50mm 1.8 lens bad?

[adpine]

I have a Nikon D50 and a Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens. Many of the photos I take with this combination are completely overblown. If I dont set the exposure compensation down -2/3 or -1 or more the picture will most likely be bad. This doesnt happen with the other lenses I use with this camera.

I have a attached 2 photos that were taken 1 after the other. One is using matrix metering with no exposure compensation and the other one was taken with center weighted metering and -2/3 compensation. One shot is ok and the other is terrible. Its almost a sure bad shot if there is sky is in the photo.

So is it likely that the lens is bad. Or maybe it doesnt pair well with the D50. Or is it something I might be doing wrong. I cant say that I have ever had so much trouble getting a good photo. When the photos are good they can be very good though

Thank you for any help you can provide......

[K1W1]

So is it likely that the lens is bad. Or maybe it doesnt pair well with the D50. Or is it something I might be doing wrong.

The first photo is f10 1/320 and the second f11 1/500 so the exposures are okay.

Do you have this issue with matrix metering on other lenses?
I'd be looking at the camera rather than the lens.
Generally the 50mm f1.8 pairs well with the D50 so there is no basic issue with the combination.

[adpine]

I have a 28-80 and a 70-310 that both take pretty nice photos. They overexpose just a little bit but nothing like the 50mm does

[K1W1]

Just a thought.
I assume that you have the lens aperture lock engaged at f22.

[adpine]

Yes i discovered that if you have the lens set at anything but f22 then the camera generates an error and wont do anything. So i do have the lens locked in that position.

Thanks

[jcon]

I tried finding the ISO value and couldnt... Maybe you have it set to auto ISO and the first picture with Matrix... the camera picked a dark place to meter on and bumped the ISO, resulting in a blown picture. Just a thought.

[adpine]

Thanks for your reply....

I had the camera on the 'P' setting which doesnt allow auto ISO on the D50. I am pretty sure the iso was at 200 which it is most of the time during daytime, outdoors. Those two pictures were taken within just a couple of seconds of each other from the same position.

[K1W1]

It wasn't auto ISO the exposure and f stop values indicate that.

My suggestion is to try the lens on another camera. If your camera works normally with other lenses it's unlikely to be the camera so try the lens with another body to test where the fault is. Maybe the lens is allowing the camera to correctly calculate exposure but when you push the shutter for some reason it's opening right up.

[Turn]

its not the lens
try using manual mode with different metering

[achuang]

I'll say it's the lens. This case fits what some of the earlier copies of the Nikon 35mm f/2 lens had due to having grease on the aperture blades. Because there was grease on the aperture blades it would cause overexposure on small apertures, and less so on larger apertures as the grease would prevent the blades closing down properly. Have a look at the aperture blades on the 50, if there's none well then I'll leave the suggestions to others.

[Cyberwlf]

The f1.8 50mm lens for me is a dream on my D300, easily beats my Nikkor 18-200VR in IQ too.

[Prospero]

I'll say it's the lens. This case fits what some of the earlier copies of the Nikon 35mm f/2 lens had due to having grease on the aperture blades. Because there was grease on the aperture blades it would cause overexposure on small apertures, and less so on larger apertures as the grease would prevent the blades closing down properly. Have a look at the aperture blades on the 50, if there's none well then I'll leave the suggestions to others.

I agree.

If both pictures were taken at the same ISO and the light was the same in bothe pictures, the difference in brightness cannot be explained by the difference in settings of both pictures.
The difference of the apperture and shutter amounts to just about 1 stop of light, while the difference between these two pictures is more than two stops. I think Andrews suggestion of greasy apperture blades is quite likely. Did you get the lens new or second hand?

You can check if the aperture blades slide smoothly by moving the small pin on the back of the lens.

[adpine]

I bought the lens used several years ago for a film camera and was hoping to use it on the D50 as well. I did read where someone else suggested moving the small pin and to me it looked like the blades did move ok. Your assessment makes sense to me. The 2 shots were literally 10 seconds apart with no difference at all except changing the metering from matrix to center weighted and under exposing a little.

thanks for your ideas.......

[tizeye]

The aperture was the first thing that came to mind. I had the same problem with the Canon 135mm. The problem is that it was film, and you wouldn't know until it processed. Prints returned washed out. Essentially, the lens stays wide open despite the meter saying it would be something else.

To test, see if you can find a Nikon 35mm body. Open up the back so you can look through the lens during the shutter release. Did it stop down as anticipated? Also, put on "B" and manually roll the aperature ring with the shutter open.

From the looks of your pictures, it appears that the problem is intermittent. That's worse, at least mine was 100% of the time. Does it hang on the first - then decide to work?

[cvicisso]

When I first saw the pics before reading the EXIF data, I thought it might be a 'fill flash' issue. I used to make the mistake with my D70 of shooting in Aperture priority with a wide aperture for shallow DOF on bright days (usually on the beach). Fill flash was almost always required for the non-tele stuff, so I usually forced the flash to fire. Until I figured out what I was doing wrong, most of the shots ended up WAY overexposed (like your top photo). This was obviously because the camera meters for the correct exposure and shutter speed, but by forcing the flash to fire, I limit the shutter speed to the x-sync speed (1/500 for the D70). Your flash didn't fire - so this is of absolutely no help to you at all! :D:D:D