D40x with Nifty Fifty

kanky

Hi Guys,

I have been doing a bit of reading about 50mm lenses recently, and I am very keep to get one. The only problem is that the autofocus will not work with my D40X.I am afraid that I am not experienced enough to use it properly in manual mode.

I have also looked up the F1.4 lense with built in motor but its out of my price range.

Does anybody here use the fifty on full manual all the time? And help more than welcome!

Thanks...

Pigwidgeon

yeah i have a d40 with a nifty fifty, it can get annoying sometimes, if you are trying to take photos of people at night it can be hard to focus, i've also had little to no luck at gigs with it.
but for general stuff i find it grand. Basically for static photos it's grand as you have time to make sure it's in focus!

parko202

i was also concerned about that, tried out the new 35mm 1.8 last month, which will autofocus, it is a bit more expensive but not as much as the 50 1.4 and you can always zoom with your legs!

cps_goodbuy

I use a Pentax-A 50mm 1.4 and find the manual focusing fine, it will depend on what you are trying to photograph though.

I have since installed split focus screens in both my DSLRs and they work like a dream!! Do not affect autofocus (obviously) and do not affect metering (may have actually improved!)

and yeah, low light and motorsport need a little bit of skill...

Think seriously about your manual focusing technique and develop it.

I'm unfamiliar with your camera but does it provide focus confirmation when using a manual lense?

Thirdfox

I have a 50mm f2 pre-AI lens (so manual focus anyway) and I have to manually set the shutter speed and aperture.

It's not as easy as auto everything obviously. But the green dot focus confirmation is more reliable than the split screen I find and you will have auto-exposure with the 50 f1.8D.

So as long as you're not trying for too many action shots (though you can always prefocus on a particular spot like they did in the olden days) or using under low lighting then it should be okay.

Otherwise, Sigma 30mm f1.4 or the Nikkor 35mm f1.8 is your best bet.

(And if you don't need auto anything a great condition 50mm f2 AI/pre-AI lens would cost around 30-35 euro delivered from ebay)... and the mechanical construction of the lens is fantastic (all metal, no plastics, solid lens).

kanky

Will the 35mm give me better results then the 50mm?

What would be the main advantaged of using this?

I suppose the 50mm f2 AI would be a nice cheap way of building up confidence with the different settings, as I must admit I am quite fond of the auto setting on the camera! (but I am slowly learning. Maybe this fully manual lense might pick this up a light year or two!?)


"installed split focus screens" What is this? I saw on a seperate website, someone mention somthing similar called Katzeyes...?

Thanks...

parko202

the 35mm 1.8 has a built in motor so it will autofocus on the body your using. It will give the same quality as the 50mm 1.8 just will look as if its taken from further away.

the advantage of the 35mm over the 50mm 1.4 is that it is cheaper

cps_goodbuy

kanky wrote: »

"installed split focus screens" What is this? I saw on a seperate website, someone mention somthing similar called Katzeyes...?

On older manual film cameras the focus screens could be interchanged in the med-pro range.

Many feature a focus screen that has a horizontal or diagonal split, that is offset from each other, when you line this up with an object you adjust focus until they mate/meet up, then the object is in focus.

around this normally is a disk/donut made of little triangles, when the object is out of focus the image is broken, when the object is in focus the image through these triangles is clear.

Autofocus and Digital SLRs dropped this feature due to metering/autofocus concerns. Largely unfounded though as autofocus is done through the mirror rather than the screen.

Many thirdparty companies produce replacement screens with the split image for many of the current digital cameras. Katseyes are high spec/high price, Focusingscreen.com are highmed spec/med price, and you can get very cheap ones on ebay.

I have converted two DSLRs thus far and really happy with the results, Katzeyes are a bit overpriced imo

In my Ist DS I have a jinfinance (ebay) screen, and in my K10D I have a 2nd hand Focusingscreen.com

DaireQuinlan

kanky wrote: »

I suppose the 50mm f2 AI would be a nice cheap way of building up confidence with the different settings, as I must admit I am quite fond of the auto setting on the camera! (but I am slowly learning. Maybe this fully manual lense might pick this up a light year or two!?)

Bear in mind though that any of the MF nikkors won't even meter on your D40, let alone AF. This might be a bit of a deal breaker.

I used to be abe to focus pretty quickly and more accurately in most situations than AF when using a split screen. Sadly as my son started moving faster and faster I had to trade up to an F100 to keep up. Now my MF skills are pretty rusty .

Thirdfox

It would however allow you to really appreciate the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and available light. Admittedly because it's forcing you to use your head (though of course you do have a histrogram to look at afterwards).

I find that nowadays I can be accurate to 1 f/stop on my first guess (generally within 1/3 of a f/stop).

It's a cheap item to get because not many people want them anymore - but I find the quality of the lens to be stunning; optically as well as mechanically) (I'm all about being cheap if possible )

And it really shines as a reversed macro lens

dudara

The D40 has a different sized sensor - the DX range of lenses are optimised for this sensor. This means that the 35mm AF-S DX lens has an approximately equivalent length to a 50mm on a traditional SLR

Jackobyte

Thirdfox wrote: »

And it really shines as a reversed macro lens

Like the picture. The vibrant colours and detail as well as the out of focus petal frame.:D

sunny2004

I have been using one all morning on the d40x
at first I thought, what going on here, whats up with the focus,
as I use the d200 and d90 also..
then I couldn't find the focus ring which is located on the very front of the lens
I was photographing a child, so what i did was use one hand under the lens with finger and thumb rocking the focus ring back and forwards and the other hand on the shutter...

Worked a treat..........................
But then again I have a manual camera background !!

Thirdfox

Just as a matter of interest - I've just finished shooting a pre-wedding photoshoot...and found myself using the 50mm f2 the most (even with the manual exposure and manual focus (and manual flash control!)). Cracking lens.