Nikon 18/50mm and 50mm f/1.8 - what's the difference

between a Nikon 18/50mm and 50mm f/1.8.

Hi I am new to this site so if I have posted this in the wrong place please feel free to move it.

I have a Nikon D80 and an 18/50mm lens....I have seen this 50mm f/1.8 lens in Warehouse Express and was wondering what the differences are between them and would it be worth buying this lens.

Thanks
Chris

Hi Chris - welcome to YoP

The Nikon 18-50 is a zoom lens, so you have the wider focal length of 18 (when you can see a lot in the viewfinder) all the way up to 50 (where you see less - or are 'zoomed in')

The 50mm f1.8 is a prime lens, meaning it is fixed at 50mm. However it has the benfit of being f1.8 which makes it a fast lens, so is great in low light conditions

They are great for portrait shots - and are often referred to as the nifty fifty.. well worth getting

Yep! What Azz said!

Asa the others have answered the first part of your question let me answer the second.

As you already have the 18-50mm lens you will basically be buying what you already have. If its more "reach" your looking for at around the same price, have a look at the Nikon 70-300 non VR lens which retails around the £100 on ebay

Link

http://photography.shop.ebay.co.uk/?...ens&_sacat=625

This should give you a total range from 18-300mm except for the 50-70mm mark. This should cover most things until you decide on a more dedicated lens for a specific purpose

Bazza

This isn't really true to be honest - the 50mm will have a much nicer bokeh and will work better in low light conditions. The only thing they have in common is the focal length.

Azz
the point I was trying to make wasn't so much about quality of lens but the range .For someone starting out in photography the finer points and quality I thought wasn't so important than having a reasonable photo length, getting some idea of what eventually would be most suitable for the type of photography the OP decided on.
I agree about what you say but there are 3x 50mm Nikon lens on the market the f.1.2- f 1.4-f1.8, so the choice of which one becomes more specific for a particular purpose. Thats not taking into account the D or G version of the same lens.
Maybe the OP didn't realise the different types of 50mm Nikon lenses there are, and thats not allowing for third party makes either.
I was also taking into account the price range being considered as well

This is why I didn't want to get into which lens is better than the other.

I do own the Nikon 50mm 1.4G lens and can recommend it

Bazza

Well I'd guess the OP is drawn to that lens not insignificantly because of it's price - and pound for pound it's one of the best lenses you can get.

Also, it's not about quality - you can do things with the nifty fifty that you can't with the 18-50, such as low light shooting and shooting for a nice bokeh.

Of course it depends on what the OP wants to do with it - I was just point out the benefits of the 50mm over the 18-50, seeing as he asked specifically about the two

Thanks for your replies everyone.

Now what I specifically want a lens for is close up shots, I am not a beginner although I bow to all your experience. I do the occasional Wedding and I thought this lens might help with detail of close up face shots, and also as Azz says low light conditions, such as Churches and reception venues.

Thanks

Check out Radiohead's wedding photos he's said his fave lens are the 50mm, 85mm and 70-200mm

50mm is a great portrait lens.
1.8 is what I have and is good value for money - quite sharp and performs well in dimmer light and you don't need to be too far back to take a head shot.
I have the 1.4 on my wish list and can only dream of owning the 1.2!

If you are likely to have enough space then the 85mm 1.4 would be awesome as it really throws out distracting backgrounds.