Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 G

I am surprised I bought this lens on a whim - I have a Canon 18-135 and a few Canon "L" lenses. I have been a commercial photog for years and keep switching - from Canon to start with, then to Leica - I went with Minlta for a while (I was a Minolta dealer) then of couse I went into larger format (Mostly Mamiya - RB67s and such) but my old F2 (Nikon) with it's 35-105 has been knawing at me for years - it was as sharp as any Summicron I ever had. Anti-aliasing filters always bugged me (I haven't bought a roll of film since 1999 and shut down my darkroom then) so I decided to switch back to Nikon and I'm glad I did. Canons feel better in my hands and are GREAT cameras but this lens in every way surpasses my old 35-105 Nikkor and beats the hell out of my Canon 18-135 (it's soft and smooth) but this Nikkor - for a consumer non-ED lens (well almost non-ED) surprised the hell out of me! It's sharp throught it's range, contrast is great (if you want bokeh look elsewhere - I just wanted a walk-around) but for the price I paid (I'm still waiting for the police to show up at my door with handcuffs for grand theft) I don't think it can be beat! No, it's NOT built like an older Ai or EF or an older Nikkor P - it's half plastic (but what isn't these days) but still, for the price, I am surprised at it's build quality. Yes - it's heavy - there's a LOT of glass in this thing but I think the designers got this one right. In my opinion you could use this (in a pinch) professionally and make money with it! Even at 100% on my monitor it's stellar - it doesn't fall apart (but barely) until 150% - 200%. This isn't your old man's zoom. You only get what you pay for and I doubt you're going to shoot a Time magazine cover with this thing but in this case I think I got WAY more than I paid for. Is it a toy? Yes and no - it's built better than that and it performs better than that. For the purpose of this review and for what it does I am 100% satisfied. Don't expect Canon "L" but don't expect to be far from it. Also don't expect some plastic lightweight ' cause this ain't that! Heft matters sometimes but the IS (or VR) on this lens is really effective if you use that. I HIGHLY reccomend this lens (maybe I just got a good copy but I read some pretty good stuff about it before I bought). In my book - A#1!!!Read full review

Nikon 18 - 140 white box lens This lens was a "white box" lens, which may or may not have been the reason for its less than sharp quality. The focal length is fine for a one lens carry around. But compared with even a 16 x 300 Tamron (which is apparently way too great a focal range) this Nikon was not impressive. I plan to recheck this at a camera store with a Nikon boxed 18-140 lens. I hope it will be sharper.

A best buy! I purchased this used for a fraction of the cost of a new one with a USA 5 year warranty included. I could not tell the difference between a new one if you set them both side by side on a dealer's display case. This lens has the equvelent focal length of a 35mm format of 27 - 210mm and yet distortion is at a minimum. I also have the 18 - 200mm and the 18 - 300mm as well as a 12 - 24mm and a 500mm that all perform magically. I keep the 18 - 140 on a Nikon on my yacht when I want more detail and refinements than a PNS will give you. For a person wanting a very versatile lens this is the perfect anser to 'kit' lenses supplied with many cameras....