Nikon Lens Question: D vs G

[pAthdoc]

I'm planning on buying myself a new camera for the holidays, and I was hoping that you guys could clarify some things for me. I've done my research online and gone to a few local camera shops to get the feel of various cameras, and I've pretty much made my mind up on the D300s. I know which focal lengths I want, but I'm still a bit confused as to whether to go with the D or G lenses. I'm sure that this has been asked before, but I wasn't able to find much on my search of the forum.

I was initially planning on going with the D lenses because they have aperture rings. I've been shooting Leica lenses ever since I dove into photography so using an aperture ring rather than a dial is pretty much second nature to me. When I found out that the aperture ring would not be functional and that I would still have to change the aperture with the command dial, there was no longer a compelling reason (other than aesthetics) for me to go with the D lenses. From what I gather, the only real difference between the two is that the G lenses have the silent wave motor that allows for faster AF. So here are my questions:

1. Is the AF noticeably faster on the G lenses?
2. Is there any other difference between the two lines of lenses?
3. Is there any reason why someone would prefer/choose the D over the G, or vice versa?

Any other advice or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

[ravncat]

Originally Posted by pAthdoc

1. Is the AF noticeably faster on the G lenses?
2. Is there any other difference between the two lines of lenses?
3. Is there any reason why someone would prefer/choose the D over the G, or vice versa?

Any other advice or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

1. Depends on the lens - AF- S is usually faster than the older AF type. Not all G lenses have AF-S (almost all the new ones that you'd care about do - the older 28-80 g. 70-300 g don't really.

The screw motor on the d300 is very strong, so it can sometimes be faster than an AF-S lens, AF-S is usually faster - it depends alot on the size of the lens and elements that are being moved, and upon the motor in the camera. With the d300 they're closer to equal than say on a d90, in general the benefits of AF-S are "Silence" and Full time manual focus.

2. The real, and only difference denoted is in the G lenses having no aperture ring. I don't think it's really a "line" of lenses so much as a denotation - all the lenses have really long strings of letters after eachother.

3. It's a couple of things, mostly personal choice - I have alot of D lenses, because I like aperture rings, they're cheaper (older) and still have good optics. New designs just don't show up in D, lower end cameras don;t have a focus motor drive so they tend to be af-s and g by nature. The aperture ring can be a weak point when it comes to water resistance. So G lenses with a rear gasket for water resistance are better.

Don't worry too much about which to get - if you want the aperture ring, go for a d. if you're looking at an old vs new lens design with different optics - there may be image quality benefits for the newer design - this is the case with the 50mm 1.4g vs the 50mm 1.4d - there's other glass differences there. It would be nice if my af-d lenses had af-s as well.

[pAthdoc]

Thanks for your input. Although I would prefer having an aperture ring, the fact that I won't be able to change the aperture value with it makes it somewhat pointless to have.

Originally Posted by ravncat

...if you're looking at an old vs new lens design with different optics - there may be image quality benefits for the newer design - this is the case with the 50mm 1.4g vs the 50mm 1.4d - there's other glass differences there...

I primarily shoot with primes so my first purchase will likely include 3 primes, one of which will be a 50/1.4. Is it safe to say that the newer designed Gs will generally have better optics than the older Ds?

[photomiser]

Originally Posted by pAthdoc

Thanks for your input. Although I would prefer having an aperture ring, the fact that I won't be able to change the aperture value with it makes it somewhat pointless to have.



I primarily shoot with primes so my first purchase will likely include 3 primes, one of which will be a 50/1.4. Is it safe to say that the newer designed Gs will generally have better optics than the older Ds?

Lens glass technology is pretty mature. Modern lenses have things life AF-S and VR, but the glass isn't necessarily any better. Some old D's are better than newer G's optically. You have to look at each lens, regardless of D or G designation. And there are some really good bargains in the older lenses because everyone assumes "newer is better."

[ravncat]

Originally Posted by pAthdoc

Thanks for your input. Although I would prefer having an aperture ring, the fact that I won't be able to change the aperture value with it makes it somewhat pointless to have.

I primarily shoot with primes so my first purchase will likely include 3 primes, one of which will be a 50/1.4. Is it safe to say that the newer designed Gs will generally have better optics than the older Ds?

The d300 has a menu option that will allow control via aperture ring. I have both my d200 and d700 set to use the aperture ring. This option doesn't exist on some of the lower end nikon's but it is viable on the dx00 and dx series.

Newer designs tend to bring light against the sensor more perpendicularly for better well penetration than the older designs for film, so there are differences in maximum sharpness. However, you'll find there are some different tweaks to the new lenses - in the case of the 50 1.4 d and 50 1.4 g, doing some comparisons will find that they are optimized differently - the 50 1.4g seems to have been optimized for pleasing bokeh. The distortion is better controlled on the 1.4 d. I think the d has better edge sharpness but the g has better center sharpness - meaning the 1.4 g seems a bit better for portraiture...

According to some others, 50mm f/1.4G AF-S Lens Review by Thom Hogan The old 50 1.4 d really isn't relevant anymore, if you are buying and have neither - but there's little reason to actually upgrade. Lots of opinions on it.

While photomiser states that the optics aren't necessarily better - I'd say there are definitely changes for the digital sensor for lenses that have been designed in the last 8 years or so. These changes are felt most towards the macro and wide angle ends of the spectrum - So there's not a huge improvement in the optics in the "normal" segment - but the difference between the old 24 2.8 and the new 24 1.4 are much more obvious. The biggest differences between modern state of the art glass and what's been around for the last 15 -20 years shows up in many other characteristics - contrast, color casts, bokeh, vignetting, abberations etc.

Alot of modern lenses have a "high contrast" sterile look to them, as opposed to older lenses with more character. It's hard to really describe. There are definitely differences between the optical character of the 50 1.4 d and g but not enough to make a mountain out of a mole-hill. Really it's more a question of which do you like - and you'll only get that from working with both. Perhaps the (other than aperture ring) biggest important difference is the size - the 50 1.4d is much smaller without that af-s motor inbuilt...

I'd go with the 50 1.4d if you are looking to use the ring, save some money, weight or are going to use the lens stopped down more often than not (say landscapes) Otherwise i'd get the 50 1.4g (of course, there's also the 1.8d and g if you're looking for saving more money....)

[pAthdoc]

I just scoured the D300s users manual, and you are correct...there is an option in the menu that allows you to control the aperture via the aperture ring. Size and weight are not issues for me, and the ability to use the aperture ring was really the main thing that I was looking for. Thanks again for your responses.

[mishu01]

Just a personal note.

Between 50/1.4D and 50/1.4G I found that the last 50/1.8 G is better Of course if you do not desperately need 1.4. I didn't like 50/1.4D wide open... just from f2.8 it was OK. My former copy of 50/1.4G was very slow in AF and did not show anything special... Now I'm very happy with 50/1.8G. Inexpensive, fast AF, very quiet (oh... D lenses are noisy... I mean NOISY...), nice bokeh... hard to find something to not like in this lens.

Also... I'd not advice to buy any D lens wider than 35mm. They are performing quite poor on digital. 35/2 is still doing well, also 85/1.8 and 85/1.4 D are good performers. One very nice lens is 180/2.8 D... it is at least as good at 180mm as is my 70-200 VRI but in a small package. If you can find a good copy 105 and 135 DC are also good lenses in D lineup.