Nifty Fifty

Earlier today, I headed over to Downtown Camera to purchase my new lens: Nikon's AF Nikkor 50 mm 1.8 D. In layman's terms, this is a prime (i.e. non-zooming) 50 mm lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.8; this makes for some serious bokeh and low-light capabilities. Unfortunately, since it isn't an AF-S lens, it won't autofocus on my D60; I knew about that going in. Having said that, the camera has a rangefinder to help me manually focus; I don't find this to be a hassle at all.

If you recall, I also intended to purchase a tripod. However, when I fully grasped how much money I'd have to spend in order to make a sturdy investment, I scratched that notion for the time being.

Here's my Nifty Fifty in the flesh.



This will probably be my last major camera-related purchase for at least a few months. Lens-wise, I'd like to buy a telephoto lens that goes up to 200 or 300 mm. I said "major" because, due to a brain cramp from God-knows-where, I didn't think that purchasing another UV filter was necessary until I was already on my way home. I ended up heading back to Downtown Camera to rectify that mental error; good thing Stan didn't catch a glimpse of my return visit.

On a side note...before leaving the store after my initial purchase, Stan told me that the "Nifty Fifty" term only applies to the Canon version. That was the first time I'd ever heard that rule...