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Archive 2015 · 50mm 1.8G Low Light Focus Consistency

  
 
dougfatheruk
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 50mm 1.8G Low Light Focus Consistency


Hi guys,

Just throwing it out there but how do you find the 50mm 1.8G in low/challenging light?

I've found it incredibly unreliable under low light and heavily backlit subjects with my D3/D700. The 50mm is great for it's size but it continues to let me down. If i'm out and about shooting in daylight then no problem, lovely sharp images and great consistency. Strap on the 24-70mm and problem solved but sometimes i just prefer the size, weight and wide aperture.

Do I have a bad copy or am I expecting too much, don't mind swapping to another 50mm if i'll get pro glass performance?

Thanks in advance

Edited on May 21, 2015 at 03:42 PM · View previous versions



May 21, 2015 at 03:08 PM
CanadaMark
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 50mm 1.8G Low Light Focus Consistency


What body are you using it on?

Have you tried comparing CDAF to PDAF at a few distances (controlled) as a quick check to see if the lens is front/back focusing under certain conditions? Primes are a little easier to AF fine tune if necessary.

Heavy back lighting is rough on any AF system, as is extremely low light, since they need good light and good contrast for maximum accuracy. Also keep in mind it's a $200 lens, so while it obviously should work as advertised, I suspect the various tolerances are less than that of your 24-70/2.8G. Nailing AF @ F1.8 is not going to happen every single time, but it shouldn't be failing outright in poor lighting.

Everyone seems to have a copy of that lens, you could always try another copy, or head down to your camera store and try out their display lens in some poor lighting in the store. In lighting situations where I need F1.8 and ISO 1600-3200 for a reasonable shutter speed, my 50/1.8G works just fine on my D810. I don't think I've used it in any worse conditions than that yet.



May 21, 2015 at 03:28 PM
dougfatheruk
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 50mm 1.8G Low Light Focus Consistency


Thanks Mark, have updated the post to reflect the D3/D700.

I'm also up for purchasing pro level 50mm glass but many of the higher end Nikon primes don't get highly praised, 58mm etc.

Cheers



May 21, 2015 at 04:00 PM
Mark_L
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 50mm 1.8G Low Light Focus Consistency


dougfatheruk wrote:
I'm also up for purchasing pro level 50mm glass but many of the higher end Nikon primes don't get highly praised, 58mm etc.


Sigma




May 22, 2015 at 06:56 AM





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