Pixiq

Yesterday, April 13th, Nikon Japan posted details of an updated version of the venerable Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens. The new lens, which would appear to be a replacement for the popular and highly regarded AF-D version currently available has a rather different specification, as it has an aspherical element (no special elements are used in the D-type lens), an AF-S built-in AF motor, which probably accounts for the slight increase in weight from 155 g / 5.5 oz to 185 g/6.6 oz, a 58mm front filter thread in place of a 52mm thread, a slightly high maximum reproduction ratio, and reduced minimum aperture of f/16, as opposed to f/22. Designed to cover the Nikon FX format, making it useable on the D3-series and D700 cameras, it also appears to have improved Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) figures compared with the D-type variant.

However, the posting of the information was somewhat premature and apparently a faux pas, since no official announcement accompanied the posting and  the relevant page has now been taken down! We'll just have to be patient and wait for further information. The images are screen grabs taken from the page while it was live.

© Simon Stafford