# Will this be okay for my d5100?



## kanzaz (Feb 10, 2012)

Hey guys,
I'm planning to buy the cheap Nikon 50mm F1.8D lens for his  D5100. Will there be any problems at all with the camera using this  lens? It's not one of the G lenses which is what the kit  lens is but I  don't know much about this stuff, and I understand it won't autofocus, will this be alright for a beginner, or should it be alright? But is there anything else? 

Also, what does lens size actually affect? I kinda know but i kinda don't if you get what i mean  

Here's the lens: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-50mm-F...8904083&sr=8-1

thanks


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## 2WheelPhoto (Feb 10, 2012)

Thats a nice lens and I had no problem auto-focusing back in my D5000 days.

edit:  man oh man I messed up, I meant I had no prob manual focusing!


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## kanzaz (Feb 10, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:


> Thats a nice lens and I had no problem auto-focusing back in my D5000 days.



I don't think it will autofocus it is AF but not AF-S which is needed to auto focus on the d5100 i think..(i think )


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## greybeard (Feb 10, 2012)

Does it have the built in focusing motor needed to auto focus on a d5100


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## kanzaz (Feb 10, 2012)

greybeard said:


> Does it have the built in focusing motor needed to auto focus on a d5100



Don't think so...think it has to be af s which is ht e 50mm af s g version, but its so much more expensive  double the price...


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## djacobox372 (Feb 10, 2012)

it wont af, but its easy to focus manually since its such a fast lens (bright viewfinder).

keep in mind that the new 50mm 1.8g isnt just an af-s upgrade, the optics are noticably better as well.


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## borisnikon (Feb 11, 2012)

I would fork out a little more money for the more expensive one, auto focus and better quality.


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## kanzaz (Feb 11, 2012)

borisnikon said:


> I would fork out a little more money for the more expensive one, auto focus and better quality.



I can't do that  Will manual focus be okay, is it easy to focus, and easy to do it quickly?


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## MTVision (Feb 11, 2012)

kanzaz said:
			
		

> I can't do that  Will manual focus be okay, is it easy to focus, and easy to do it quickly?



It takes time....there is a rangefinder (?) thing that will let you know when focus is achieved. It's in your manual somewheres. 

Also - there is a little green light in the left corner of the viewfinder. It turns green when you get focus.


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## Infinite_Day (Feb 11, 2012)

It's probably not a hard lens to manual focus - there isn't a lot of movement when it auto-focuses on the D7000. It's also a lot better optically than you'd expect. For a $130 lens it's pretty much as sharp as a tack.


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## borisnikon (Feb 11, 2012)

Might no be so easy if you have the aperture at f/1.8 because less will be in focus. Just that most of the time it will be fine if you practice to be honest, but it is a little easy to get used to auto focus when walking around.


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## greybeard (Feb 11, 2012)

I have a 50mm f/1.8 from my old n80 film camera.  Sounds like the same thing you are looking at.  It is tack sharp and has to be manually focused.  It just depends on what you want to use it for.  Portraits and still lifes, no problems.  Anything moving or in low light, forget.  Back in the day you had a split immage range finder on the focusing screen.  It made manual focusing really easy.  The focusing screen on a d5100 is not very easy to manual focus with.  It doesn't have any aids other than the electronic rangefinder and if the light is low, forget it.


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## cepwin (Feb 11, 2012)

I recently bought two used Sigma's that don't have AF on ebay, a 80-300 F1.5 (w/macro option) and a 28-80 F3.5 (w/macro option)   I think the optics are noticeably better than my kit lens (18-70 F3.5.)  I also haven't have an issue with manual focus even though I'm a noob.   Haven't run the comparison with my Nikon 70-200 that I bought when I got my camera.


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## jriepe (Feb 11, 2012)

borisnikon said:


> Might no be so easy if you have the aperture at f/1.8 because less will be in focus. Just that most of the time it will be fine if you practice to be honest, but it is a little easy to get used to auto focus when walking around.



I'm not following what you're saying.  With the aperture ring on the lens locked down to f/22 the camera will control the aperture to whatever is set but the aperture will remain wide open while the operator is manually  focusing.

Jerry


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## KmH (Feb 11, 2012)

See pages 197 - 199 of your D5100 user's manual too (Lens compatibility, both CPU and non-CPU lenses).


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## KmH (Feb 11, 2012)

kanzaz said:


> borisnikon said:
> 
> 
> > I would fork out a little more money for the more expensive one, auto focus and better quality.
> ...


See page 159 of your D5100 users manual - Rangefinder mode. Rangefinder mode is a manual focusing aid built into your D5100.


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