Wanted: OT: Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF lens

Holla!

Going to HK in a few weeks. My girlfriend wants a lens for portrait style shots, and knowing how many photographers there are on here, I thought I'd put out the feelers for a second hand Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF lens or similar Nikon-compatible 50mm lens.

It doesn't necessarily need to be the one for the DSLR (she has the entry-level D3000) - as I understand it with my limited camera knowledge, the Nikon-compatible lenses that are just for regular SLRs work too and tend to be cheaper. I don't think it needs to be AF either...

Looking for something in the £30 - £60 range - the cheaper the better really!

PM me if you have owt. Cheers!

just buying in HK for brand new,
there's duty free country,
camera products are huge cheaper than in the UK,
camera stuff in HK is the cheapest in the world.

cheers marcola - thought about that, but wasn't sure as we've been before and we we weren't sure on the authenticity of the cheaper stuff for sale there. even in the shops, it often looks like the stuff isn't authentic.

I agree with marcola. Spend a bit of time searching around out there and make sure it is genuine but everything lens wise will still be loads cheaper than here. I have never been but it does sound like camera gear heaven.

Also because there is a good chance of a drought of nikon and canon gear because the factories in Japan have slowed/stopped production you will probably have more choice out there becaus eit is quite a global distribution centre for that kind of thing but watch out as prices might also go up.

cheers marcola - thought about that, but wasn't sure as we've been before and we we weren't sure on the authenticity of the cheaper stuff for sale there. even in the shops, it often looks like the stuff isn't authentic.

A fake Nikon lens!?!?.... You might get a grey market lens In HK, but a proper fake?.. I dont think so.

Maybe if it was just an empty box with a bit of plastic that looks like a lens in it, but precision optics arent the kind of thing you can 'knock off'.... It's not exactly as simple as making a tshirt and putting someone elses logo on it.

Buy the lens in HK. They are dirt cheap here, and will be even cheaper there.
The 50mm F1.8 is on of the sharpest lens' Nikon make, and also one of the cheapest... The non-AF versions can ba had dirt cheap off ebay if you cant wait til HK.

Cheers for advice peeps, interesting forecast of Nikon drought, although HK is more China than Japan, and Nikon stuff is officially manufactured in Thailand innit?

still, pm me if you have anything knocking about though, as I know my gf would prefer to have something before we hit the shops over there anyway! keepin options open and all that

^ cheers spaghoops, noted. just the advice i was after!

yeah, i mean grey market stuff, which is still a bit risky as the quality can deteriorate rather quickly (the grey market stuff over there IS really good, and i'm not talkin t-shirts!)

The Nikon D3000 support AF-S lenses only... you won't get autofocus with an older "D" style (aperture ring) lenses like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF.

If you want a good prime lens for portraits I would highly recommend either:
Nikkor 35mm 1.8 AF-S DX
Nikkor 50mm 1.4 AF-S

Read some reviews and decide if the 50/1.4 is worth the extra cost

Edit: Just read your budget - £30-60 for a lens?!

Cheers for advice peeps, interesting forecast of Nikon drought, although HK is more China than Japan, and Nikon stuff is officially manufactured in Thailand innit?

It is but often the cheaper parts are made and the lenses put together elsewhere but the optics are still made in Japan......its all speculation though!

The Nikon D3000 support AF-S lenses only... you won't get autofocus with an older "D" style (aperture ring) lenses like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF.

If you want a good prime lens for portraits I would highly recommend either:
Nikkor 35mm 1.8 AF-S DX
Nikkor 50mm 1.4 AF-S

Read some reviews and decide if the 50/1.4 is worth the extra cost

Edit: Just read your budget - £30-60 for a lens?!

Ooh that's very useful, thanks. AF-S it is then.

I like the look of the fisher price :) 30 - £60 I think is OK for 2ndhand - I missed out on nabbing a AF-D in great condition for £60 a few weeks back on this forum, and I know the older ones can go for around the £30 mark. But, as you've pointed out, I seem to have got my letters wrong anyhoo.

You might want to stick with a 35mm lens on your Nikon, that's if you want to replicate a 50mm lens on older 35mm film cameras. The sensor on your Nikon is smaller than a 'full frame' DSLR. Nikon produces the 35mm lens which if used on the D90 and below will roughly equal a 50mm lens on full frame or 35mm film cameras.
I use a Nikkor 35mm lens (the F2.0), it is superb compared to the kit lens, the cheaper 35mm 1.8 DX lens gets pretty good reviews for the outlay (£160 ish?) they pop up on ebay sometimes. see:

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/nikon_35_1p8g_n15/

^ this
35/1.8 AF-S DX is your best (and cheapest) bet!

An AF-D lens will be a major pain to use without autofocus, especially considering the shallow DoF you will be using it at.

Hey Tash - I think you bought a beater off me in Brockley once for £15?!

Anyway, if she can cope with manual focus I have a Nikon 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5 spare - £40. It won't win any awards but it's not a bad little lens and might tide her over until she gets something else.

I very much doubt you would find a fake lens, even in HK, its just too complex a device to be able to fake. I Dont have anything for sale, but can offer a little advice. I have the 50mm f1.4D lens and this is a rather good lens for low light shooting, a little soft at f1.4, but above f2.0 its very good. but i realise this is out of your budget, but may be more in budget if you buy once in HK. if you are buying an older lens from a film nikon, it will still fit but the crop factor fo a digital nikon will make a 50mm lens about 80mm, so go for a 28- 35mm manual focus lens to bring the crop factor to around 50mm on digital. use the 'green dot' inside the view finder to help make sure the lens is focused properly as such high F stops like f1.4, theres very little movement of the ring needed to take a shot out of focus.

there are so many electronic / camera shops you will be able to get a good deal, do you or your missis speak cantonese?? big help when on the haggle, i was lucky my girl friend is fluent so we got a good deal, but your getting some good offers here so you may not need to :)