ray manclark

Ya, I too have aNikon 1.8, 50 mil and use it more than any other lens with my
D610. Fantastic value for money. Go for it!!!

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

I'm a Canon guy and I use their 50mm f/1.8 just for the purpose you outline, indoors under window light. It's an excellent lens (I can't speak for Nikon here) and I've gotten many excellent shots of this type with my 50.

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

This is not a crisis:
The nikon 50/1.8 D is an inexpensive sharp general purpose photojournalist/street lens;
it does not offer bokeh and is often too long for indoor and group shots.
The expensive 50/1.8 G has a higher IQ, is a bit softer, has smoother out of focus artifacts and will retain value.
The difference can be seen even in small prints so just decide what you
are going to shoot and what you're going to do with the image.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

The Nikkor 50mm 1:1.8D was an inexpensive lens and you do get what you pay for. The 1.4D version was wonderful, and one that I owned and am now sorry I sold. The newer, G versions, have built-in focus motors which could be important to you. I currently own the 1.8G and the Sigma 50 1.4 ART. I did own the 1.4G and sold it as I never really cared for it. The 1.8 is primarily for my D500 as it is so nice and light, and the Sigma is for when I want great bokeh! YMMV. Best of luck.

Butch3.21

All the Nikon 50mm lens = 75mm on there cameras,if you wish to acheive the results of a 50, buy the 35

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

In general lenses can last forever and cameras get changed so save your money and buy the better lens.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

I decided the f./1.4 was worth the money for the bokeh. The half stop of light doesn't make much digfference with digital to me.

therwol Loc: USA

I use the 50mm f1.4D. It is an optical design that dates to the manual focus AI and AIS lenses of the late 70s and 80s. It is pro quality glass that gives pro quality results. The current model certainly isn't built to the same standards as the earlier, all metal manual focus lenses, but what is from Nikon these days? Comparing this lens with the G lenses is just splitting hairs, and it's lighter and less expensive. You just have to make sure that your camera body has a built in motor for autofocus. (All of the full frame bodies and the higher end DX bodies.)

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Though not by a lot, the F 1.4 has a much shallower DOF. Thus shooting wide open will result in softer images due to the shallow DOF of the 1.4 ( I have both 1.4 & 1.8 lenses in MF & AF iterations)

mako9969

Here is a page that I used for research when I wanted a Nikkor 50 mm: http://photopixreview.com/50mm-1-8d-vs-1-8g-vs-1-4d-vs-1-4g/ Ended up going with the 50 1.4D lens as I felt that it was 98% as good as the 50 1.4G at half of the cost, the huge flair issues with the 1.8D nixed it, and the better bokeh of 1.4 vs 1.8, plus the near equal cost of the 50 1.8G sealed the deal.

The majority of my gear I buy used from reputable camera stores that accept returns. Bought mine from a camera store in Japan via ebay. Got a mint 50 1.4D, Nikon L37 UV filter, and Nikon lens hood for $184 including shipping. A 50 1.8G from a camera store will run you about $160-$170 (no filter or hood) including shipping. I bought mine from Japan because the Japanese version is better constructed than the “D” lenses made in China.

The 50 1.8G is a great lens, but again the 50 1.4D is virtually the same price (lower with the extras I got), has better bokeh, and I shoot low light often enough that it's worth the extra half stop. Also keep in mind that the "D" lenses need a camera body with a built-in focus motor, which your D610 has. Hope this helps.

therwol Loc: USA

I posted these pictures on another topic. I use a Nikon D810. The attached photo(s) was taken with my 50mm f1.4D lens. This was a hand held shot, ISO 400, 1/1000, f11. This is a JPEG straight out of the camera. No special effort was made to enhance the sharpness such as a tripod or tricks with the mirror and shutter to reduce vibration. Well, I suppose that using ISO 400 in sunlight is a trick to keep the shutter speed high. Theoretically this might introduce a tiny bit of noise on this camera compared with the base ISO, and theoretically f11 isn't going to be the sharpest aperture due to the effect of diffraction beyond f8.

One more thing. This forum will not allow me to upload the 27 megabyte file of the original picture, so I reduced the original to 20% of original size to show you the whole scene, and then I cropped part of the picture from the original file to show you that this is a very sharp lens. Look at the little white dots in the original scene, and then look at the detail in the crop. Not bad for a hand held "snapshot." This is also a tribute to the camera, which I believe can outresolve any lens that I own.

Oh, and this was taken at an overlook at Birdoswald's Roman Fort along Hadrian's Wall in Northern England. My wife and I have vacationed in this area several times, staying near Penrith, renting a car and taking in the Lake District (fantastic photo ops) and Southern Scotland. There is a lot of history here.

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krl48 Loc: NY, PA now SC

This would only be true if the OP was purchasing for a crop sensor Nikon. The OP says he's shopping for a lens for his D610, which is a full frame camera, so the formula shouldn't be considered in this instance.