New lens?

[Amber]

I'm looking at getting a new lens, since the one I'm using now is just the basic one that my camera came with. Does anyone know about the
NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D ? They have it under standard lenses, so I know it won't zoom very far. First of all, could it even be used with my Nikon d3000? And second, does anyone know how it would do and what it would be useful for? Thanks.

[RedHotDobe]

Don't know much about the D3000, but I'm going to assume that Nikon is still not putting focus motors in their lower-end DSLRs, which means that particular lens will only manual focus on your camera. And it won't zoom at all. It's only going to take pictures at 50mm.

[Ridgeback Guy]

I'm not sure, but I think the D3000 does have auto focus, so it would work with that lens. I have the exact lens you mentioned and am very pleased with it! I think it is mostly used for portraits, and things like that. I have been using it for everything since its the only lens I currently own lol. Every review I've read about it was pretty good, which was what lead me to buy it first. Plus its a very inexpensive lens since its a prime

I think its a good lens, but if you have the kit lens that came with the camera (usually an 18-55mm) why do you need the 50mm prime?

[Beanie]

I would guess she's more interested in the f1.8 aspect of it than the 50mm... because I'm in the same boat with my Canon.

[AndrewF]

While the d3000 does autofocus, the lens has to have a focus motor in order for the AF to work as the camera body doesn't have a focus motor (part of why it's so small and light).

A 50mm won't zoom. It's a strait-up 50mm lens, which is a short telephoto on the d3000. The 50's are all incredibly sharp lenses and the f/1.8 is reasonably fast, which is good for low-light shooting or getting a very shallow depth of field.

Even if the lens doesn't have a focus motor built in, you could still manually focus the lens and overall, they're a good investment.