer build quality and using it will be more enjoyable).
 
i'll agree with the above the nifty fifty is a great lens i had one for my d40 but i got so sick of being rubbish at manual focusing i bought a d70s body :naughty:
 
Thanks for that. Can anyone tell me whether its better to get the cheaper 1.8f or splurge a bit more on the 1.4f? Also does anyone know where the cheapest places are to get hold of one?
 
Well worth searching out some reviews of all the versions you're looking at.

The three Canon lenses for example, 1.4 is often said to be as good/better than 1.2 because the 1.2 is too soft at 1.2 anyway, and the IQ difference between the 1.4 and 1.8 is not a lot - to my eye anyway.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the link - I have emailed kerso for a price too! Hopefully will get one soon. Then I will have to deal with manual focusing on the Nikon D40!! That'll be fun.
 
If you were prepared to use full manual and meter yourself (not that hard, just take a shot and adjust shutter speed or aperture for more or less light) then you could have a damn fine 50mm for as little as a fiver or a tenner --> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/nikon-nikkor-...ryZ48556QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Otherwise there are 'buy it now' options which will let you have a 1.8 for around £35, a 1.4 for around £110 (or less) and even a 1.2 for £25 if you shop from the states --> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-Nikkor-...ryZ48556QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

These will feel nicer when it comes to focusing but you wouldn't be able to use your auto modes on your camera. If you want to be able to meter then you need either a nikon af-s type or you could look at the voigtlander nokton 58mm f1.4 but these are about £200 new. Lovely to use though and you do get what you pay for.

Anyway, have fun - personally I think manual focusing is something to relish and the same is true for metering too. Auto metering can change from lens to lens and compensation (when you tell it to under or over expose) is a bit of a bodge as you can never really predict what the camera decides is right.... much better to take a shot, look at your result and change the shutter speed or F stop yourself :)
 
Thanks for that Theory and everyone else! I went to look at the fifty today and the guy in the shop also showed me a Sigma 12-20 as I had mentioned landscapes. It looked pretty good but it is the fifty that I want first (we can't have everything can we?) - also need to look more at the sigmas as I have only been looking at the Nikon.
 
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