50mm AF or should I save for the AF-S ??

[acoleman]

I was pretty set on getting the older AF lens and just focusing manually, cause I'm poor and cheap is always an easier option for me lol. But I've read a LOT of reviews of people saying the manual focus is nearly impossible to use and get nice shots with. I have the d3100, and being a beginner, I'm just wondering how hard manually focusing really would be. I would mainly be wanting it for low light conditions, which would make having to manually focus even harder, so I'm starting to think getting the AF might be a waste of money for me. Do you guys have any experience with it? The AF-S is about 200 more, and if I could make do with the AF, it would be a lot easier on me financially right now... what would you all recommend?

[Doug Sundseth]

If you're comfortable with selling stuff on Craig's list or E-Bay or wherever, you can try the AF or AF-D version and if you hate it, just sell it on. You won't lose much, especially if you buy secondhand in the first place.

If you're good enough, the manual focus should work just fine. (I'd get the lens that autofocuses if I were buying. )

[TheMoons678]

+1 to buying used

I have never lost money on Nikon gear bought/sold on CL. Buy low, use, sell at actual value = renting gear for free. If money is THAT tight, buy the 1.8D for $80-100 max on Craigslist until you have the $160 for a 35mm 1.8G or $200 for 1.8G and then sell the 1.8D for what you paid for it.

Manually focusing a toddler running away was impossible for a beginner like myself so I moved from a d60 to d80 just for that reason a few years back. I say just fork out the cash for the 1.8G and don't look back.

[acoleman]

Thanks a lot everyone! I do sell pretty often on ebay so I might go with the AF version and see how that works out. I won't be doing a whole lot of fast paced shots with it, so with a lot of practice, I might be able to handle it. Thanks for the input!!

[jdepould]

If you're going to buy used, and the AF-D version won't autofocus with your body, why not just go even cheaper and get an MF-only lens?

Manual focus takes some getting used to, it's a skill like anything else, it takes time to learn and improve.